Jeremiah 12:1-4

Common English Bible

12 If I took you to court, Lord,
    you would win.
But I still have questions about your justice.
    Why do guilty persons enjoy success?
    Why are evildoers so happy?
² You plant them, and they take root;
    they flourish and bear fruit.
You are always on their lips
    but far from their hearts.
³ Yet you, Lord, you know me.
    You see me.
You can tell that I love you.^[a]
    So drag them away
    and butcher them like sheep.
    Prepare them for the slaughterhouse.
⁴ How long will the land mourn
    and the grass in the fields dry up?
The animals and birds are swept away
    due to the evil of those in the land.
The people say,
    “God doesn’t see what we’re up to!”