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11:1  These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah:
11:2  “Listen to the words of this ·agreement [covenant; treaty] and tell them to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem.
11:3  Tell them this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the person who does not ·obey [listen to] the words of this ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
11:4  that I ·made with [L commanded] your ·ancestors [fathers] when I brought them out of Egypt [Ex. 19–24]. Egypt was like a furnace for melting iron!’ I told them, ‘·Obey me [L Listen to my voice] and do everything I command you. Then you will be my people, and I will be your God.
11:5  Then I will ·keep [confirm] the ·promise [oath] I made to your ·ancestors [fathers] to give them a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8].’ ·And you are living in that country today [L …as it is today].” I answered, “·Amen [So be it], Lord.”
11:6  The Lord said to me, “·Announce [Proclaim] ·this message [L all these words] in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the words of this ·agreement [covenant; treaty] and ·obey [L do] them.
11:7  I warned your ·ancestors [fathers] to obey me when I brought them out of Egypt [Ex. 12–15]. I have warned them again and again to this very day: “·Obey me [L Listen to my voice]!”
11:8  But your ·ancestors [fathers] did not ·listen [obey] or ·pay attention [L bend their ear] to me. They ·were stubborn and did what their own evil hearts wanted [L walked in the stubborness of their evil hearts]. So I made all the ·curses [L words] of this ·agreement [covenant; treaty] come upon them [Deut. 28:15–68]. I commanded them to obey the ·agreement [covenant; agreement], but they did not.’”
11:9  Then the Lord said to me, “I know the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem have made ·secret plans [a conspiracy].
11:10  They have ·gone back [returned] to the ·same sins their ancestors did [iniquity of their fathers of old]. ·Their ancestors [L They] refused to listen to my ·message [L words] and ·followed and worshiped [L went after and served] other gods instead [Ex. 20:3]. The ·families [L house] of Israel and [L the house of] Judah have broken the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] I ·made [L cut] with their ·ancestors [fathers].
11:11  So this is what the Lord says: ‘I will soon bring ·a disaster [harm; evil] on them [C the people of Judah] which they will not be able to escape. They will cry to me for help, but I will not listen to them.
11:12  The ·people living in the towns [L towns] of Judah and the ·city [L inhabitants] of Jerusalem will ·pray [L cry for help] to ·their idols [L the gods] to whom they burn incense. But ·those idols [L they] will not be able to ·help [save them] when ·disaster [harm; evil] comes.
11:13  Look, people of Judah, you have as many ·idols [L gods] as there are towns in Judah. You have built as many altars to burn incense to that shameful god Baal as there are streets in Jerusalem.’
11:14  “As for you [C Jeremiah], don’t pray for these people or cry out for them or ask anything for them. I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their ·trouble [disaster; harm; evil].
11:15  “What is my beloved [C Judah; 12:7; Deut. 33:12; Ps. 60:5; 108:6; 127:2; Is. 5:1] doing in my ·Temple [L house] when she makes many evil plans [C their idolatry cancels their right to be there]? Do you think ·animal sacrifices [L sacred meat] will stop your ·punishment [disaster; harm; evil]? Can you then be happy?”
11:16  The Lord called you “a ·leafy [green] olive tree, with beautiful fruit and shape [Hos. 14:6].” But with the roar of a ·strong storm [tempest] he will set that tree on fire, and its branches will be burned up.
11:17  The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], who planted you, has announced that ·disaster [harm; evil] will come to you. This is because the ·families [L houses] of Israel and Judah have done evil and have made him angry by burning incense to Baal.
11:18  The Lord ·showed [L made known to] me that people were making plans against me. Because he showed me what they were doing [C their evil deeds], I knew they were against me.
11:19  Before this, I was like a gentle lamb waiting to be ·butchered [slaughtered; Is. 53:7; John 1:29, 36]. I did not know they had made plans against me, saying: “Let us destroy the tree and its fruit. Let’s ·kill him [L cut him off from the land of the living] so ·people will forget him [L his name will no longer be remembered].”
11:20  But, Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], you ·are a fair judge [judge righteously]. You know how to test peoples’ ·hearts and minds [motives and thoughts]. I have ·told you what I have against them [committed my cause to you]. So let me see you give them the ·punishment [revenge] they deserve.
11:21  So the Lord speaks about the people from Anathoth [C Jeremiah’s hometown; 1:1; 12:6] who ·plan to kill Jeremiah [L seek your life] and say, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord, or ·we will kill you [L you will die by our hand]!”
11:22  So this is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: “I will soon punish the men [C from Anathoth]. Their young men will die ·in war [L by the sword]. Their sons and daughters will die from ·hunger [famine].
11:23  ·No one from the city of Anathoth will be left alive [L They will have no remnant], because I will cause ·a disaster [harm; evil] to happen to them that year.”