Rejecting God’s words and threatening His messengers brings inevitable judgment and underscores the Lord’s unwavering commitment to defend truth.
In Jeremiah 11:21-23, Jeremiah’s fiercest opposition arises not from distant pagans but from his own village. Anathoth (modern ʿAnātā), a Levitical town in Benjamin about three miles northeast of Jerusalem, was the prophet’s birthplace (Jeremiah 1:1). Priests lived there since early monarchy days—Solomon (970-931 BC) banished the priest Abiathar to Anathoth (1 Kings 2:26). Against this backdrop, the men who should have recognized a true word from the LORD plot to silence His messenger, and God answers with a measured but devastating verdict.
The LORD first describes those opposing Jeremiah: “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, so that you will not die at our hand’...” (v. 21). They demand that Jeremiah cease speaking in the LORD’s name or face murder. The dilemma is engineered to force disobedience to God under threat of death. This local hostility fulfills a pattern Jeremiah has already tasted—betrayal from his own household (Jeremiah 12:6)—and anticipates the broader biblical witness that prophets are often rejected at home (Luke 4:24). In New Testament light, Jeremiah’s experience foreshadows Jesus, opposed by His hometown and religious leaders when He spoke the Father’s word (Luke 4:28-30; John 5:18).
God responds as “LORD of hosts,” commander of angelic armies in Jeremiah 11:22: “Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine’” (v. 22). The twin judgments—sword and famine—match the instruments of siege that Babylon would soon wield in Judah at the turn of the 6th century BC (Jeremiah 14:12; 21:7). The mention of “young men” highlights the loss of strength and defense; famine consuming “sons and daughters” depicts the collapse of future hope. Those who vowed to end the prophet’s life will meet the very violence and deprivation they threatened—divine justice without Jeremiah’s personal retaliation (Jeremiah 11:20; Romans 12:19).
Jeremiah 11:23 concludes with striking language against Anathoth: “and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth—the year of their punishment” (v. 23). God elsewhere promises a remnant for Judah; here, the “no remnant” concerns the conspirators’ line—this people will not survive. The phrase, “the year of their punishment” (v. 23), signals that God appoints a concrete season for reckoning; His patience is real, but not infinite (Isaiah 34:8). Theologically, Jeremiah 11:21-23 reassures God’s servants that their lives are in His hands: He sees the plots, owns vengeance, and will vindicate His word in His time. In Christ—the faithful Prophet who suffered without threats and entrusted Himself to the One who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:23)—this pattern reaches its clearest expression. God may not remove every persecutor immediately, but He will finally uphold His message and His messengers.
For readers today, Anathoth warns that religious familiarity can harden into hostility when God’s word confronts out cherished sins. It also encourages obedience: speak what God commands, refuse to trade faithfulness for safety, and leave the “year of punishment” in the LORD’s wise hands.
Jeremiah 11:21-23
21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, so that you will not die at our hand”;
22 therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine;
23 and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth—the year of their punishment.”
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Jeremiah 11:21-23 meaning
In Jeremiah 11:21-23, Jeremiah’s fiercest opposition arises not from distant pagans but from his own village. Anathoth (modern ʿAnātā), a Levitical town in Benjamin about three miles northeast of Jerusalem, was the prophet’s birthplace (Jeremiah 1:1). Priests lived there since early monarchy days—Solomon (970-931 BC) banished the priest Abiathar to Anathoth (1 Kings 2:26). Against this backdrop, the men who should have recognized a true word from the LORD plot to silence His messenger, and God answers with a measured but devastating verdict.
The LORD first describes those opposing Jeremiah: “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, so that you will not die at our hand’...” (v. 21). They demand that Jeremiah cease speaking in the LORD’s name or face murder. The dilemma is engineered to force disobedience to God under threat of death. This local hostility fulfills a pattern Jeremiah has already tasted—betrayal from his own household (Jeremiah 12:6)—and anticipates the broader biblical witness that prophets are often rejected at home (Luke 4:24). In New Testament light, Jeremiah’s experience foreshadows Jesus, opposed by His hometown and religious leaders when He spoke the Father’s word (Luke 4:28-30; John 5:18).
God responds as “LORD of hosts,” commander of angelic armies in Jeremiah 11:22: “Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine’” (v. 22). The twin judgments—sword and famine—match the instruments of siege that Babylon would soon wield in Judah at the turn of the 6th century BC (Jeremiah 14:12; 21:7). The mention of “young men” highlights the loss of strength and defense; famine consuming “sons and daughters” depicts the collapse of future hope. Those who vowed to end the prophet’s life will meet the very violence and deprivation they threatened—divine justice without Jeremiah’s personal retaliation (Jeremiah 11:20; Romans 12:19).
Jeremiah 11:23 concludes with striking language against Anathoth: “and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth—the year of their punishment” (v. 23). God elsewhere promises a remnant for Judah; here, the “no remnant” concerns the conspirators’ line—this people will not survive. The phrase, “the year of their punishment” (v. 23), signals that God appoints a concrete season for reckoning; His patience is real, but not infinite (Isaiah 34:8). Theologically, Jeremiah 11:21-23 reassures God’s servants that their lives are in His hands: He sees the plots, owns vengeance, and will vindicate His word in His time. In Christ—the faithful Prophet who suffered without threats and entrusted Himself to the One who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:23)—this pattern reaches its clearest expression. God may not remove every persecutor immediately, but He will finally uphold His message and His messengers.
For readers today, Anathoth warns that religious familiarity can harden into hostility when God’s word confronts out cherished sins. It also encourages obedience: speak what God commands, refuse to trade faithfulness for safety, and leave the “year of punishment” in the LORD’s wise hands.