Jeremiah 12:5-13
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Lord’s Response
5 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)
6 Even your brothers—your own father’s household—
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.
7 I have abandoned My house;(D)
I have deserted My inheritance.
I have given the love of My life
into the hands of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has acted toward Me
like a lion in the forest.
She has roared against Me.
Therefore, I hate her.(E)
9 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)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or you are secure
- Jeremiah 12:9 Hb obscure
Jeremiah 12:5-13
International Standard Version
God’s Reply to Jeremiah
5 Indeed, if you run with others on foot,
and they tire you out,
how can you compete with horses?
You are secure[a] in a land at peace,
but how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
6 Indeed, even your brothers and your father’s family
conspire against you.
Even they cry out after you loudly.
Don’t believe them, even though they speak friendly words to you.
7 I’ll forsake my house,
I’ll abandon my inheritance.
I’ll give the beloved of my heart
into the hand of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has become like a lion in the forest to me.
She roars at me; therefore, I hate her.
9 Is my inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to me?
Are the other[b] birds of prey all around her coming against her?
Go, gather all the wild animals and
bring them to devour it.
10 Many shepherds will destroy my vineyard.
They’ll trample down my portion.
They’ll turn my pleasant portion
into a desolate desert.
11 They’ll make it into a desolate place,
and, desolate, it will cry out in mourning to me.
The whole land will be desolate
because no one takes it to heart.
12 On all the barren heights in the desert
destroyers will come.
Indeed, a sword of the Lord will devour from
one end of the land to the other.
There will be no peace[c] for any person.[d]
13 They have sown wheat,
but they have harvested thorns.
They have tired themselves out,
but they don’t show a profit.
Now be disappointed about your harvest
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or You trust
- Jeremiah 12:9 The Heb. lacks other
- Jeremiah 12:12 Or safety
- Jeremiah 12:12 Lit. for all flesh
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