Jeremiah 11 - Easy To Read Version

¹ This is the message that came to Jeremiah. This message came from the Lord:

² “Jeremiah, listen to the words of this Agreement. {\cf2\super [87]} Tell the people of Judah about these things. Tell these things to the people living in Jerusalem.

³ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Bad things will happen to any person that does not obey this Agreement.’

⁴ I am talking about the Agreement I made with your ancestors. {\cf2\super [88]} I made that Agreement with them at the time I brought them out of Egypt. \{Egypt was a place of many troubles—\}it was like an oven hot enough to melt iron. I told those people: Obey me and do everything I command you. If you do this, you will be my people, and I will be your God.

⁵ “I did this to keep the promise that I had made to your ancestors. {\cf2\super [89]} I promised to give them a very fertile land—a land flowing with milk and honey. And you are living in that country today.”

⁶ The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, preach this message in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. This is the message: Listen to the words of this Agreement. {\cf2\super [91]} And then obey those laws.

⁷ I gave a warning to your ancestors {\cf2\super [92]} at the time I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I warned them again and again to this very day. I told them to obey me.

⁸ But your ancestors did not listen to me. They were stubborn and did what their own evil hearts wanted. The Agreement says that bad things will happen to them if they don’t obey. So I made all those bad things happen to them! I commanded them to obey the Agreement, but they did not.”

⁹ The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, I know that the people of Judah and the people living in Jerusalem have made secret plans.

¹⁰ Those people are doing the same sins that their ancestors did. Their ancestors {\cf2\super [93]} refused to listen to my message. They followed and worshiped other gods. The family of Israel and the family of Judah have broken the Agreement {\cf2\super [94]} I made with their ancestors.”

¹¹ So the Lord says: “I will soon make something terrible happen to the people of Judah. They will not be able to escape! They will be sorry. And they will cry to me for help. But I will not listen to them.

¹² The people in the towns of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem will go and pray to their idols for help. Those people burn incense {\cf2\super [95]} to those idols. But those idols will not be able to help the people of Judah when that terrible time comes.

¹³ “People of Judah, you have many idols—there are as many idols as there are towns in Judah. You have built many altars for worshiping that disgusting god Baal {\cf2\super [96]} —there are as many altars as there are streets in Jerusalem.

¹⁴ “As for you, Jeremiah, don’t pray for these people of Judah. Don’t beg for them. Don’t say prayers for them. I will not listen. Those people will begin to suffer. And then they will call to me for help. But I will not listen.

¹⁵ {\cf2\super [97]} “Why is my lover (Judah)\par in my house (temple)?\par She has no right to be there.\par She had done many evil things.\par Judah, do you think that special promises\par and animal sacrifices will stop you\par from being destroyed?\par Do you think you can escape punishment\par by offering sacrifices to me?”\par

¹⁶ The Lord gave you a name.\par He called you,\par ‘A green olive tree,\par beautiful to look at.’\par But with a strong storm,\par the Lord will set that tree on fire,\par and its branches will be burned up.\par

¹⁷ The Lord All-Powerful planted you.\par And he said that disaster will come to you.\par Why? Because the family of Israel\par and the family of Judah\par have done evil things.\par They offered sacrifices to Baal.” {\cf2\super [98]} \par And that made me angry!\par

¹⁸ The Lord showed me that the men of Anathoth {\cf2\super [99]} were making plots against me. The Lord showed me the things they were doing, so I knew they were against me.

¹⁹ Before the Lord showed me that the people were against me, I was like a gentle lamb waiting to be butchered. I did not understand that they were against me. They were saying these things about me: “Let us destroy the tree and its fruit! Let us kill him! Then people will forget him.”

²⁰ But Lord, you are a fair judge. You know how to test peoples’ hearts and minds. I will tell you my arguments. And I will let you give them the punishment they deserve.

²¹ The men from Anathoth were planning to kill Jeremiah. Those men said to Jeremiah, “Don’t prophesy {\cf2\super [100]} in the name of the Lord, or we will kill you.” The Lord made a decision about those men from Anathoth.

²² The Lord All-Powerful said, “I will soon punish those men from Anathoth. Their young men will die in war. Their sons and daughters will die from hunger.

²³ No person from the city of Anathoth will be left. No person will survive. I will punish them. I will cause something bad to happen to them.”