Jeremiah 12
12
Jeremiah Complains to the Lord
1Whenever I complain
to you, Lord,
you are always fair.
But now I have questions
about your justice.
Why is life easy for sinners?
Why are they successful?
2You plant them like trees;
you let them prosper
and produce fruit.
Yet even when they praise you,
they don't mean it.
3But you know, Lord,
how faithful I've always been,
even in my thoughts.
So drag my enemies away
and butcher them like sheep!
4How long will the ground be dry
and the pasturelands parched?
The birds and animals
are dead and gone.
And all of this happened because
the people are so sinful.
They even brag, “God can't see
the sins we commit.”#12.4 God can't see the sins we commit: One ancient translation; Hebrew “He won't live to see what happens to us.”
The Lord Answers Jeremiah
5Jeremiah, if you get tired
in a race against people,
how can you possibly run
against horses?
If you fall in open fields,
what will happen in the forest
along the Jordan River?
6Even your own family
has turned against you.
They act friendly,
but don't trust them.
They're out to get you,
and so is everyone else.
The Lord Is Furious with His People
7I loved my people and chose them
as my very own.
But now I will reject them
and hand them over
to their enemies.
8My people have turned against me
and roar at me like lions.
That's why I hate them.
9My people are like a hawk
surrounded and attacked
by other hawks.#12.9 My people … other hawks: Or “My land has become a hyena's den with vultures circling above.”
Tell the wild animals
to come and eat their fill.
10My beautiful land is ruined
like a field or a vineyard
trampled by shepherds
and stripped bare
by their flocks.
11Every field I see lies barren,
and no one cares.
12A destroying army
marches along desert roads
and attacks everywhere.
They are my deadly sword;
no one is safe from them.
13My people, you planted wheat,
but because I was furious,
I let only weeds grow.
You wore yourselves out
and gained only shame!
The Lord Will Have Pity on Other Nations
14The Lord said:
I gave this land to my people Israel, but enemies around it have attacked and robbed it. So I will uproot them from their own countries just as I will uproot Judah from its land. 15But later, I will have pity on these nations and bring them back to their own lands. 16They once taught my people to worship Baal. But if they admit I am the only true God, and if they let my people teach them how to worship me, these nations will also become my people. 17However, if they don't listen to me, I will uproot them from their lands and completely destroy them. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 12: CEVDCI
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 12
12
Jeremiah’s Question
1O Lord, even if I would argue my case with you,
you would always be right.
Yet, I want to talk to you about your justice.
Why do wicked people succeed?
Why do treacherous people have peace and quiet?
2You plant them, and they take root.
They grow, and they produce fruit.
They speak well of you with their lips, but their hearts are far from you.
3You know me, O Lord.
You see me and test my devotion to you.
Drag them away like sheep to be slaughtered.
Prepare them for the day of slaughter.
4How long will the land mourn?
How long will the plants in every field remain dried up?
The animals and the birds are dying,
because people are wicked.
They think that God #12:4 Greek; Masoretic Text “he.” doesn’t know what they are doing.
The Lord’s Reply
5“If you have raced against others on foot, and they have tired you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in open country,
how can you live in the jungle along the Jordan River?
6Even your relatives and members of your father’s household betray you.
They have also formed a mob to find you.
Don’t trust them when they say good things about you.
7“I have abandoned my nation.
I have left my own people.
I have handed the people I love over to their enemies.
8My people have turned on me like a lion in the forest.
They roar at me, so I hate them.
9My people are like a colorful bird of prey.
Other birds of prey surround it.
Go, gather all the animals in the field,
and bring them to devour it.
10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard.
They’ve trampled my property.
They’ve turned my pleasant property into a wasteland.
11They’ve left it a wasteland.
Devastated, it mourns in my presence.
The whole land is destroyed,
but no one takes this to heart.
12Looters swarm all over the bare hills in the desert.
The Lord’s sword destroys them
from one end of the land to the other.
No one will be safe.
13My people planted wheat, but they harvested thorns.
They worked until they became sick, but they gained nothing by it.
They were disappointed by their harvests
because of the burning anger of the Lord.
14“This is what I, the Lord, say about all my evil neighbors who take the inheritance that I gave my people Israel: I am going to uproot those neighbors from their lands. I will also uproot the people of Judah from among them. 15After I’ve uprooted them, I will have compassion on them again. I will return them to their inheritance and to their lands. 16Suppose they learn carefully the ways of my people. Suppose they take an oath in my name, ‘As the Lord lives …’ as they taught my people to take an oath in ⌞the name of⌟ Baal. Then they will build homes among my people. 17But suppose they don’t listen. Then I will uproot that nation and destroy it,” declares the Lord.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.