Bible Strands
Jeremiah 11:16
The LORD once called you a flourishing olive tree, beautiful with well-formed fruit. But with a mighty roar He will set it on fire, and its branches will be consumed.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh addresses the house of Israel and Judah through Jeremiah during a covenant ceremony where He confronts their persistent idolatry and deceit. The warning follows a declaration that ritual consecration cannot avert judgment for their evil schemes.
The words — The text uses זַ֤יִת (Za.yit) for "olive tree" and רַֽעֲנָן֙ (ra.'a.Nan) for "flourishing" to describe the nation's former covenant blessing. It pairs these with קָרָ֥א (ka.Ra') for "called" to record God's past naming of the people before their corruption.
The thread — The olive tree image appears in Psalm 52:8 for those who trust in God's house and Isaiah 27:11 for dry branches destined as kindling. Paul later reworks the metaphor in Romans 11:17 to describe Gentile believers grafted into Israel's covenant roots.
Why it lands — The verse demands acknowledgment that covenant designation does not immunize a community from divine judgment when rebellion continues. It requires readers to abandon reliance on outward religious status and confront the reality that provocation to anger yields destruction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The Lord called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
Cross-references
- Romans 11:17 Now if some branches have been broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others to share in the nourishment of the olive root,
- Psalms 52:8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in the loving devotion of God forever and ever.
- Isaiah 27:11 When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
- Psalms 80:16 Your vine has been cut down and burned; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
- Psalms 83:2 See how Your enemies rage, how Your foes have reared their heads.
- Isaiah 1:30 For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, like a garden without water.
- Jeremiah 21:14 I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in your forest that will consume everything around you.’”
- Ezekiel 15:4 No, it is cast into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends, and the middle is charred. Can it be useful for anything?
- Ezekiel 20:47 Say to the forest of the Negev: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite in you a fire, and it will devour all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and by it every face from south to north will be scorched.
- Matthew 3:10 The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.