Jeremiah 11:18-23

The men in Anathoth want to kill Jeremiah

18 The Lord showed me what the people were doing. He helped me to understood what was really happening. 19 Before that, I did not know about their plans to kill me. I was like a lamb that men were taking away to kill it. I did not know that they were saying, ‘We should cut down this tree and destroy its fruit! Jeremiah must not continue to live in this world. Then people will forget all about him.’

11:18The Lord warned Jeremiah that people wanted to kill him.
11:19They were talking about Jeremiah as the tree, and his messages from God as the fruit.

20 So I said, ‘Lord Almighty, you judge people in a fair way. You know what people are thinking. You understand how they feel. I trust you to show that I have not done anything that is wrong. So please punish these people. Pay them back for their sins.’

21 The Lord told me that some men in Anathoth wanted to kill me. They said to me, ‘Stop telling us messages from the Lord! If you do not stop, we will kill you.’ 22 So the Lord Almighty said, ‘Yes, I will certainly punish them! Their young men will die as they fight in war. Their children will be so hungry that they die. 23 All those men in Anathoth who wanted to kill you will die. At the right time, I will punish them with great trouble.’