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Jeremiah Complains to the Lord

12 Whenever I complain
to you, Lord,
    you are always fair.
But now I have questions
    about your justice.
Why is life easy for sinners?
    Why are they successful?
You plant them like trees;
you let them prosper
    and produce fruit.
Yet even when they praise you,
    they don't mean it.

But you know, Lord,
how faithful I've always been,
    even in my thoughts.
So drag my enemies away
    and butcher them like sheep!

How long will the ground be dry
    and the pasturelands parched?
The birds and animals
    are dead and gone.
And all of this happened because
    the people are so sinful.
They even brag, “God can't see
    the sins we commit.”[a]

The Lord Answers Jeremiah

Jeremiah, if you get tired
    in a race against people,
how can you possibly run
    against horses?
If you fall in open fields,
what will happen in the forest
    along the Jordan River?
Even your own family
    has turned against you.
They act friendly,
    but don't trust them.
They're out to get you,
    and so is everyone else.

The Lord Is Furious with His People

I loved my people and chose them
    as my very own.
But now I will reject them
and hand them over
    to their enemies.
My people have turned against me
and roar at me like lions.
    That's why I hate them.

My people are like a hawk
surrounded and attacked
    by other hawks.[b]
Tell the wild animals
    to come and eat their fill.
10 My beautiful land is ruined
    like a field or a vineyard
trampled by shepherds
and stripped bare
    by their flocks.
11 Every field I see lies barren,
    and no one cares.

12 A destroying army
marches along desert roads
    and attacks everywhere.
They are my deadly sword;
    no one is safe from them.

13 My people, you planted wheat,
but because I was furious,
    I let only weeds grow.
You wore yourselves out
    and gained only shame!

The Lord Will Have Pity on Other Nations

14 The Lord said:

I gave this land to my people Israel, but enemies around it have attacked and robbed it. So I will uproot them from their own countries just as I will uproot Judah from its land. 15 But later, I will have pity on these nations and bring them back to their own lands. 16 They once taught my people to worship Baal. But if they admit I am the only true God, and if they let my people teach them how to worship me, these nations will also become my people. 17 However, if they don't listen to me, I will uproot them from their lands and completely destroy them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Footnotes

  1. 12.4 God can't see the sins we commit: One ancient translation; Hebrew “He won't live to see what happens to us.”
  2. 12.9 My people … other hawks: Or “My land has become a hyena's den with vultures circling above.”

Jeremias questiona a justiça do Senhor

12 Senhor, tu sempre me fazes justiça
quando apresento uma causa diante de ti.
Portanto, desejo te fazer esta queixa:
Por que os perversos são tão prósperos?
Por que os desonestos vivem em paz?
Tu os plantaste,
e eles criaram raízes e deram frutos.
Teu nome está em seus lábios,
mas tu estás longe de seu coração.
Quanto a mim, Senhor, tu me conheces;
tu me vês e provas meus pensamentos.
Arrasta essa gente como ovelhas para o matadouro;
separa-os para a matança!

Até quando esta terra ficará de luto?
Até o capim nos campos secou.
Os animais selvagens e as aves desapareceram
por causa da maldade dos que nela habitam.
Pois o povo disse:
“O Senhor não vê o que o futuro nos reserva!”.

A resposta do Senhor a Jeremias

“Se correr com homens o deixa cansado,
como poderá competir com cavalos?
Se tropeça e cai em campo aberto,
o que fará nas matas junto ao Jordão?
Até seus irmãos, membros de sua família,
se voltaram contra você;
conspiram e se queixam a seu respeito.
Não confie neles,
por mais agradáveis que sejam suas palavras.

“Abandonei meu povo, a nação que me pertence;
entreguei aqueles que eu mais amo a seus inimigos.
Meu povo escolhido rugiu contra mim como leão no bosque,
por isso os tratei com desprezo.
Meu povo escolhido age como ave de rapina,[a]
mas ele próprio será cercado por abutres;
tragam os animais selvagens para devorar os cadáveres!

10 “Muitos governantes destruíram meu vinhedo;
pisotearam minha propriedade
e transformaram sua beleza em deserto.
11 Fizeram dela uma terra devastada;
ouço seu triste lamento.
Toda a terra está desolada,
e ninguém se importa.
12 Pode-se ver exércitos destruidores
no alto dos montes.
A espada do Senhor devora o povo
de uma extremidade à outra da terra;
ninguém escapará!
13 Meu povo semeou trigo,
mas colhe espinhos.
Esforçou-se muito,
mas de nada adiantou.
Terá uma colheita de vergonha
por causa da ira ardente do Senhor.”

Uma mensagem para os vizinhos de Israel

14 Assim diz o Senhor: “Arrancarei de suas terras todas as nações perversas que se apossam da herança que dei ao meu povo, Israel. E arrancarei Judá do meio delas. 15 Depois disso, porém, voltarei e terei compaixão de todos eles. Eu os trarei de volta às suas terras, cada nação à sua herança. 16 E se, verdadeiramente, essas nações aprenderem os caminhos do meu povo e jurarem por meu nome: ‘Tão certo como vive o Senhor’ — como ensinaram meu povo a jurar pelo nome de Baal —, elas receberão um lugar no meio do meu povo. 17 Mas qualquer nação que não quiser me obedecer será arrancada e destruída. Eu, o Senhor, falei!”.

Footnotes

  1. 12.9 Ou hienas malhadas.

Jeremiah’s Question

12 Righteous (A)are You, O Lord, when I plead with You;
Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.
(B)Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?
You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;
They grow, yes, they bear fruit.
(C)You are near in their mouth
But far from their [a]mind.

But You, O Lord, (D)know me;
You have seen me,
And You have (E)tested my heart toward You.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
And prepare them for (F)the day of slaughter.
How long will (G)the land mourn,
And the herbs of every field wither?
(H)The beasts and birds are consumed,
(I)For the wickedness of those who dwell there,
Because they said, “He will not see our final end.”

The Lord Answers Jeremiah

“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 (J)the [b]floodplain of the Jordan?
For even (K)your brothers, the house of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you;
Yes, they have called [c]a multitude after you.
(L)Do not believe them,
Even though they speak [d]smooth words to you.

“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.
My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest;
It cries out against Me;
Therefore I have (M)hated it.
My [e]heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture;
The vultures all around are against her.
Come, assemble all the beasts of the field,
(N)Bring them to devour!

10 “Many (O)rulers[f] have destroyed (P)My vineyard,
They have (Q)trodden My portion underfoot;
They have made My [g]pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it (R)desolate;
Desolate, it mourns to Me;
The whole land is made desolate,
Because (S)no one takes it to heart.
12 The 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 (T)They have sown wheat but reaped thorns;
They have [h]put themselves to pain but do not profit.
But be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

14 Thus says the Lord: “Against all My evil neighbors who (U)touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will (V)pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 (W)Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them (X)and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 16 And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, (Y)to swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be (Z)established in the midst of My people. 17 But if they do not (AA)obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 12:2 Most secret parts, lit. kidneys
  2. Jeremiah 12:5 Or thicket
  3. Jeremiah 12:6 Or abundantly
  4. Jeremiah 12:6 Lit. good
  5. Jeremiah 12:9 inheritance
  6. Jeremiah 12:10 Lit. shepherds or pastors
  7. Jeremiah 12:10 desired portion of land
  8. Jeremiah 12:13 Or strained

Jeremiah’s Complaint

12 You are always righteous,(A) Lord,
    when I bring a case(B) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:(C)
    Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(D)
    Why do all the faithless live at ease?
You have planted(E) them, and they have taken root;
    they grow and bear fruit.(F)
You are always on their lips
    but far from their hearts.(G)
Yet you know me, Lord;
    you see me and test(H) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep(I) to be butchered!
    Set them apart for the day of slaughter!(J)
How long will the land lie parched(K)
    and the grass in every field be withered?(L)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
    the animals and birds have perished.(M)
Moreover, the people are saying,
    “He will not see what happens to us.”

God’s Answer

“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(N) by[b] the Jordan?
Your relatives, members of your own family—
    even they have betrayed you;
    they have raised a loud cry against you.(O)
Do not trust them,
    though they speak well of you.(P)

“I will forsake(Q) my house,
    abandon(R) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love(S)
    into the hands of her enemies.(T)
My inheritance has become to me
    like a lion(U) in the forest.
She roars at me;
    therefore I hate her.(V)
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.(W)
10 Many shepherds(X) will ruin my vineyard
    and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
    into a desolate wasteland.(Y)
11 It will be made a wasteland,(Z)
    parched and desolate before me;(AA)
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(AB) of the Lord(AC) will devour(AD)
    from one end of the land to the other;(AE)
    no one will be safe.(AF)
13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
    they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.(AG)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
    because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”(AH)

14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance(AI) I gave my people Israel, I will uproot(AJ) them from their lands and I will uproot(AK) the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion(AL) and will bring(AM) each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 16 And if they learn(AN) well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’(AO)—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal(AP)—then they will be established among my people.(AQ) 17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy(AR) it,” declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
  2. Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of