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Jeremiah 12:1-15:9
English Standard Version
Jeremiah 12:1-15:9
English Standard Version
Jeremiah's Complaint
12 (A)Righteous are you, O Lord,
when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
(B)Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all (C)who are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and produce fruit;
(D)you are near in their mouth
and far from their heart.
3 (E)But you, O Lord, know me;
(F)you see me, and test my heart toward you.
(G)Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and set them apart for (H)the day of slaughter.
4 (I)How long will the land mourn
and the grass of every field wither?
(J)For the evil of those who dwell in it
(K)the beasts and the birds are swept away,
because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”
The Lord Answers Jeremiah
5 “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
what will you do in (L)the thicket of the Jordan?
6 For (M)even your brothers and the house of your father,
(N)even they have dealt treacherously with you;
they are in full cry after you;
(O)do not believe them,
though they speak friendly words to you.”
7 “I have forsaken my house;
I have abandoned (P)my heritage;
I have given (Q)the beloved of my soul
into the hands of her enemies.
8 (R)My heritage has become to me
like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me;
therefore I hate her.
9 Is (S)my heritage to me like (T)a hyena's lair?
Are the (U)birds of prey against her all around?
Go, (V)assemble all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
(W)they have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it a desolation;
desolate, (X)it mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
(Y)but no man lays it to heart.
12 Upon all the bare heights in the desert
destroyers have come,
for the sword of the Lord devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no flesh has peace.
13 (Z)They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
(AA)they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their[a] harvests
(AB)because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
14 Thus says the Lord concerning all (AC)my evil neighbors (AD)who touch the heritage that (AE)I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, (AF)and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, (AG)to swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, (AH)then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 (AI)But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord.”
The Ruined Loincloth
13 Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and (AJ)put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, (AK)go to the Euphrates and hide it there in (AL)a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there (AM)the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took (AN)the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was (AO)spoiled; it was (AP)good for nothing.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Thus says the Lord: (AQ)Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great (AR)pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, (AS)who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is (AT)good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, (AU)that they might be for me a people, (AV)a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.
The Jars Filled with Wine
12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that (AW)every jar will be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: (AX)Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: (AY)the kings who sit on David's throne, (AZ)the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will (BA)dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”
Exile Threatened
15 Hear and give ear; be not proud,
for the Lord has spoken.
16 (BB)Give glory to the Lord your God
(BC)before he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the twilight mountains,
and (BD)while you look for light
he turns it into gloom
and makes it (BE)deep darkness.
17 But if you will not listen,
(BF)my soul will weep in secret for your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,
because the Lord's flock has been taken captive.
18 Say to (BG)the king and (BH)the queen mother:
“Take a lowly seat,
for (BI)your beautiful crown
has come down from your head.”
19 (BJ)The cities of the Negeb are shut up,
with none to open them;
all Judah is taken into exile,
wholly taken into exile.
20 “Lift up your eyes (BK)and see
those who come from the north.
Where is the flock that was given you,
your beautiful flock?
21 What will you say when they set as head over you
those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?
(BL)Will not pangs take hold of you
like those of a woman in labor?
22 And if you say in your heart,
(BM)‘Why have these things come upon me?’
it is for the greatness of your iniquity
that (BN)your skirts are lifted up
and you suffer violence.
23 (BO)Can the Ethiopian change his skin
or (BP)the leopard his spots?
Then also you can do good
who are accustomed to do evil.
24 I will scatter you[b] (BQ)like chaff
driven by the wind from the desert.
25 (BR)This is your lot,
the portion I have measured out to you, declares the Lord,
because (BS)you have forgotten me
and trusted in lies.
26 (BT)I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,
and your shame will be seen.
27 I have seen (BU)your abominations,
your adulteries and (BV)neighings, your lewd whorings,
(BW)on the hills in the field.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
How long will it be (BX)before you are made clean?”
Famine, Sword, and Pestilence
14 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning (BY)the drought:
2 (BZ)“Judah mourns,
and (CA)her gates languish;
her people lament on the ground,
and (CB)the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3 Her nobles send their servants for water;
they come to the cisterns;
they find no water;
they return with their vessels empty;
they are (CC)ashamed and confounded
and (CD)cover their heads.
4 Because of the ground that is dismayed,
since there is (CE)no rain on the land,
the farmers are ashamed;
they cover their heads.
5 Even (CF)the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6 (CG)The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
because there is no vegetation.
7 “Though our iniquities testify against us,
act, O Lord, (CH)for your name's sake;
(CI)for our backslidings are many;
(CJ)we have sinned against you.
8 (CK)O you hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why should you be like a man confused,
(CL)like a mighty warrior who cannot save?
Yet (CM)you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,
and (CN)we are called by your name;
(CO)do not leave us.”
10 Thus says the Lord concerning this people:
“They have loved to wander thus;
they have not restrained their feet;
(CP)therefore the Lord does not accept them;
(CQ)now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.”
11 The Lord said to me: (CR)“Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, (CS)and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them (CT)by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
Lying Prophets
13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets (CU)say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” 14 And the Lord said to me: “The (CV)prophets are prophesying lies in my name. (CW)I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, (CX)worthless divination, and (CY)the deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although (CZ)I did not send them, and who say, (DA)‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: (DB)By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, (DC)with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.
17 “You shall say to them this word:
(DD)‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for the virgin (DE)daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,
(DF)with a very grievous blow.
18 (DG)If I go out into the field,
behold, those pierced by the sword!
(DH)And if I enter the city,
behold, the diseases of famine!
(DI)For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land
and have no knowledge.’”
19 (DJ)Have you utterly rejected Judah?
Does your soul loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
(DK)so that there is no healing for us?
(DL)We looked for peace, but no good came;
(DM)for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
20 (DN)We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
and the iniquity of our fathers,
(DO)for we have sinned against you.
21 Do not spurn us, (DP)for your name's sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
(DQ)remember and do not break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among (DR)the false gods of the nations (DS)that can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
(DT)for you do all these things.
The Lord Will Not Relent
15 Then the Lord said to me, (DU)“Though (DV)Moses (DW)and Samuel (DX)stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! 2 And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
(DY)“‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,
and those who are for the sword, to the sword;
those who are for famine, to famine,
and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’
3 (DZ)I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the Lord: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and (EA)the birds of the air (EB)and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 (EC)And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what (ED)Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.
5 (EE)“Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,
(EF)or who will grieve for you?
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
6 (EG)You have rejected me, declares the Lord;
(EH)you keep going backward,
so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—
(EI)I am weary of relenting.
7 (EJ)I have winnowed them with (EK)a winnowing fork
in the gates of the land;
I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;
(EL)they did not turn from their ways.
8 I have made their widows more in number
than (EM)the sand of the seas;
I have brought against the mothers of young men
a destroyer at noonday;
I have made anguish and terror
fall upon them suddenly.
9 (EN)She who bore seven has grown feeble;
(EO)she has fainted away;
(EP)her sun went down while it was yet day;
she has been shamed and disgraced.
And the rest of them I will give to the sword
before their enemies,
declares the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:13 Hebrew your
- Jeremiah 13:24 Hebrew them
Jeremiah 12:1-15:9
New International Version
Jeremiah 12:1-15:9
New International Version
Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You are always righteous,(A) Lord,
when I bring a case(B) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:(C)
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(D)
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2 You have planted(E) them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.(F)
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.(G)
3 Yet you know me, Lord;
you see me and test(H) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep(I) to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!(J)
4 How long will the land lie parched(K)
and the grass in every field be withered?(L)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.(M)
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[a] in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets(N) by[b] the Jordan?
6 Your relatives, members of your own family—
even they have betrayed you;
they have raised a loud cry against you.(O)
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.(P)
7 “I will forsake(Q) my house,
abandon(R) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love(S)
into the hands of her enemies.(T)
8 My inheritance has become to me
like a lion(U) in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.(V)
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.(W)
10 Many shepherds(X) will ruin my vineyard
and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
into a desolate wasteland.(Y)
11 It will be made a wasteland,(Z)
parched and desolate before me;(AA)
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(AB) of the Lord(AC) will devour(AD)
from one end of the land to the other;(AE)
no one will be safe.(AF)
13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.(AG)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”(AH)
14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance(AI) I gave my people Israel, I will uproot(AJ) them from their lands and I will uproot(AK) the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion(AL) and will bring(AM) each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 16 And if they learn(AN) well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’(AO)—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal(AP)—then they will be established among my people.(AQ) 17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy(AR) it,” declares the Lord.
A Linen Belt
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.
3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:(AS) 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[c](AT) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.(AU)
6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride(AV) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen(AW) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts(AX) and go after other gods(AY) to serve and worship them,(AZ) will be like this belt—completely useless!(BA) 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown(BB) and praise and honor.(BC) But they have not listened.’(BD)
Wineskins
12 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13 then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness(BE) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity(BF) or mercy or compassion(BG) to keep me from destroying(BH) them.’”
Threat of Captivity
15 Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken.(BI)
16 Give glory(BJ) to the Lord your God
before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble(BK)
on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it to utter darkness
and change it to deep gloom.(BL)
17 If you do not listen,(BM)
I will weep in secret
because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears,(BN)
because the Lord’s flock(BO) will be taken captive.(BP)
18 Say to the king(BQ) and to the queen mother,(BR)
“Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns(BS)
will fall from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah(BT) will be carried into exile,
carried completely away.
20 Look up and see
those who are coming from the north.(BU)
Where is the flock(BV) that was entrusted to you,
the sheep of which you boasted?
21 What will you say when the Lord sets over you
those you cultivated as your special allies?(BW)
Will not pain grip you
like that of a woman in labor?(BX)
22 And if you ask yourself,
“Why has this happened to me?”(BY)—
it is because of your many sins(BZ)
that your skirts have been torn off(CA)
and your body mistreated.(CB)
23 Can an Ethiopian[d] change his skin
or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil.(CC)
24 “I will scatter you like chaff(CD)
driven by the desert wind.(CE)
25 This is your lot,
the portion(CF) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten(CG) me
and trusted in false gods.(CH)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
that your shame may be seen(CI)—
27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,
your shameless prostitution!(CJ)
I have seen your detestable acts
on the hills and in the fields.(CK)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
How long will you be unclean?”(CL)
Drought, Famine, Sword
14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(CM)
2 “Judah mourns,(CN)
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.(CO)
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.(CP)
4 The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;(CQ)
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.(CR)
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(CS)
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food.”(CT)
7 Although our sins testify(CU) against us,
do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.(CV)
For we have often rebelled;(CW)
we have sinned(CX) against you.
8 You who are the hope(CY) of Israel,
its Savior(CZ) in times of distress,(DA)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only a night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior powerless to save?(DB)
You are among(DC) us, Lord,
and we bear your name;(DD)
do not forsake(DE) us!
10 This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.(DF)
So the Lord does not accept(DG) them;
he will now remember(DH) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”(DI)
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray(DJ) for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;(DK) though they offer burnt offerings(DL) and grain offerings,(DM) I will not accept(DN) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,(DO) famine(DP) and plague.”(DQ)
13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets(DR) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.(DS) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace(DT) in this place.’”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies(DU) in my name. I have not sent(DV) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,(DW) divinations,(DX) idolatries[e] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish(DY) by sword and famine.(DZ) 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury(EA) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.(EB) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.(EC)
17 “Speak this word to them:
“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears(ED)
night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin(EE) Daughter, my people,
has suffered a grievous wound,
a crushing blow.(EF)
18 If I go into the country,
I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
I see the ravages of famine.(EG)
Both prophet and priest
have gone to a land they know not.(EH)’”
19 Have you rejected Judah completely?(EI)
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
so that we cannot be healed?(EJ)
We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.(EK)
20 We acknowledge(EL) our wickedness, Lord,
and the guilt of our ancestors;(EM)
we have indeed sinned(EN) against you.
21 For the sake of your name(EO) do not despise us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.(EP)
Remember your covenant(EQ) with us
and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols(ER) of the nations bring rain?(ES)
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this.(ET)
15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses(EU) and Samuel(EV) were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.(EW) Send them away from my presence!(EX) Let them go! 2 And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;(EY)
those for starvation, to starvation;(EZ)
those for captivity, to captivity.’(FA)
3 “I will send four kinds of destroyers(FB) against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword(FC) to kill and the dogs(FD) to drag away and the birds(FE) and the wild animals to devour and destroy.(FF) 4 I will make them abhorrent(FG) to all the kingdoms of the earth(FH) because of what Manasseh(FI) son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
5 “Who will have pity(FJ) on you, Jerusalem?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will stop to ask how you are?
6 You have rejected(FK) me,” declares the Lord.
“You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out(FL) and destroy you;
I am tired of holding back.(FM)
7 I will winnow(FN) them with a winnowing fork
at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement(FO) and destruction on my people,(FP)
for they have not changed their ways.(FQ)
8 I will make their widows(FR) more numerous
than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer(FS)
against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
anguish and terror.(FT)
9 The mother of seven will grow faint(FU)
and breathe her last.(FV)
Her sun will set while it is still day;
she will be disgraced(FW) and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword(FX)
before their enemies,”(FY)
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of
- Jeremiah 13:4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5-7
- Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)
- Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.