Jeremiah 11:18-12:6

English Standard Version

¹⁸The Lord made it known to me and I knew;
    then you showed me their deeds.
¹⁹But I was ^(A)like a gentle lamb
    led to the slaughter.
I did not know ^(B)it was against me
    they devised schemes, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
    ^(C)let us cut him off from ^(D)the land of the living,
    that his name be remembered no more.”
²⁰But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,
    who ^(E)tests ^(F)the heart and the mind,
^(G)let me see your vengeance upon them,
    for to you have I committed my cause.

²¹Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of ^(H)Anathoth, ^(I)who seek your life, and say, ^(J)“Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand”— ²²therefore 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, ²³and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of ^(K)Anathoth, ^(L)the year of their punishment.”

Jeremiah's Complaint

12 ^(M)Righteous are you, O Lord,
    when I complain to you;
    yet I would plead my case before you.
^(N)Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
    Why do all ^(O)who are treacherous thrive?
²You plant them, and they take root;
    they grow and produce fruit;
^(P)you are near in their mouth
    and far from their heart.
³^(Q)But you, O Lord, know me;
    ^(R)you see me, and test my heart toward you.
^(S)Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
    and set them apart for ^(T)the day of slaughter.
⁴^(U)How long will the land mourn
    and the grass of every field wither?
^(V)For the evil of those who dwell in it
    ^(W)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 ^(X)the thicket of the Jordan?
⁶For ^(Y)even your brothers and the house of your father,
    ^(Z)even they have dealt treacherously with you;
    they are in full cry after you;
^(AA)do not believe them,
    though they speak friendly words to you.”