Jeremiah 12

Jeremiah’s Complaint

1 *Ezra 9:15;Ps. 51:4;Lam. 1:18;Dan. 9:7Righteous are you, O Lord,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

*Job 12:6;Ps. 37:1,7;92:7;Hab. 1:13;Mal. 3:15;See Job 21:7-15;Ps. 73:3-12Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all *[Isa. 21:2]who are treacherous thrive?

2 You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and produce fruit;

*Isa. 29:13you are near in their mouth

and far from their heart.

3 *ch. 15:15;Ps. 139:1But you, O Lord, know me;

*Ps. 17:3you see me, and test my heart toward you.

*[2 Pet. 2:12] Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

and set them apart for *James 5:5the day of slaughter.

4 *ver. 11;ch. 9:10;23:10How long will the land mourn

and the grass of every field wither?

*Ps. 107:34For the evil of those who dwell in it

*ch. 4:25;7:20;9:10;Hos. 4:3;[Rom. 8:22]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 *ch. 49:19;50:44;Zech. 11:3;[Josh. 3:15]the thicket of the Jordan?

6 For *ch. 9:4;[ch. 11:19,21] even your brothers and the house of your father,

*[See ver. 1above] even they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

*Prov. 26:25do not believe them,

though they speak friendly words to you."

7 "I have forsaken my house;

I have abandoned *Isa. 19:25my heritage;

I have given *ch. 11:15the beloved of my soul

into the hands of her enemies.

8 *[See ver. 7above]My heritage has become to me

like a lion in the forest;

she has lifted up her voice against me;

therefore I hate her.

9 Is *[See ver. 7above] my heritage to me like *Isa. 46:11a hyena’s lair?

Are the *Isa. 46:11birds of prey against her all around?

Go, *ch. 7:33;Isa. 56:9;[Ezek. 39:17;Rev. 19:17]assemble all the wild beasts;

bring them to devour.

10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;

*Isa. 63:18they have trampled down my portion;

they have made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

11 They have made it a desolation;

desolate, *[See ver. 4above] it mourns to me.

The whole land is made desolate,

*Isa. 42:25but no man lays it to heart.

12 Upon 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 *[Lev. 26:16;Deut. 28:38;Mic. 6:15;Hag. 1:6] They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;

*Isa. 55:2;Hab. 2:13they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

They shall be ashamed of their*12:13 Hebrew your harvests

*ch. 4:8,26;25:37,38;30:24;49:37;51:45;Lam. 1:12;4:11because of the fierce anger of the Lord."

14 Thus says the Lord concerning all *[Ps. 137:7]; See Ezek. 25my evil neighbors *Zech. 2:8who touch the heritage that *ch. 3:18I 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. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, *ch. 48:47;49:6and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, *ch. 4:2to swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, *ch. 24:6;[1 Pet. 2:5]then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 *[Isa. 60:12]But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord."