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.’
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.
12 Lord , if I argue with you,
you are always right.
But I want to ask you about some things that don’t seem right.
Why are wicked people successful?
Why do people you cannot trust have such easy lives?
2 You have put these wicked people here like plants with strong roots.
They grow and produce fruit.
With their mouths they say that you are near and dear to them,
but in their hearts they are really far away from you.
3 But you know my heart, Lord .
You see me and test my mind.
Drag the evil people away like sheep to be killed.
Choose them for the day of slaughter.
4 How much longer will the land be dry?
How long will the grass be dry and dead?
The birds and the animals of this land have all died,
and it is the fault of the wicked.
But they are saying,
“Jeremiah will not live long enough to see what happens to us.”
5 “Jeremiah, if running in a race against men makes you tired,
how will you race against horses?
If you trip and fall in a safe place,
what will you do in a dangerous place?
What will you do in the thornbushes
that grow along the Jordan River?
6 These men are your own brothers.
Members of your own family are making plans against you.
People from your own family are shouting at you.
Don’t trust them,
even when they speak to you like friends.
7 “I have abandoned my house.
I have left my own property. [ a ]
I have given Judah, the one I love,
to her enemies.
8 My own people turned against me like a wild lion.
They roared at me, so I turned away from them.
9 My own people have become like
a dying animal surrounded by vultures.
These birds are circling around her.
Come on, wild animals.
Come get something to eat.
10 Many shepherds have ruined my vineyard.
They have trampled the plants in my field.
They have made my beautiful field a desert.
11 They have turned it into an empty desert.
It is dry and dead.
The whole land has been ruined,
and no one is left to care for it.
12 The empty hills are covered with soldiers
who have come to destroy everything.
The Lord is using them to punish that land from one end to the other.
No one is safe.
13 The people will plant wheat,
but they will harvest only thorns.
They will work hard until they are very tired,
but they will get nothing for all their work.
They will be ashamed of their crop.
The Lord ’s anger caused this.”
14 This is what the Lord says: “I will tell you what I will do for all those who live around the land of Israel. They are very wicked. They have destroyed the land I gave to the people of Israel. I will pull the evil people up and throw them out of their land, and I will pull the people of Judah up with them. 15 But after I pull them up out of their land, I will feel sorry for them. I will bring each family back to its own property and to its own land. 16 I want these people to learn their lessons well. In the past they taught my people to use Baal’s name to make promises. Now, I want them to learn to use my name. I want them to say, ‘As the Lord lives ….’ If they do that, I will allow them to be successful, and I will let them live among my people. 17 But if a nation does not listen to my message, I will completely destroy it. I will pull it up like a dead plant.” This message is from the Lord .
12 Righteous art thou, O Lord , when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
2 Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.
3 But thou, O Lord , knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
5 If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
6 For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.
7 I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
8 Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.
9 Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.
12 The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.
13 They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the Lord .
14 Thus saith the Lord against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them.
15 And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.
16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.
17 But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord .
12 ( A ) Righteous are You, Lord , when I plead my case with You;
Nevertheless I would ( B ) discuss matters of justice with You:
Why has the ( C ) way of the wicked prospered?
Why are all those who ( D ) deal in treachery at ease?
2 You have ( E ) planted them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have also produced fruit.
You are ( F ) near [ a ] to their lips
But far from their [ b ] mind.
3 But You ( G ) know me, Lord ;
You see me
And ( H ) examine my heart’s attitude toward You.
Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter,
And [ c ] set them apart for a ( I ) day of slaughter!
4 How long is the ( J ) land to mourn,
And the ( K ) vegetation of the [ d ] countryside to dry up?
Due to the ( L ) wickedness of those who live in it,
( M ) Animals and birds have been snatched away,
Because people have said, “He will not see our final ( N ) end.”
5 “If you have run with infantrymen and they have tired you out,
How can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the ( O ) thicket by the Jordan?
6 For even your ( P ) brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you,
Even they have called aloud after you.
Do not believe them, though they say ( Q ) nice things to you.”
7 “I have ( R ) forsaken My house,
I have abandoned My inheritance;
I have handed the ( S ) beloved of My soul
Over to her enemies.
8 My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has [ e ] ( T ) roared against Me;
Therefore I have come to ( U ) hate her.
9 Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?
Are the ( V ) birds of prey against her on every side?
Go, gather all the ( W ) animals of the field,
Bring them to devour!
10 Many ( X ) shepherds have ruined My ( Y ) vineyard,
They have ( Z ) trampled down My field;
They have made My ( AA ) pleasant field
A desolate wilderness.
11 [ f ] It has been made a desolation;
Desolate, it ( AB ) mourns [ g ] before Me;
The ( AC ) whole land has been made desolate,
Because no one ( AD ) takes it to heart.
12 On all the [ h ] ( AE ) bare heights in the wilderness
Destroyers have come,
For the ( AF ) sword of the Lord is devouring
From one end of the land even to the [ i ] other;
There is ( AG ) no peace for [ j ] anyone.
13 They have ( AH ) sown wheat but have harvested thorns,
They have ( AI ) strained themselves [ k ] to no profit.
So be ashamed of your ( AJ ) produce
Because of the ( AK ) fierce anger of the Lord .”
14 This is what the Lord says concerning all My ( AL ) wicked neighbors who ( AM ) do harm to the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel: “Behold, I am going to drive them out of their land, and I will ( AN ) drive the house of Judah out from among them. 15 And it will come about that after I have driven them out, I will ( AO ) again have compassion on them; and I will ( AP ) bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. 16 Then, if they will really ( AQ ) learn the ways of My people, to ( AR ) swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ just as they taught My people to ( AS ) swear by Baal, they will be ( AT ) built up in the midst of My people. 17 But if they do not listen, then I will ( AU ) drive out that nation, drive it out and destroy it ,” declares the Lord .
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.”
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 .
