Jeremias 11

ARC · Chapter 11/52

1A palavra que veiu a Jeremias, da parte do Senhor, dizendo:

2Ouvi as palavras d'este concerto, e fallae aos homens de Judah, e aos habitantes de Jerusalem.

3Dize-lhes pois: Assim diz o Senhor, o Deus d'Israel: Maldito o homem que não escutar as palavras d'este concerto,

4Que ordenei a vossos paes no dia em que os tirei da terra do Egypto, da fornalha de ferro, dizendo: Dae ouvidos á minha voz, e fazei conforme tudo quanto vos mando; e vós me sereis a mim por povo, e eu vos serei a vós por Deus.

5Para que confirme o juramento que jurei a vossos paes de dar-lhes uma terra que manasse leite e mel, como é n'este dia. Então eu respondi, e disse: Amen, ó Senhor.

6E disse-me o Senhor: Apregoa todas estas palavras nas cidades de Judah, e nas ruas de Jerusalem, dizendo: Ouvi as palavras d'este concerto, e fazei-as.

7Porque devéras protestei a vossos paes, no dia em que os tirei da terra do Egypto, até ao dia de hoje, madrugando, e protestando, e dizendo: Dae ouvidos á minha voz.

8Porém não ouviram, nem inclinaram os seus ouvidos, antes andaram cada um conforme o proposito do seu coração malvado: pelo que trouxe sobre elles todas as palavras d'este concerto que lhes mandei que fizessem porém as não fizeram.

9Disse-me mais o Senhor: Uma conjuração se achou entre os homens de Judah, entre os habitantes de Jerusalem.

10Tornaram ás maldades de seus primeiros paes, que não quizeram ouvir as minhas palavras; e elles andaram após deuses alheios para os servir: a casa de Israel e a casa de Judah quebrantaram o meu concerto, que tinha feito com seus paes.

11Portanto assim diz o Senhor: Eis que trarei mal sobre elles, de que não poderão escapar, e clamarão a mim e eu não os ouvirei.

12Então irão as cidades de Judah e os habitantes de Jerusalem e clamarão aos deuses a quem elles queimaram incenso, porém de nenhuma sorte os livrarão no tempo do seu mal.

13Porque, segundo o numero das tuas cidades, foram os teus deuses, ó Judah! e, segundo o numero das ruas de Jerusalem, pozestes altares á impudencia, altares para queimares incenso a Baal.

14Tu, pois, não ores por este povo, nem levantes por elles clamor nem oração; porque não os ouvirei no tempo em que elles clamarem a mim, por causa do seu mal

15Que tem o meu amado na minha casa que fazer? pois muitos fazem n'ella grande abominação e já as carnes sanctas se desviaram de ti: quando tu fazes mal, então andas saltando de prazer.

16Chamou o Senhor o teu nome oliveira verde, formosa por especiosos fructos, porém agora á voz d'um grande tumulto accendeu fogo ao redor d'ella, e se quebraram os seus ramos.

17Porque o Senhor dos Exercitos, que te plantou, pronunciou contra ti o mal, pela maldade da casa d'Israel e da casa de Judah, que fizeram entre si mesmos, para me provocarem á ira, queimando incenso a Baal.

18E o Senhor m'o fez saber, e assim o soube: então me fizeste ver as suas acções.

19E eu era como um cordeiro, como um boi que levam á matança; porque não sabia que pensavam contra mim pensamentos, dizendo: Destruamos a arvore com o seu fructo, e cortemol-o da terra dos viventes, e não haja mais memoria do seu nome.

20Mas, ó Senhor dos Exercitos, justo Juiz, que provas os rins e o coração, veja eu a vingança que tomarás d'elles; pois a ti descobri a minha causa.

21Portanto assim diz o Senhor ácerca dos homens d'Anathoth, que procuram a tua morte, dizendo: Não prophetizes no nome do Senhor, para que não morras ás nossas mãos.

22Portanto assim diz o Senhor dos Exercitos: Eis que fareis visitação sobre elles: os mancebos morrerão á espada, os seus filhos e as suas filhas morrerão de fome

23E elles não terão um resto, porque farei vir o mal sobre os homens de Anathoth, no anno da sua visitação.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God reminds Jeremiah of the covenant made in Egypt and demands that its terms be kept. Jeremiah discovers a plot by his own relatives from Anathoth against his life.

Explanation

The 'covenant' mentioned here refers to the Sinai covenant, in which Israel committed to obey God in exchange for blessings in the promised land — a contract broken again and again. The plot coming from Anathoth, Jeremiah's own hometown, shows that rejection of him came not only from strangers but from people close to him, underscoring the high personal cost of the prophetic calling. The image of Israel as a 'green and beautiful olive tree' that is burned shows how past blessings do not automatically protect against the consequences of present unfaithfulness.

Fun facts

  • Anathoth, Jeremiah's city, was also a priestly city, suggesting that the conspirators against him may have been fellow priests uneasy about his prophecies against the temple.
  • The olive tree was an agricultural symbol of wealth and stability in Israel, making the image of its destruction even more shocking to the original hearers.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremias 11:1Opening formula for a new speech: it introduces a sermon about the Sinai covenant, the pact God made with the people when they left Egypt.
  2. Jeremias 11:2God sends Jeremiah to publicly repeat the terms of the ancient covenant - a reminder that the commitment had existed for a long time and was nothing new.
  3. Jeremias 11:3The covenant here is the Sinai pact, the agreement God made with the people when they left Egypt. It is the legal basis for Jeremiah's entire accusation: Judah is not being punished under some new rule, but for breaking an ancient commitment their own ancestors accepted.
  4. Jeremias 11:4Recalls the basis of the covenant made when they left Egypt, compared to coming out of an iron furnace, slavery: in exchange for freedom, the people committed to obeying and belonging to God.
  5. Jeremias 11:5Jeremiah answers ‘So be it, O Lord’ to the reminder of the promise of the land - a gesture of personal agreement with the terms of the covenant he is announcing.
  6. Jeremias 11:6God reinforces the command: Jeremiah must carry this message about the covenant to every city, not just the capital, demanding practice, not merely knowledge of the words.
  7. Jeremias 11:7God stresses that He has been warning the people continually since the exodus, without stopping - the current disobedience is not for lack of warning.
  8. Jeremias 11:8Explains that the curses foreseen in the covenant itself are being applied precisely because the people broke its terms, not by chance.
  9. Jeremias 11:9God describes the widespread idolatry as a genuine collective conspiracy against Him, something organized and widespread, not just isolated individual failures.
  10. Jeremias 11:10Reinforces that the present sin repeats the pattern of earlier generations - both kingdoms, Israel and Judah, broke the same Sinai covenant.
  11. Jeremias 11:11God warns that this time He will not answer the people's cries for help - the judgment has reached a point of no return, even in the face of their crying out.
  12. Jeremias 11:12In their desperation, the people will turn to the very idols they worshiped, but those false gods will have no real power to save anyone.
  13. Jeremias 11:13A rhetorical exaggeration to show the scale of the problem: practically every city and every street of Jerusalem had its own altar dedicated to Baal or other gods.
  14. Jeremias 11:14Repeats the prohibition already given earlier, in 7:16, against Jeremiah interceding for the people - confirming that the judgment has been definitively decided.
  15. Jeremias 11:15God asks, with bitter irony, what His ‘beloved’ still thinks she is doing in the temple, since she keeps taking pleasure in wrongdoing instead of repenting.
  16. Jeremias 11:16Uses the image of an olive tree, a symbol of prosperity and beauty, which once represented the people, but is now being burned and broken by the approaching judgment.
  17. Jeremias 11:17Makes clear that it is God Himself, who planted this ‘olive tree,’ the people, who decided the judgment, because of the idolatry shared between the two kingdoms.
  18. Jeremias 11:18Here begins the first of Jeremiah's ‘confessions’: a personal passage where he reveals that God warned him about a plot against his own life, coming from people close to him.
  19. Jeremias 11:19Jeremiah discovers that the very residents of Anathoth, his hometown, full of priestly relatives, were plotting to kill him. The image of the lamb that does not know it is about to be slaughtered shows just how blindsided he was by a betrayal coming from inside his own home.
  20. Jeremias 11:20Jeremiah, pouring out his heart to God after discovering the conspiracy against him, asks for justice against those who plotted his death - a moment of human frailty in the prophet.
  21. Jeremias 11:21Anathoth was the priestly town where Jeremiah was born (1:1). The fact that it was his own neighbors and priestly relatives who wanted to silence him shows that the rejection of Jeremiah did not come only from Jerusalem's elite, but also from his own community of origin.
  22. Jeremias 11:22God answers Jeremiah's cry by announcing severe punishment against the men of Anathoth, his own hometown, who plotted to kill him.
  23. Jeremias 11:23Closes the episode confirming that none of the conspirators of Anathoth will escape punishment, showing the seriousness of the betrayal coming from Jeremiah's own native land.

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