Jeremiah 11:21–12:1

21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand”— 22 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.”

1 Righteous are you, O Lord,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

21 Therefore thus saith the Lord of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hand: 22 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine: 23 And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.

1 Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?

21 This is what the Lord says about the men of Anathoth who wanted me dead. They had said, “We will kill you if you do not stop prophesying in the Lord’s name.” 22 So this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says about them: “I will punish them! Their young men will die in battle, and their boys and girls will starve to death. 23 Not one of these plotters from Anathoth will survive, for I will bring disaster upon them when their time of punishment comes.”

1 Lord, you always give me justice

when I bring a case before you.

So let me bring you this complaint:

Why are the wicked so prosperous?

Why are evil people so happy?

21 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, lest you die by our hand’—22 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; 23 and there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring catastrophe on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their punishment.’ ”

1 Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You;

Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?

21 So the Lord speaks about the people from Anathoth who plan to kill Jeremiah and say, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord, or we will kill you!” 22 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “I will soon punish the men from Anathoth. Their young men will die in war. Their sons and daughters will die from hunger. 23 No one from the city of Anathoth will be left alive, because I will cause a disaster to happen to them that year.”

1 Lord, when I bring my case 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?

21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Thou shalt not prophesy in the name of Jehovah, that thou die not by our hand; 22 therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; 23 and there shall be no remnant unto them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.

1 Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee; yet would I reason the cause with thee: wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they at ease that deal very treacherously?

21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of Jehovah, that thou die not by our hand, 22 —therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; 23 and there shall be no remnant of them; for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, in the year of their visitation.

1 Righteous art thou, Jehovah, when I plead with thee; yet will I speak with thee of thy judgments. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they at ease that deal very treacherously?

21 This is what the Lord says: The people of Anathoth want to kill you. They say, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord, or we’ll kill you.” 

22 This is what the Lord of Armies says: I’m going to punish them. The young men will die because of war. Their sons and daughters will die because of famine. 23 I will bring a disaster on the people of Anathoth. It will be a year of punishment. There will be no survivors. 

1 O Lord, even if I would argue my case with you, 

you would always be right. 

Yet, I want to talk to you about your justice. 

Why do wicked people succeed? 

Why do treacherous people have peace and quiet? 

21 Therefore, here is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth who want to take your life. They warn, “You must not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, or you will certainly die at our hand.” 22 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says: “I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine. 23 They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”

1 You will be righteous, Lord,

even if I bring a case against You.

Yet, I wish to contend with You:

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all the treacherous live at ease?

21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the people of Anathoth who seek your life and say, “You shall not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: I am going to punish them; the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and not even a remnant shall be left of them. For I will bring disaster upon the people of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.

1 You will be in the right, O Lord,

when I lay charges against you,

but let me put my case to you.

Why does the way of the guilty prosper?

Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

21 Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the people of Anathoth who seek your life, saying, “You shall not prophesy in the name of Yahweh or you will die by our hand.” 22 Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Look, I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters will die by the famine. 23 And a remnant will not be left for them, for I will bring disaster to the people of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.”

1 You will be in the right, O Yahweh, when I complain to you.

Even so, let me speak my claims with you.

Why does the way of the wicked succeed?

All those who deal treacherously with treachery are at ease.

21 The Lord says, “Jeremiah, here is what I am telling you about the men of Anathoth. They want to kill you. They are saying, ‘Don’t prophesy in the Lord’s name. If you do, we will kill you with our own hands.’ ”

22 So the Lord who rules over all says, “I will punish them. Their young men will be killed with swords. Their sons and daughters will die of hunger. 23 Only a few people will be left alive. I will judge the men of Anathoth. I will destroy them when the time to punish them comes.”

1 Lord, when I bring a matter to you,

you always do what is right.

But now I would like to speak with you

about whether you are being fair.

Why are sinful people successful?

Why do those who can’t be trusted have an easy life?

21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you will not die at our hand”;

22 therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine;

23 and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth—the year of their punishment.”

1 Righteous are You, O Lord, that I would plead my case with You;

Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You:

Why has the way of the wicked prospered?

Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease?