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Jeremiah 12
New International Version
Jeremiah 12
New International Version
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?
2 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)
3 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)
4 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
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(N) by[b] the Jordan?
6 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)
7 “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)
8 My inheritance has become to me
like a lion(U) in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.(V)
9 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
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of
Jeremiah 12
EasyEnglish Bible
Jeremiah 12
EasyEnglish Bible
Jeremiah tells the Lord about his troubles
12 Lord, when I complain to you,
you always do what is right.
But I must ask you about your justice.
Why do wicked people have success in life?
Why do people who cheat their friends
live in comfort?
2 They are like trees that you have planted.
They have strong roots.
They produce good fruits.
Those people like to talk about you a lot,
but they do not really love you.
3 But you know everything about me, Lord.
You watch me carefully to test me.
You know what I am thinking.
You should kill those wicked men, as they deserve!
Take them away like sheep,
to kill them when the time is right.
4 Our land has been dry for a long time.
The grass everywhere is dying.
How long will this continue?
The animals and the birds are dying.
This has happened because the people who live in this land do wicked things.
They like to boast,
‘God will not see what happens to us.’
The Lord answers Jeremiah
5 ‘Jeremiah, you are running a race against people,
and you are already tired!
So you will never be able to run a race against horses.
You are walking in flat fields,
and you still fall over!
So it will be much worse when you try to run
through the trees and bushes near the Jordan River.[a]
6 Even your own brothers and family have turned against you.
They join with other people to attack you.
So do not trust them,
even when they say kind words to you.
7 I have decided to turn away from my nation.
I will leave the people that I chose to belong to me.
I will put the people that I love
under the power of their enemies.
8 The people that belong to me
have turned against me.
They are like a lion that hides in the forest.
It roars and is ready to attack me.
Because of that,
I have turned against my people.
9 They attack me like hyenas,
but vultures are ready to attack them.
Tell all the wild animals to come,
so that they can eat their dead bodies!
10 Many foreign leaders will come.
They will destroy the land where my people live.
It was a beautiful garden where I planted my people.
But enemies will make it become like a desert.
11 They will make it a dry and empty place,
where nobody lives and nothing grows.
The whole land will be like a desert.
There will be nobody to take care of it.
12 Soldiers will march over the hills in the wilderness.
They will come to destroy the whole land.
I, the Lord, will use them as my weapon.
I will punish everyone.
Nobody will be safe.
13 My people will plant seeds of wheat,
but they will only have weeds at harvest time.
They will work very hard,
but they will get nothing.
At harvest time,
they will have no crops to be proud of.
Because I am very angry,
they will not have any food.’
14 This is what the Lord says: ‘I will punish the wicked nations that came to attack the land of my people. It was the land that I gave to Israel's people to be their home. But those enemies destroyed it. So I will remove them from their own lands. I will rescue the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I have removed those nations, I will return to help them. I will be kind to them. I will bring them back to the countries where they belong. Each nation will return to live in its own land. 16 But they must learn to live in the way that my people live. At one time they taught my people to use Baal's name when they made promises. But now they must give honour to me as the true God. When they make a promise, they must say, “I promise to do this, as surely as the Lord lives.” If they do these things, they will belong among my people. 17 But if any nation refuses to obey me, I will destroy it completely.’ That is what the Lord says.
Footnotes
- 12:5 The Lord is telling Jeremiah that his troubles will become worse than they are now.
Jeremiah 12
Amplified Bible
Jeremiah 12
Amplified Bible
Jeremiah’s Prayer
12 You, O Lord are [uncompromisingly] righteous and consistently just when I plead my case with You;
Yet let me discuss issues of justice with You:
Why has the way of the wicked prospered?
Why are those who deal in treachery (deceit) at ease and thriving?
2
You have planted them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have even produced fruit.
You are [a]honored by their [hypocritical] lips
But [You are] far from their heart and mind.
3
But You, O Lord, know me [and understand my devotion to You];
You see me;
And You examine the attitude of my heart toward You.
Drag out the faithless like sheep for the slaughter [O Lord]
And set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4
How long must the land mourn
And the grass of the countryside wither?
Because of the wickedness and hypocrisy of those who live in it,
The beasts and the birds are consumed and are swept away [by the drought],
Because men [mocking me] have said, “He will not [live long enough to] see [what happens at] our final end.”
5
[The Lord rebukes Jeremiah for his impatience, saying] “If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out,
Then how can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace [where you feel secure],
Then how will you do [among the lions] in the [flooded] thicket beside the Jordan?
6
“For even your [tribal] brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously (unfaithfully) with you;
Indeed they are [like a pack of hounds] howling after you.
Do not believe them, although they may say kind words and promise you good things.”
God’s Answer
7
“I have abandoned My house,
I have given up My [precious] inheritance (Judah);
I have given the [dearly] beloved of My life
Into the hands of her enemies.
8
“My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has raised her voice and roared against Me;
So I have come to [treat her as if I] hate her.
9
“Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me [unlike the others]?
Are the birds of prey (enemies) surrounding her on every side?
Go, gather all the [wild] beasts of the field;
Bring them to devour [her]!
10
“Many shepherds (invaders) have destroyed My vineyard (Judah),
They have trampled My field underfoot;
They have made My pleasant field
A desolate wilderness.
11
“They have made it a wasteland,
Desolate, it mourns before Me;
The whole land has been made a wasteland,
Because no man takes it to heart.
12
“Destroyers have come
On all the caravan roads in the desert,
For the sword of the Lord (Babylon) is devouring
From one end of the land even to the other;
No one has peace or a way of escape.
13
“They have planted wheat but have reaped thorns;
They have exhausted themselves but without profit.
So be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce and raging anger of the Lord.”
14 Thus says the Lord regarding all My evil neighbors (Gentile nations) who strike at the inheritance which I have granted to My people Israel, “Behold, I will uproot them from their land and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15 And it shall come about that after I have uprooted them, I will return and have compassion on them; and I will bring them back again, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. 16 And if these [neighboring nations] will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My Name, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up among My people. 17 But if [any nation] will not listen and obey, I will [completely] uproot and destroy that nation, says the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:2 Lit near their mouth.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
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Amplified Bible (AMP) 
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