Jeremiah 12:8-17

English Standard Version

⁸^(A)My heritage has become to me
    like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me;
    therefore I hate her.
⁹Is ^(B)my heritage to me like ^(C)a hyena's lair?
    Are the ^(D)birds of prey against her all around?
Go, ^(E)assemble all the wild beasts;
    bring them to devour.
¹⁰Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
    ^(F)they have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
    a desolate wilderness.
¹¹They have made it a desolation;
    desolate, ^(G)it mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
    ^(H)but no man lays it to heart.
¹²Upon 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^(I)They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
    ^(J)they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their^[a] harvests
    ^(K)because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

¹⁴Thus says the Lord concerning all ^(L)my evil neighbors ^(M)who touch the heritage that ^(N)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. ¹⁵And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, ^(O)and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. ¹⁶And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, ^(P)to swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, ^(Q)then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. ¹⁷^(R)But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord.”