Jeremiah 12
12
Jeremiah Questions the LORD
1“LORD, if I argued my case with you,
you would prove to be right.
Yet I must question you about matters of justice.
Why are the wicked so prosperous?
Why do dishonest people succeed?
2You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and bear fruit.
They always speak well of you,
yet they do not really care about you.
3But, LORD, you know me;
you see what I do,
and how I love you.
Drag these evil people away like sheep to be butchered;
guard them until it is time for them to be slaughtered.
4How long will our land be dry,
and the grass in every field be withered?
Animals and birds are dying
because of the wickedness of our people,
people who say, ‘God doesn't see what we are doing.’ ”#12.4 Some ancient translations what we are doing; Hebrew our latter end.
5The LORD said,
“Jeremiah, if you get tired racing against people,
how can you race against horses?
If you can't even stand up in open country,
how will you manage in the jungle by the Jordan?
6Even your relatives, members of your own family, have betrayed you;
they join in the attacks against you.
Do not trust them, even though they speak friendly words.”
The LORD's Sorrow because of his People
7The LORD says,
“I have abandoned Israel;
I have rejected my chosen nation.
I have given the people I love
into the power of their enemies.
8My chosen people have turned against me;
like a lion in the forest
they have roared at me,
and so I hate them.
9My chosen people are like a bird
attacked from all sides by hawks.
Call the wild animals
to come and join in the feast!
10Many foreign rulers have destroyed my vineyard;
they have trampled down my fields;
they have turned my lovely land into a desert.
11They have made it a wilderness;
it lies desolate before me.
The whole land has become a desert,
and no one cares.
12Across all the desert highlands
people have come to plunder.
I have sent war to destroy the entire land;
no one can live in peace.
13My people sowed wheat, but gathered weeds;
they have worked hard, but got nothing for it.
Because of my fierce anger
their crops have failed.”
The LORD's Promise to Israel's Neighbours
14The LORD says, “I have something to say about Israel's neighbours who have ruined the land I gave to my people Israel. I will take those wicked people away from their countries like an uprooted plant, and I will rescue Judah from them. 15But after I have taken them away, I will have mercy on them; I will bring each nation back to its own land and to its own country. 16If with all their hearts they will accept the religion of my people and will swear, ‘As the LORD lives’ — as they once taught my people to swear by Baal — then they will also be a part of my people and will prosper. 17But if any nation will not obey, then I will completely uproot it and destroy it. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
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Jeremiah 12: GNBDC
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
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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