16. The Lord called you a large olive treethat has beautiful fruit to look at.He will set fire to you with a mighty storm,and your branches will be broken.
17. The Lord of Armies planted you.He has pronounced disaster on you.This is because of the evil thingsthat Israel and Judah have done.They have made him furious by burning incenseas an offering to Baal.
18. The Lord revealed their plot to me so that I would understand. He showed me what they were doing.
19. I was like a trusting lamb brought to the slaughter. I didn’t know that they were plotting against me. They were saying, “Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit. Let’s cut Jeremiah off from this world of the living so that we won’t be reminded of him anymore.”
20. O Lord of Armies, you judge fairlyand test motives and thoughts.I want to see you take revenge on them,because I’ve brought my case to you.
21. This is what the Lord says: The people of Anathoth want to kill you. They say, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord, or we’ll kill you.”
22. This is what the Lord of Armies says: I’m going to punish them. The young men will die because of war. Their sons and daughters will die because of famine.
23. I will bring a disaster on the people of Anathoth. It will be a year of punishment. There will be no survivors.