Have you ever felt that many of the people of the world live far away from the way of the Lord? If so, stay and discover Jeremiah 11:11 and the message God sent to the people who behaved like this more than two thousand years ago.
Jeremiah 11:11 Bible Verse
“Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring evil upon them, from which they shall not be able to escape; and they shall cry unto me, and I will not hear them.“(Jeremiah 11:11 KJV 1960)
These are the lines that compose what it says Jeremiah 11:11 of the Bible, a forceful and firm message for those people who not only ignored the Word of God, but went against it frontally and without any remorse.
In this verse we find exemplified a situation that could very well resemble our current society in which material goods, money and the transience of social networks invade our lives and make it very difficult for us to find moments of recollection with the Lord.
In this way, you will understand your mission on this subject, comparing our world with the one that existed during the Old Testament era. So, we warmly welcome you to this biblical analysis. Shall we start?
Jeremiah 11 in English and large print
If the previous listening has not been enough, now you can read the whole text of Jeremiah 11 in English, version King James Version. This version is the most faithful to the original Hebrew Bible texts, although sometimes the language is outdated. We hope you enjoy it!
The violated pact
1 The word that came from Jehovah to Jeremiah, saying:
2 Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to every man of Judah, and to every inhabitant of Jerusalem.
3 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying unto them, Hear my voice, and do my words, according to all that I command you; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God;
5 that I may confirm the oath which I swore to your fathers, that I would give them the land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. And I answered and said, Amen, O LORD.
6 And the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear the words of this covenant, and do them.
7 For I solemnly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them early and continually unto this day, saying, Hear my voice.
8 But they did not hear, nor incline their ear, but went every one after the imagination of their evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to perform, and they did not perform it.
9 And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 They have returned to the iniquities of their first fathers, who would not hearken to my words, and have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
11 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring evil upon them, from which they shall not be able to escape; and they shall cry unto me, and I will not hear them.
12 And the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall go and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, which cannot save them in the time of their evil.
13 For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of your streets, O Jerusalem, you set up altars of shame, altars to offer incense to Baal.
14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them: for I will not hear in the day when they cry unto me in their affliction.
15 What right has my beloved in my house, having done many abominations? Do you think that sacrifices and sanctified meats of victims can spare you from punishment? Can you glory in that?
16 A green olive tree, beautiful in its fruit and in its appearance, the Lord has called your name. At the sound of a loud noise he set fire to it, and broke its branches.
17 For the LORD of hosts who planted you has pronounced evil against you, because of the wickedness which the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by incensing Baal.
Plot against Jeremiah
18 And the LORD made it known to me, and I knew him; then you made me see his works.
19 And I was like an innocent lamb that is led to be slain, for I did not understand that they were plotting against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut it down from the land of the living, that there may be no more remembrance of its name.
20 But, O LORD of hosts, who judge righteously, who search the mind and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for I have pleaded my cause before thee.
21 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, lest thou die by our hand;
22 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will punish them; the young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine,
23 And there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.
Jeremiah 11:11 in current language
As we have already told you, there are other translations of the Bible in a more updated language than the one we have given you today, although some nuances of detail are lost. Here you will find Jeremiah 11:11 in different versions for a deeper understanding of its meaning.
Jeremiah 11:11 nvi (New International Version)
“Therefore, thus says the Lord: “I will send them a calamity from which they will not be able to escape. Though they cry to me, I will not hear them.“
Jeremiah 11:11 ntv (New Living Translation)
“Therefore this says the Lord: I will bring calamity upon them and there will be no escape possible. Though they plead for mercy, I will not hear their supplications.”
Jeremiah 11:11 explanation and meaning
Now you have all the information you need to understand the message of Jeremiah 11:11, so let’s put it into practice in this Bible commentary.
It is easy to detect the harshness conveyed by this verse, especially considering how good and merciful the Lord is, even when we commit numerous sins and stray from his path.
There is a key word here: repentance. As good Christians, our duty in the face of sin is to have recourse to confession and seek God’s forgiveness, always with humility and sincerity so that He may receive us with His mercy and allow us to return to the path of goodness.
However, the inhabitants of Israel at that time did not even consider whether their behavior was wrong, and even blasphemed against those who warned them about it, as in the case of Jeremiah.
In this case, the covenant is completely broken and the Lord ceases to protect his people, who fall easily before the foreign invasion. God’s objective was to renew the faith of those people of those people and build a new religion from the ground up.
You can find similarities between this story and the times we live in today. Global warming, scarcity of resources and economic crises are direct consequences of a society based on the pursuit of money and material fortune and material fortune instead of the pursuit of spiritual peace and prayer to the Lord.
Our mission as Christians today is to continue to promote our faith, to make the Word of God known and to help those who are marginalized by the system and are in situations of need. In short, making a better world for all through faith.
Context of the Bible verse Jeremiah 11:11
The title of the chapter is clear: the violated covenant. What pact are you talking about? Who broke this pact? These questions will be answered below, where you will learn all the context surrounding Jeremiah 11:11.
Many years before the time of this verse, Moses, known to all, sealed a covenant with God on the top of Mount Sinai in which God delivered the 10 commandments to the prophet.
There, the Lord promised protection, abundance and happiness to the people of Israel in exchange for worship, faithfulness and the fulfillment of the established commandments. On numerous occasions the inhabitants of Israel broke the covenant, and it was in Jeremiah’s time another example of them.
Jeremiah’s mission as a prophet was to warn his contemporaries as a prophet was to warn his contemporaries that misfortune was coming if they did not rectify their behavior, although he was not able to stop it and, finally, the Babylonian army invaded Israel.
These prophecies of bad omens did not allow Jeremiah to be well regarded in society and his fellow citizens conspired against him conspired against him as shown in the second part of the chapter.
All these experiences and prophecies were recorded in what we know today as the Book of Jeremiah and is found in the Old Testament.
Here we end today’s article on Jeremiah 11:11 about people who go against God’s designs and our position on them.
We hope you have everything a little clearer and feel free to share this article with your loved ones to help them too!