New Living Translation
Jeremiah 11:19
19I was like a lamb being led to the slaughter. I had no idea that they were planning to kill me! “Let’s destroy this man and all his words,” they said. “Let’s cut him down, so his name will be forgotten forever.”
Jeremiah 11:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
- New International Version (NIV)I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know it was against me they devised schemes, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more."
- New King James Version (NKJV)But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”
Context of Jeremiah 11:19
17“I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who planted this olive tree, have ordered it destroyed. For the people of Israel and Judah have done evil, arousing my anger by burning incense to Baal.” 18Then the Lord told me about the plots my enemies were making against me. I was like a lamb being led to the slaughter. I had no idea that they were planning to kill me! “Let’s destroy this man and all his words,” they said. “Let’s cut him down, so his name will be forgotten forever.” 20O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you make righteous judgments, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you. 21This is what the Lord says about the men of Anathoth who wanted me dead. They had said, “We will kill you if you do not stop prophesying in the Lord’s name.”
Read all of Jeremiah 11Jeremiah 11:19 word by word
וַאֲנִ֕י כְּכֶ֥בֶשׂ אַלּ֖וּף יוּבַ֣ל לִטְב֑וֹחַ וְלֹֽא־יָדַ֜עְתִּי כִּֽי־עָלַ֣י׀ חָשְׁב֣וּ מַחֲשָׁב֗וֹת נַשְׁחִ֨יתָה עֵ֤ץ בְּלַחְמוֹ֙ וְנִכְרְתֶ֙נּוּ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ חַיִּ֔ים וּשְׁמ֖וֹ לֹֽא־יִזָּכֵ֥ר עֽוֹד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- like a lambכֶּ֫בֶשׂkebeώ · lambH3532
- an oxאַלּוּף'alûph 'allûph · tameH441
- is broughtיָבַלyâbal · to conductH2986
- to the slaughterטָבַחţâbach · to slaughterH2873
- and I knewיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- not that they had devisedחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: deviseH2803
- devicesמַחֲשָׁבָהmachăshâbâh machăshebeth · plotH4284
- Let us destroyשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
- the treeעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086
- with the fruitלֶ֫חֶםlechem · foodH3899
- thereof, and let us cut him offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
- from the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- of the livingחַיchay · aliveH2416
- that his nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- may be no more rememberedזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
Cross-references for Jeremiah 11:19
- Proverbs 7:22He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap,
- Isaiah 53:7He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
- Jeremiah 18:18Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says.”
- Jeremiah 20:10I have heard the many rumors about me. They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.” They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.” Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. “He will trap himself,” they say, “and then we will get our revenge on him.”
- Psalms 31:13I have heard the many rumors about me, and I am surrounded by terror. My enemies conspire against me, plotting to take my life.
- Psalms 35:15But they are glad now that I am in trouble; they gleefully join together against me. I am attacked by people I don’t even know; they slander me constantly.
- Psalms 37:32The wicked wait in ambush for the godly, looking for an excuse to kill them.
- Isaiah 32:7The smooth tricks of scoundrels are evil. They plot crooked schemes. They lie to convict the poor, even when the cause of the poor is just.
- Matthew 26:3At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest,
- Psalms 83:4“Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.”
- Isaiah 53:8Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.
- Daniel 9:26“After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.
- Luke 20:10At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. But the farmers attacked the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed.
- Job 28:13No one knows where to find it, for it is not found among the living.
- Psalms 27:13Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.
- Psalms 52:5But God will strike you down once and for all. He will pull you from your home and uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude
Commentaries on Jeremiah 11:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19I was like a lamb or an ox - Dahler translates, "I was like a fattened lamb that is led to the slaughter." Blayney, "I was like a tame lamb that is led to slaughter." The word אלוף alluph, which we translate ox, is taken by both as an adjective, qualifying the noun כבש kebes, a lamb. It may probably signify a lamb brought up in the house-fed at home, (אלוף alluph ), instructed or nourished at home; perfectly innocent and unsuspecting, while leading to the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19Like a lamb or an ox - Rather, “like a tame lamb.” Jeremiah had lived at Anathoth as one of the family, never suspecting that, like a tame lamb, the time would come for him to be killed. The tree with the fruit thereof - The words are those of a proverb or dark saying. All the Churches agree in understanding that under the person of Jeremiah these things are said by Christ.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 18-23 The prophet Jeremiah tells much concerning himself, the times he lived in being very troublesome. Those of his own city plotted how they might cause his death. They thought to end his days, but he outlived most of his enemies; they thought to blast his memory, but it lives to this day, and will be blessed while time lasts. God knows all the secret designs of his and his people's enemies, and can, when he pleases, make them known. God's…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-19The Lord warned Jeremiah during his commissioning (Jeremiah 1:19) that opposition would threaten his life. Jeremiah felt like a lamb led to slaughter, powerless to resist. This opposition happened before Jeremiah's trial in the Temple courtyard, early in Jehoiakim's reign (between 608 and 605 BC; see Jeremiah 26). Some scholars think this verse foreshadows Christ's death, similar to the suffering servant in Isaiah 53:7.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-1918-19. Jeremiah here digresses to notice the attempt on his life plotted by his townsmen of Anathoth. He had no suspicion of it, until Jehovah revealed it to him (Jr 12:6). the Lord ... thou--The change of person from the third to the second accords with the excited feelings of the prophet. then--when I was in peril of my life. their doings--those of the men of Anathoth. His thus alluding to them, before he has mentioned their name, is due to his…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 11:19
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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