Jeremiah 12:5-13

New King James Version

The Lord Answers Jeremiah

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 ^(A)the ^[a]floodplain of the Jordan?
⁶For even ^(B)your brothers, the house of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you;
Yes, they have called ^[b]a multitude after you.
^(C)Do not believe them,
Even though they speak ^[c]smooth 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.
⁸My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest;
It cries out against Me;
Therefore I have ^(D)hated it.
⁹My ^[d]heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture;
The vultures all around are against her.
Come, assemble all the beasts of the field,
^(E)Bring them to devour!

¹⁰“Many ^(F)rulers^[e] have destroyed ^(G)My vineyard,
They have ^(H)trodden My portion underfoot;
They have made My ^[f]pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
¹¹They have made it ^(I)desolate;
Desolate, it mourns to Me;
The whole land is made desolate,
Because ^(J)no one takes it to heart.
¹²The plunderers have come
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^(K)They have sown wheat but reaped thorns;
They have ^[g]put themselves to pain but do not profit.
But be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”