Jeremiah 12:7–13

^7–11“I will abandon the House of Israel,

walk away from my beloved people.

I will turn over those I most love

to those who are her enemies.

She’s been, this one I held dear,

like a snarling lion in the jungle,

Growling and baring her teeth at me—

and I can’t take it anymore.

Has this one I hold dear become a preening peacock?

But isn’t she under attack by vultures?

Then invite all the hungry animals at large,

invite them in for a free meal!

Foreign, scavenging shepherds

will loot and trample my fields,

Turn my beautiful, well-cared-for fields

into vacant lots of tin cans and thistles.

They leave them littered with junk—

a ruined land, a land in lament.

The whole countryside is a wasteland,

and no one will really care.

^12–13“The barbarians will invade,

swarm over hills and plains.

The judgment sword of God will take its toll

from one end of the land to the other.

Nothing living will be safe.

They will plant wheat and reap weeds.

Nothing they do will work out.

They will look at their meager crops and wring their hands.

All this the result of God’s fierce anger!”