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Jeremiah 12:5-13
New American Standard Bible
Jeremiah 12:5-13
New American Standard Bible
5 “If you have run with infantrymen and they have tired you out,
How can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the (A)thicket by the Jordan?
6 For even your (B)brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you,
Even they have called aloud after you.
Do not believe them, though they say (C)nice things to you.”
God’s Answer
7 “I have (D)forsaken My house,
I have abandoned My inheritance;
I have handed the (E)beloved of My soul
Over to her enemies.
8 My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has [a](F)roared against Me;
Therefore I have come to (G)hate her.
9 Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?
Are the (H)birds of prey against her on every side?
Go, gather all the (I)animals of the field,
Bring them to devour!
10 Many (J)shepherds have ruined My (K)vineyard,
They have (L)trampled down My field;
They have made My (M)pleasant field
A desolate wilderness.
11 [b]It has been made a desolation;
Desolate, it (N)mourns [c]before Me;
The (O)whole land has been made desolate,
Because no one (P)takes it to heart.
12 On all the [d](Q)bare heights in the wilderness
Destroyers have come,
For the (R)sword of the Lord is devouring
From one end of the land even to the [e]other;
There is (S)no peace for [f]anyone.
13 They have (T)sown wheat but have harvested thorns,
They have (U)strained themselves [g]to no profit.
So be ashamed of your (V)produce
Because of the (W)fierce anger of the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:8 Lit raised her voice
- Jeremiah 12:11 Lit One has made it
- Jeremiah 12:11 Or upon
- Jeremiah 12:12 Or caravan trails
- Jeremiah 12:12 Lit other end of the land
- Jeremiah 12:12 Lit all flesh
- Jeremiah 12:13 Lit they do not profit
Jeremiah 12:5-13
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 12:5-13
New Living Translation
The Lord’s Reply to Jeremiah
5 “If racing against mere men makes you tired,
how will you race against horses?
If you stumble and fall on open ground,
what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?
6 Even your brothers, members of your own family,
have turned against you.
They plot and raise complaints against you.
Do not trust them,
no matter how pleasantly they speak.
7 “I have abandoned my people, my special possession.
I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies.
8 My chosen people have roared at me like a lion of the forest,
so I have treated them with contempt.
9 My chosen people act like speckled vultures,[a]
but they themselves are surrounded by vultures.
Bring on the wild animals to pick their corpses clean!
10 “Many rulers have ravaged my vineyard,
trampling down the vines
and turning all its beauty into a barren wilderness.
11 They have made it an empty wasteland;
I hear its mournful cry.
The whole land is desolate,
and no one even cares.
12 On all the bare hilltops,
destroying armies can be seen.
The sword of the Lord devours people
from one end of the nation to the other.
No one will escape!
13 My people have planted wheat
but are harvesting thorns.
They have worn themselves out,
but it has done them no good.
They will harvest a crop of shame
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
Footnotes
- 12:9 Or speckled hyenas.
Jeremiah 12:5-13
New International Version
Jeremiah 12:5-13
New International Version
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(A) 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.(B)
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.(C)
7 “I will forsake(D) my house,
abandon(E) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love(F)
into the hands of her enemies.(G)
8 My inheritance has become to me
like a lion(H) in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.(I)
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.(J)
10 Many shepherds(K) will ruin my vineyard
and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
into a desolate wasteland.(L)
11 It will be made a wasteland,(M)
parched and desolate before me;(N)
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(O) of the Lord(P) will devour(Q)
from one end of the land to the other;(R)
no one will be safe.(S)
13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.(T)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”(U)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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.