Jeremiah 11:18-12:6

New International Version

Plot Against Jeremiah

¹⁸Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. ¹⁹I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;^(A) I did not realize that they had plotted^(B) against me, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
    let us cut him off from the land of the living,^(C)
    that his name be remembered^(D) no more.”
²⁰But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously^(E)
    and test the heart^(F) and mind,^(G)
let me see your vengeance^(H) on them,
    for to you I have committed my cause.

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth^(I) who are threatening to kill you,^(J) saying, “Do not prophesy^(K) in the name of the Lord or you will die^(L) by our hands”— ²²therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men^(M) will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. ²³Not even a remnant^(N) will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.^(O)”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

12 You are always righteous,^(P) Lord,
    when I bring a case^(Q) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:^(R)
    Why does the way of the wicked prosper?^(S)
    Why do all the faithless live at ease?
²You have planted^(T) them, and they have taken root;
    they grow and bear fruit.^(U)
You are always on their lips
    but far from their hearts.^(V)
³Yet you know me, Lord;
    you see me and test^(W) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep^(X) to be butchered!
    Set them apart for the day of slaughter!^(Y)
⁴How long will the land lie parched^(Z)
    and the grass in every field be withered?^(AA)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
    the animals and birds have perished.^(AB)
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^(AC) by^[b] the Jordan?
⁶Your relatives, members of your own family—
    even they have betrayed you;
    they have raised a loud cry against you.^(AD)
Do not trust them,
    though they speak well of you.^(AE)