Jeremías 11

VBL · Chapter 11/52

1Este es el mensaje del Señor que llegó a Jeremías:

2Escucha los términos de este acuerdo, y luego repítelos al pueblo de Judá y de Jerusalén.

3Diles que esto es lo que dice el Señor, el Dios de Israel: Ustedes están malditos si no obedecen los términos de este acuerdo.

4Yo hice este acuerdo con sus antepasados cuando los saqué de Egipto, del horno de hierro, diciendo: “Obedézcanme y hagan todo lo que les ordeno, y serán mi pueblo y yo seré su Dios”.

5Lo hice para cumplir lo que prometí a sus antepasados: darles una tierra que mana leche y miel, como sigue siendo hoy.

6Entonces el Señor me dijo: Ve y anuncia públicamente todo este mensaje en las ciudades de Judá y en las calles de Jerusalén, diciendo Presta atención a los términos de este acuerdo y haz lo que dicen.

7Desde que saqué a sus antepasados de Egipto hasta ahora, les advertí seriamente una y otra vez, diciendo: “¡Hagan lo que les digo!”

8Pero se negaron a obedecer, no quisieron escuchar. En cambio, cada uno de ellos siguió su propio pensamiento obstinado y malvado. Les había ordenado que siguieran el acuerdo, pero no lo hicieron. Así que hice caer sobre ellos todas las maldiciones contenidas en el acuerdo.

9El Señor me dijo: Está ocurriendo una rebelión entre el pueblo de Judá y los que viven en Jerusalén.

10Han vuelto a los pecados de sus antepasados, que se negaron a obedecer lo que yo decía. Han ido a adorar a otros dioses. El pueblo de Israel y de Judá ha roto el acuerdo que hice con sus antepasados.

11Así que esto es lo que dice el Señor: Voy a traer sobre ellos un desastre del que no podrán escapar. Me pedirán ayuda a gritos, pero no los escucharé.

12Entonces los habitantes de las ciudades de Judá y Jerusalén irán a pedir ayuda a los dioses a los que han estado quemando incienso, pero estos dioses no podrán hacer nada para salvarlos en su momento de angustia.

13¡Ciertamente tienes tantos dioses como ciudades, Judá! Has construido altares vergonzosos, altares para quemar incienso a Baal. Tienes tantos altares como las calles de Jerusalén.

14Jeremías, no ores por este pueblo. No clames por ayuda ni ofrezcas una oración en su favor, porque no los escucharé cuando clamen a mí en el momento de su angustia.

15¿Qué derecho tienen las personas que amo a estar en mi Templo cuando han hecho tantas cosas malas? ¿Creen que la carne de los sacrificios los salvará? Cuando ocurra el desastre, ¿te alegrarás?

16En un tiempo el Señor dijo que eras un olivo sano, lleno de hojas y que daba hermosos frutos. Pero con gran ruido le prenderá fuego, destruyendo sus ramas.

17Yo, el Señor Todopoderoso, fui quien te plantó, pero he anunciado que serás destruido a causa de la maldad que ha cometido el pueblo de Israel y de Judá, enojándome al quemar incienso a Baal.

18El Señor me lo ha comunicado, para que lo sepa. Luego me mostró lo que realmente estaban haciendo.

19Yo era como una ovejita confiada a la que llevan al matadero. No sabía que habían conspirado contra mí. Dijeron: “Destruyamos el árbol junto con todo lo que produce. Matémoslo para que nadie recuerde su nombre”.

20Apelo a ti, Señor Todopoderoso, tú que juzgas con justicia y examinas los pensamientos y sentimientos de la gente, déjame ver cómo los castigas, porque he dejado mi caso en tus manos.

21Esto es lo que dice el Señor acerca de la gente de Anatot que trata de matarte, diciéndote: “No profetices en nombre del Señor, o te mataremos”.

22Esta es la respuesta del Señor Todopoderoso: Los castigaré. Sus jóvenes morirán a espada, sus hijos e hijas morirán de hambre.

23No quedará nadie porque traeré el desastre sobre el pueblo de Anatot en el momento en que sea castigado.

📖 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 11:8Explains that the curses foreseen in the covenant itself are being applied precisely because the people broke its terms, not by chance.
  9. Jeremías 11:9God describes the widespread idolatry as a genuine collective conspiracy against Him, something organized and widespread, not just isolated individual failures.
  10. Jeremías 11:10Reinforces that the present sin repeats the pattern of earlier generations - both kingdoms, Israel and Judah, broke the same Sinai covenant.
  11. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 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. Jeremías 11:22God answers Jeremiah's cry by announcing severe punishment against the men of Anathoth, his own hometown, who plotted to kill him.
  23. Jeremías 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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