The Lord’s Response

If you have raced with runners
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble[a] in a peaceful land,
what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?(A)
Even your brothers—your own father’s family—
even they were treacherous to you;(B)
even they have cried out loudly after you.(C)
Do not have confidence in them,
though they speak well of you.

I have abandoned my house;(D)
I have deserted my inheritance.
I have handed the love of my life
over to her enemies.
My inheritance has behaved toward me
like a lion in the forest.
She has roared against me.
Therefore, I hate her.(E)
Is my inheritance like a hyena[b] to me?
Are birds of prey circling her?
Go, gather all the wild animals;(F)
bring them to devour her.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
they have trampled my plot of land.(G)
They have turned my desirable plot
into a desolate wasteland.
11 They have made it a desolation.
It mourns, desolate, before me.
All the land is desolate,
but no one takes it to heart.(H)
12 Over all the barren heights in the wilderness
the destroyers have come,
for the Lord has a sword that devours
from one end of the earth to the other.
No one has peace.(I)
13 They have sown wheat but harvested thorns.(J)
They have exhausted themselves but have no profit.(K)
Be put to shame by your harvests
because of the Lord’s burning anger.(L)

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Notas al pie

  1. 12:5 Or you are secure
  2. 12:9 Hb obscure

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

“I will forsake(D) my house,
    abandon(E) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love(F)
    into the hands of her enemies.(G)
My inheritance has become to me
    like a lion(H) in the forest.
She roars at me;
    therefore I hate her.(I)
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.(J)
10 Many shepherds(K) will ruin my vineyard
    and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
    into a desolate wasteland.(L)
11 It will be made a wasteland,(M)
    parched and desolate before me;(N)
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(O) of the Lord(P) will devour(Q)
    from one end of the land to the other;(R)
    no one will be safe.(S)
13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
    they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.(T)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
    because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”(U)

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Notas al pie

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