Jeremiah 12 English Standard Version

Jeremiah's Complaint

12 ^(A)Righteous are you, O Lord,
    when I complain to you;
    yet I would plead my case before you.
^(B)Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
    Why do all ^(C)who are treacherous thrive?
²You plant them, and they take root;
    they grow and produce fruit;
^(D)you are near in their mouth
    and far from their heart.
³^(E)But you, O Lord, know me;
    ^(F)you see me, and test my heart toward you.
^(G)Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
    and set them apart for ^(H)the day of slaughter.
⁴^(I)How long will the land mourn
    and the grass of every field wither?
^(J)For the evil of those who dwell in it
    ^(K)the beasts and the birds are swept away,
    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

The Lord Answers Jeremiah

⁵“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
    how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
    what will you do in ^(L)the thicket of the Jordan?
⁶For ^(M)even your brothers and the house of your father,
    ^(N)even they have dealt treacherously with you;
    they are in full cry after you;
^(O)do not believe them,
    though they speak friendly words to you.”

⁷“I have forsaken my house;
    I have abandoned ^(P)my heritage;
I have given ^(Q)the beloved of my soul
    into the hands of her enemies.
⁸^(R)My heritage has become to me
    like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me;
    therefore I hate her.
⁹Is ^(S)my heritage to me like ^(T)a hyena's lair?
    Are the ^(U)birds of prey against her all around?
Go, ^(V)assemble all the wild beasts;
    bring them to devour.
¹⁰Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
    ^(W)they have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
    a desolate wilderness.
¹¹They have made it a desolation;
    desolate, ^(X)it mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
    ^(Y)but no man lays it to heart.
¹²Upon all the bare heights in the desert
    destroyers have come,
for the sword of the Lord devours
    from one end of the land to the other;
    no flesh has peace.
¹³^(Z)They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
    ^(AA)they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their^[a] harvests
    ^(AB)because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

¹⁴Thus says the Lord concerning all ^(AC)my evil neighbors ^(AD)who touch the heritage that ^(AE)I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. ¹⁵And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, ^(AF)and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. ¹⁶And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, ^(AG)to swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, ^(AH)then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. ¹⁷^(AI)But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord.”