Jeremiah 12
12
Why do the Wicked Prosper
1Righteous are You, Adonai, when I plead my case with You. Yet I speak with You about justice. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the treacherous thrive?
2You planted them, so they have taken root. They are growing, bearing fruit. You are near in their mouth, yet far from their mind.
3But You have known me, Adonai. You see me, and examine my heart toward You. Drag them off like sheep for slaughter. Set them apart for the day of carnage.
4How long will the land mourn and the grass of all the field wither? Because those living in it are evil, beasts and birds are swept away. For they said, “He cannot see our end.”
5“If you raced with those on foot and they wore you out, how can you compete with horses? If you are secure in a land of peace, how will you do in Jordan’s thickets?
6For even your brothers —your father’s house— even they will betray you, even they will shout out after you. Have no confidence in them, even if they say nice words to you.”
7“I have abandoned My House. I have forsaken My inheritance. I have given the beloved of My soul Into the hand of her enemies.
8My inheritance became to Me like a lion in the forest— her voice roared against Me! Therefore I despised her.
9Is My inheritance a speckled vulture? Are vultures circling all around her? Go, gather all the wild beasts, bring them for devouring!
Adonai’s Vineyard in Ruins
10“Many shepherds ruined My vineyard. They trampled My property. They made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
11They made it a wasteland. It mourns before Me, desolate. The whole land will be laid waste, because no one takes it to heart.”
12On all the bare hills in the wilderness destroyers have come. For the sword of Adonai is devouring from the one end of the land to the other end of the land. No flesh has shalom.
13They sowed wheat but reaped thorns. They wore themselves out, gaining nothing. So be ashamed of your harvest, because of Adonai’s fierce anger.
14Thus says Adonai, “As for all My evil neighbors who strike at the inheritance that I bequeathed to My people Israel—I am about to uproot them from their land and pluck the house of Judah from them.
15Yet it will come to pass, after I have uprooted them, that I will again have compassion on them and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.
16“So it will come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of My people—to swear by My Name, ‘As Adonai lives,’ just as they taught My people to swear by Baal—then they will be built up in the midst of My people.
17But if they will not obey, then I will uproot that nation, plucking it up and destroying it.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
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Jeremiah 12: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Jeremiah 12
12
Jeremiah’s First Complaint
1Lord, if I complain to you,
you are always right.
But I want to ask you about the justice you give.
Why are evil people successful?
Why do dishonest people have such easy lives?
2You have put the evil people here.
They are like plants with strong roots.
They grow and produce fruit.
With their mouths they speak well of you.
But their hearts are really far away from you.
3But you know my heart, Lord.
You see me and test my mind.
Drag the evil people away like sheep to be butchered.
Set them aside for the day of killing.
4How much longer will the land stay dried up?
How long will the grass in every field be dead?
The animals and birds in the land have died.
And it is because the people are evil.
Yet, they are saying,
“God does not see what happens to us!”
God’s Answer to Jeremiah
5“If you get tired racing against men,
how can you race against horses?
You stumble in a country that is safe.
What will you do in the thick thornbushes along the Jordan River?
6These men are your own brothers.
Members of your own family are making plans against you.
People from your own family are crying out against you.
Don’t trust them,
even when they speak to you like friends!
7“I have left Israel.
I have left my people.
I have given the people I love
to their enemies.
8My people have become
like a lion in the forest to me.
They roar at me.
So I hate them.
9My people have become to me
like a speckled bird attacked by hawks.
Go, gather the wild animals!
Bring them to get something to eat.
10Many shepherds will ruin my vineyards.
They will walk on the plants in my field.
They will turn my beautiful field
into an empty desert.
11They will turn my field into a desert.
It will be wilted and dead.
The whole country is an empty desert.
This is because no one who lives there cares.
12Many soldiers will march over those barren hills.
The Lord will use the armies to punish that land.
People from one end of the land to the other will be punished.
No one will be safe.
13The people will plant wheat.
But they will harvest only thorns.
They will work hard until they are very tired.
But they will get nothing for all their work.
You will be ashamed of your poor harvest.
The Lord’s terrible anger has caused this.”
14This is what the Lord said to me: “Here is what I will do to those wicked people who take the land I gave my people, the Israelites. I will pull them up and throw them out of their land. And I will pull up the people of Judah from among them. 15But after I pull them up, I will feel sorry for them. I will bring each person back to his own property. And I will bring him back to his own land. 16I want them to learn their lessons well. In the past they taught my people to use Baal’s name to make promises. Now I want them to learn to use my name! I want them to say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives . . .’ If they do, I will allow them to be successful. And I will let them live among my people. 17But a nation might not listen to my message. If it doesn’t, I will pull it up completely and destroy it,” says the Lord.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.