Jeremiah 12:7–13

God’s Answer

⁷“I have ^aforsaken My house,

I have abandoned My inheritance;

I have given the ^bbeloved of My soul

Into the hand of her enemies.

⁸“My inheritance has become to Me

Like a lion in the forest;

She has ^1aroared against Me;

Therefore I have come to ^bhate her.

⁹“Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?

Are the ^abirds of prey against her on every side?

Go, gather all the ^bbeasts of the field,

Bring them to devour!

¹⁰“Many ^ashepherds have ruined My ^bvineyard,

They have ^ctrampled down My field;

They have made My ^dpleasant field

A desolate wilderness.

¹¹“¹It has been made a desolation,

Desolate, it ^amourns ²before Me;

The ^bwhole land has been made desolate,

Because no man ^clays it to heart.

¹²“On all the ^1abare heights in the wilderness

Destroyers have come,

For a ^bsword of the Lord is devouring

From one end of the land even to the ²other;

There is ^cno peace for ³anyone.

¹³“They have ^asown wheat and have reaped thorns,

They have ^bstrained themselves ¹to no profit.

But be ashamed of your ^2charvest

Because of the ^dfierce anger of the Lord.”