Jeremiah 12:1–17
12 Righteous aare You, O Lord, when I plead with You;
Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.
bWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?
2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;
They grow, yes, they bear fruit.
cYou are near in their mouth
But far from their 1mind.
3 But You, O Lord, dknow me;
You have seen me,
And You have etested my heart toward You.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
And prepare them for fthe day of slaughter.
4 How long will gthe land mourn,
And the herbs of every field wither?
hThe beasts and birds are consumed,
iFor the wickedness of those who dwell there,
Because they said, “He will not see our final end.”
5 “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,
Then how can you contend with horses?
And if in the land of peace,
In which you trusted, they wearied you,
Then how will you do in jthe 2floodplain of the Jordan?
6 For even kyour brothers, the house of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you;
Yes, they have called 3a multitude after you.
lDo not believe them,
Even though they speak 4smooth words to you.
7 “I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage;
I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies.
8 My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest;
It cries out against Me;
Therefore I have mhated it.
9 My 5heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture;
The vultures all around are against her.
Come, assemble all the beasts of the field,
nBring them to devour!
10 “Many orulers 6have destroyed pMy vineyard,
They have qtrodden My portion underfoot;
They have made My 7pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it rdesolate;
Desolate, it mourns to Me;
The whole land is made desolate,
Because sno one takes it to heart.
On all the desolate heights in the wilderness,
For the sword of the Lord shall devour
From one end of the land to the other end of the land;
No flesh shall have peace.
13 tThey have sown wheat but reaped thorns;
They have 8put themselves to pain but do not profit.
But be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
14 Thus says the Lord: “Against all My evil neighbors who utouch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will vpluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 wThen it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them xand bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 16 And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, yto swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be zestablished in the midst of My people. 17 But if they do not aobey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says the Lord.