Jeremiah 12
12
Jeremiah’s Complaint
1You will be righteous, Lord,#Ezr 9:15; Neh 9:8,33; Ps 119:137
even if I bring a case against you.
Yet, I wish to contend with you:#Jb 9:14–15; 13:13–28; 23:2–17
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?#Ps 73
Why do all the treacherous live at ease?
2You planted them,#Ps 1:3; Jr 17:7–8 and they have taken root.
They have grown and produced fruit.
You are ever on their lips,#12:2 Lit are near in their mouth
but far from their conscience.#12:2 Lit kidneys#Ps 28:3; Is 29:13
3As for you, Lord, you know me; you see me.#Ps 139; Jr 1:5
You test whether my heart is with you.#Ps 7:9; Jr 11:20
Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter#Jr 11:19
and set them apart for the day of killing.
4How long will the land mourn#Is 24:4–7; Jr 4:28; 23:10
and the grass of every field wither?
Because of the evil of its residents,
animals and birds have been swept away,#Zph 1:3
for the people have said,
“He cannot see what our end will be.”#12:4 LXX reads see our ways#Dt 32:20; Jb 22:13; Jr 29:11
The Lord’s Response
5If you have raced with runners
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble#12:5 Or you are secure in a peaceful land,
what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?#Jr 50:44
6Even your brothers — your own father’s family —
even they were treacherous to you;#Jn 1:11
even they have cried out loudly after you.#Jr 11:19
Do not have confidence in them,
though they speak well of you.
7I have abandoned my house;#Ezk 8:1–11:25
I have deserted my inheritance.
I have handed the love of my life
over to her enemies.
8My inheritance has behaved toward me
like a lion in the forest.
She has roared against me.
Therefore, I hate her.#Hs 9:15; Am 6:8
9Is my inheritance like a hyena#12:9 Hb obscure to me?
Are birds of prey circling her?
Go, gather all the wild animals;#Is 56:9; Jr 7:33
bring them to devour her.
10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
they have trampled my plot of land.#Is 63:18
They have turned my desirable plot
into a desolate wasteland.
11They have made it a desolation.
It mourns, desolate, before me.
All the land is desolate,
but no one takes it to heart.#Is 42:25
12Over all the barren heights in the wilderness
the destroyers have come,
for the Lord has a sword that devours
from one end of the earth to the other.
No one has peace.#2Ch 15:5; Is 48:22; Ezk 13:16
13They have sown wheat but harvested thorns.#Lv 26:16; Dt 28:38; Hs 8:7; Mc 6:15; Hg 1:6
They have exhausted themselves but have no profit.#Is 55:2
Be put to shame by your harvests
because of the Lord’s burning anger.#Jr 4:26; 25:37–38
14This is what the Lord says: “Concerning all my evil neighbors who attack the inheritance that I bequeathed to my people, Israel, I am about to uproot them#Jr 1:10; 18:7–8 from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from them. 15After I have uprooted them, I will once again have compassion#Jr 30:18; 31:20; 33:26; 42:12 on them and return each one to his inheritance and to his land. 16If they will diligently learn the ways of my people#Is 2:2–4; Mc 4:1–5 — to swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ just as they taught my people to swear by Baal — they will be built up among my people. 17However, if they will not obey, then I will uproot and destroy that nation.”#Is 60:12
This is the Lord’s declaration.
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Jeremiah 12: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Jeremiah 12
12
1 Certainly, O Lord, you are just. But if I may contend with you, while still speaking what is just to you: Why does the way of the impious prosper? Why is it well with all those who transgress and act unfairly?
2 You planted them, and they took root. They are prospering and bearing fruit. You are near to their mouths, but far from their hearts.
3 And you, O Lord, have known me well. You have seen me, and you have tested my heart with you. Gather them together like a flock for the sacrifice and sanctify them for the day of slaughter.
4 How long shall the earth mourn? And how long shall the plants of every field whither because of the wickedness of the inhabitants within them? It has consumed the wild animals and the birds. For they said: "He will not see our very end."
5 "If you have struggled to run on foot, how will you be able to compete with horses? And if you have been secure in a land of peace, what will you do about the arrogance of the Jordan?
6 For even your brothers, and the house of your father, even these have fought against you. And they have cried out after you with loud voice: 'You should not believe them, when they speak good things to you.' "
7 "I have abandoned my house. I have disowned my inheritance. I have given my beloved soul into the hand of its enemies.
8 My inheritance has become for me like a lion in the forest. It has uttered a voice against me, therefore, I have hated it.
9 Is my inheritance to me like a discolored bird? Is it like a bird that has entirely changed color? Approach and assemble, all beasts of the earth! Hurry, so that you may devour!
10 Many pastors have demolished my vineyard. They have trampled my portion. They have made my desirable portion into a desert of solitude.
11 They have squandered it, and it has grieved concerning me. The entire earth has become utterly desolate, because there is no one who understands with the heart."
12 The devastators have arrived, over all the ways of the wilderness. For the sword of the Lord will devour, from one end of the earth even to its furthest limits. There is no peace for all that is flesh.
13 They sowed wheat, but they reaped thorns. They received an inheritance, but it will not benefit them. You will be confounded by your own fruits, because of the wrath of the fury of the Lord.
14 Thus says the Lord against all my wicked neighbors, who touch the inheritance that I have distributed to my people Israel: "Behold, I will root them out of their own land, and I will root the house of Judah out of their midst.
15 And when I have rooted them out, I will turn back and take pity on them. And I will lead them back, one man to his inheritance, and another man to his land.
16 And this shall be: if they are taught and they learn the ways of my people, so that they swear by my name, 'As the Lord lives,' just as they had taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people.
17 But if they will not listen, I will uproot that nation unto utter destruction and perdition, says the Lord."
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