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Jeremiah 12
The Voice
Jeremiah 12
The Voice
12 Jeremiah: Eternal, You always do what is right
when I bring a complaint Your way.
So now let me put a case before You:
Why do the wicked prosper so much?
Why do all the untrustworthy have it so easy?
2 You plant them and watch them take root;
You allow them to grow and even bear fruit.
And yet, Your words mean nothing to them, deep down.
3 Still, You know me, Eternal One; You see what is deep inside me.
You’ve examined my heart,
So why aren’t they brought to justice? Deal with them as sheep
set aside for slaughter, singled out for death.
4 How long must the land cry out in mourning,
the grasses of the field wither and bake in the sun?
The birds and wild animals have simply vanished,
all because of the wicked living here—
Because they say, “God does not see what will become of us.”
Jeremiah’s complaint is a common one; it is as old as civilization itself: Why do the wicked prosper? Why do good people have to wait for God’s justice? God doesn’t shrink back from such questions, and He does not punish those who dare ask them. In fact, Scripture invites us to ask God the hard questions through Jeremiah’s example. The answers to hard questions are never easy. In fact, as Jeremiah will soon discover, his troubles are only beginning. God calls him again to endure.
5 Eternal One: If you are worn out after only running with a few men,
how will you one day compete against horses?
If you stumble on the easy terrain,
how will you manage in the thick brush near the Jordan?
6 Jeremiah, even your brothers and the rest of your family
are ready to betray you.
Even they cry out for your death; don’t trust any of them,
no matter how nicely they speak to your face.
7 I have turned away My house,
abandoned My heritage;
I have given My deeply beloved one over to her enemies.
8 My very own people have acted toward Me like a lion in the wild,
roaring at Me in defiance. For this, I hate her.
9 Have My own people become like colorful vultures?
Are birds of prey circling all around them?[a]
Gather the wild beasts and bring them on to devour My beloved.
10 Many shepherds have already destroyed My vineyard;
they have crushed My fields.
My beautiful land of promise has turned into a barren wasteland.
11 The very ground cries out to Me in this empty and forsaken land;
the whole land is desolate, but no one seems to care.
12 The destroyers pour over the bare hills in the desert
as the sword of the Eternal devours the land from one end to another.
There is no peace for anyone.
13 The people planted wheat, but they will reap only thorns.
In the end, there will be nothing to show for all their hard work.
Shame will be their harvest because of the Eternal’s burning anger against them.
Jeremiah now speaks to the nations. They, too, must trust God. His love and mercy are not for Israel alone.
The Eternal has this to say:
Eternal One: 14 As for My wicked neighbors so eager to take away the inheritance I gave My people Israel, look! There will come a day when I will uproot them from their lands, and I will take Judah from their midst. 15 But after I have uprooted them from their homelands, I will have mercy on them and restore them to their own lands and their own possessions. 16 And if they diligently learn the ways of My people and trust in Me instead of idols, if they swear by My name saying, “As the Eternal lives,” just as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then I will establish them alongside My people. 17 As for any nation that will not listen to and follow My ways, I will uproot it and destroy it completely.
This is what the Eternal has declared.
Footnotes
- 12:9 Meaning of the manuscripts is uncertain.
Jeremiah 12
New International Version
Jeremiah 12
New International Version
Jeremiah’s Complaint
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.”
God’s Answer
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.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of
Jeremiah 12
King James Version
Jeremiah 12
King James Version
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.
The Voice (VOICE)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.