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Jeremiah 11:16-18
New Catholic Bible
Jeremiah 11:16-18
New Catholic Bible
16 The Lord once called you a green olive tree
that was filled with leaves and fruit.
But now, with the roar of a mighty storm,
he will set it ablaze,
and its branches will be consumed.
17 The Lord of hosts who planted you has decreed that misfortune will befall you because of the evil done by the house of Israel and the house of Judah, having provoked me to anger by offering sacrifices to Baal.
Jeremiah’s Persecution[a]
18 I was aware of this, O Lord,
because you had made it known to me
then you revealed to me their evil deeds.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 11:18 Threatened with death, Jeremiah raises the thorny problem of the just who suffer and the wicked who prosper; this was a scandal to which traditional teaching on retribution had no valid answer. And in fact, it is not possible to rise above the scandal without a very radical act of faith. God himself promises Jeremiah ever harder trials in which he must be bold enough to trust solely in the Lord. Modern readers may perhaps be put off by the vindictive sentiments of the prophet, but these must be seen in the setting of the times. There was still no idea of retribution in a future life or even of a resurrection; therefore, the call for revenge seemed the only way of expressing faith in the justice of God. The image of the lamb led to slaughter (Jer 11:19) will later be applied by Second Isaiah (Isa 53:7) to the suffering Servant and, in the New Testament, to Jesus.
