Jeremiah 12
12
1Righteous art thou, O Lord,
when I complain to thee;
yet I would plead my case before thee.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
2Thou plantest them, and they take root;
they grow and bring forth fruit;
thou art near in their mouth
and far from their heart.
3But thou, O Lord, knowest me;
thou seest me, and triest my mind toward thee.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4How long will the land mourn,
and the grass of every field wither?
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it
the beasts and the birds are swept away,
because men said, “He will not see our latter end.”
5“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you fall down,
how will you do in the jungle of the Jordan?
6For even your brothers and the house of your father,
even they have dealt treacherously with you;
they are in full cry after you;
believe them not,
though they speak fair words to you.”
7“I have forsaken my house,
I have abandoned my heritage;
I have given the beloved of my soul
into the hands of her enemies.
8My heritage has become to me
like a lion in the forest,
she has lifted up her voice against me;
therefore I hate her.
9Is my heritage to me like a speckled bird of prey?
Are the birds of prey against her round about?
Go, assemble all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.
10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard,
they have trampled down my portion,
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness.
11They have made it a desolation;
desolate, it mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
but no man lays it to heart.
12Upon all the bare heights in the desert
destroyers have come;
for the sword of the Lord devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no flesh has peace.
13They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns,
they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their#12.13 Heb your harvests
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
14Thus says the Lord concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage which I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, says the Lord.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Jeremiah 12
12
Jeremiah’s Complaint
1You will be in the right, O Yahweh, when I complain to you.
Even so, let me speak my claims with you.
Why does the way of the wicked succeed?
All those who deal treacherously with treachery are at ease.
2Not only do you plant them, they take root.
They grow, but also they produce fruit.
You are near in their mouths,
but far from their inmost beings.#Literally “kidneys”
3But you, O Yahweh, you know me,
you see me, and you test that my heart is with you.
Tear them apart like sheep for the slaughtering,
and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4How long#Literally “Until when” will the land mourn, and the vegetation of every field dry up,
because of the wickedness of those who live in it?
The animals and the birds#Hebrew “bird” are swept away,
because they have said, “He does not see our future.”
The Lord’s Reply
5“If you run with foot soldiers and they have made you weary,
then how will you compete with horses?
If you have fallen in a peaceful land,#Literally “a land of peace”
then how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?
6For even your relatives, and the house of your father,
even they have dealt treacherously with you,
even they call loudly#Literally “full” after you.
You must not trust in them, though they speak kindly to you.
7I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my inheritance.
I have given the beloved one of my heart#Literally “soul” into the hand of her enemies.
8My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest.
She has lifted up against me her voice; therefore#Literally “unto thus” I hate her.
9The lair of the hyena is my inheritance to me,
the birds of prey#Hebrew “bird of prey” are all around her.
Go, gather all of the animals#Hebrew “animal” of the field,
bring them to come and devour.#Literally “to food”
10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard,
they have trampled down my plot of land.
They have made my pleasant field#Literally “the plot of land of my desire”
like the desert#Or “wilderness” of desolation.
11They have made it a desolation.
Desolate, it mourns to me.
All the land is made desolate,
but there is no person taking it to heart.
12Upon all the barren heights in the desert#Or “wilderness” destroyers have come,
for the sword of Yahweh devours,
from one end of the land to the other end of the land,
there is no peace for all flesh.
13They have sown wheat and they have reaped thorns.
They are exhausted, they do not profit.
And they will be ashamed of your produce,
because of the burning anger#Literally “the blaze of the nose” of Yahweh.”
14Thus says Yahweh concerning all of the evil neighbors who touch the inheritance that I gave as an inheritance to my people Israel: “Look, I am about to drive them out from their land, and the house of Judah I will drive out from among them. 15And then#Literally “And it will happen” after my driving them out, I will once again have compassion on them, and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance, and each one to his land. 16And then,#Literally “And it will happen” if they diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘as Yahweh lives,’#Literally “the life of Yahweh” even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will live in the midst of my people. 17But if they do not listen, then I will completely uproot and destroy that nation.”#Literally “I will drive out the nation that driving out and destroying” declares#Literally “declaration of” Yahweh.
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