Jeremiah 12:1-4

GOD’S WORD Translation

12 O Lord, even if I would argue my case with you,
you would always be right.
Yet, I want to talk to you about your justice.
Why do wicked people succeed?
Why do treacherous people have peace and quiet?
² You plant them, and they take root.
They grow, and they produce fruit.
They speak well of you with their lips, but their hearts are far from you.
³ You know me, O Lord.
You see me and test my devotion to you.
Drag them away like sheep to be slaughtered.
Prepare them for the day of slaughter.
⁴ How long will the land mourn?
How long will the plants in every field remain dried up?
The animals and the birds are dying,
because people are wicked.
They think that God ^[a] doesn’t know what they are doing.