Jeremiah 12

Jeremiah's Complaint

1 You are always righteous, O Lord,
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless live at ease?

2 You have planted them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.

3 Yet you know me, O Lord;
you see me and test my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!

4 How long will the land lie parched
and the grass in every field be withered?
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.
Moreover, the people are saying,
“He will not see what happens to us.”

God's Answer

5 “If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?

6 Your brothers, your own family—
even they have betrayed you;
they have raised a loud cry against you.
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.

7 “I will forsake my house,
abandon my inheritance;
I will give the one I love
into the hands of her enemies.

8 My inheritance has become to me
like a lion in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.

9 Has not my inheritance become to me
like a speckled bird of prey
that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.

10 Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard
and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
into a desolate wasteland.

11 It will be made a wasteland,
parched and desolate before me;
the whole land will be laid waste
because there is no one who cares.

12 Over all the barren heights in the desert
destroyers will swarm,
for the sword of the Lord will devour
from one end of the land to the other;
no one will be safe.

13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.
So bear the shame of your harvest
because of the Lord's fierce anger.”
14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country.16 And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among my people.

17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord.

JEREMIAH 12

Jeremiah Complains //to the [Lord]

1 Whenever 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?

2 You plant them like trees;
you let them prosper
and produce fruit.
Yet even when they praise you,
they don't mean it.

3 But you know, [Lord],
how faithful I've always been,
even in my thoughts.
So drag my enemies away
and butcher them like sheep!

4 How 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.”t

The [Lord] Answers Jeremiah

5 Jeremiah, 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?

6 Even 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

7 I loved my people and chose them
as my very own.
But now I will reject them
and hand them over
to their enemies.

8 My people have turned against me
and roar at me like lions.
That's why I hate them.

9 My people are like a hawk
surrounded and attacked
by other hawks.t
Tell the wild animals
to come and eat their fill.

10 My beautiful land is ruined
like a field or a vineyard
trampled by shepherds
and stripped bare
by their flocks.

11 Every field I see lies barren,
and no one cares.

12 A destroying army
marches along desert roads
and attacks everywhere.
They are my deadly sword;
no one is safe from them.

13 My 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

14 The [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. 15 But later, I will have pity on these nations and bring them back to their own lands. 16 They 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. 17 However, if they don't listen to me, I will uproot them from their lands and completely destroy them. I, the [Lord], have spoken.