Jeremiah 12

1 [Too] righteous art thou, O Lord, that I could plead with thee; yet must I speak of [the principles of] justice with thee: Wherefore is the way of the wicked happy? do all those prosper that deal treacherously?

Righteous, art thou O Yahweh, when I present my pleading unto thee, —Yet, concerning the things that are right, let me speak with thee, —Wherefore hath, the way of the lawless, prospered? [Wherefore] have all, utter traitors, been at ease?

2 Thou hast planted them; they have also taken root; they grow; they also bring forth fruit: thou art near, in their mouth, and far from their mind.

Thou didst plant them, yea they took root, They have gone on yea they have borne fruit, —Near, art thou, in their mouth, But far off from their affections,

3 But thou, O Lord, knowest me; thou seest me, and probest my heart toward thee; set them apart like sheep for the slaughter, and destine them for the day of slaying.

But thou O Yahweh, knowest me, Wilt thou observe me and try my heart towards thee? Drag them away, as sheep for slaughter, And hallow them for the day when they are to be slain.

4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of all the field wither? Because of the wickedness of those that dwell therein are wholly removed the beasts and the birds; because they said, He will not see our last end.

How long, shall the land mourn, And, the herbage of the whole field, wither? For the wickedness of them that dwell therein, beast and bird, have perished, For say they, He will not see our latter end!

5 If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, how then canst thou contend with the horses? and if in the land of peace, [wherein] thou trustedst, [they wearied thee, ] how then wilt thou do in the swelling of the Jordan?

If, with the footmen, thou hast run and they have wearied thee, How then wilt thou hotly contend with horses? Though in a safe land thou art confident, Yet how wilt thou deal with the proud banks of the Jordan?

6 For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, even they have called forth a crowd of men after thee: believe them not, though they speak kindly unto thee.

For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, Even they! have betrayed thee, Even they, have cried after thee with full voice, —Do not trust in them, though they speak unto thee fair words.

7 I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my heritage; I have given up the most dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

I have forsaken mine own house, I have given up mine inheritance, —I have delivered the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies:

8 My heritage is become unto me as a lion in the forest; it sent forth its voice against me: therefore do I hate it.

Mine inheritance, hath become to me as a lion in a jungle, —She hath given forth against me her voice, For this cause, have I hated her.

9 Is my heritage become unto me as a bird of prey stained with blood? so that the birds of prey are all around it? Come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, bring them hither to devour.

Is it, a variegated bird of prey, that mine inheritance is to me? The birds of prey, are round about against her! Go ye, assemble all the beasts of the field bring them to devour.

10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden under foot my field, they have rendered my pleasant field a desolate wilderness.

Many shepherds, have laid waste my vineyard, They have trampled down my portion, —They have turned my coveted portion into a desert of desolation:

11 They have made it a desert, and being desolate it mourneth before me: the whole land is made desolate, because no man laid it to heart.

It hath been made a desolation, It hath mourned unto me as desolate, —All the land hath become a desolation, For, no man, layeth it to heart.

12 Over all the mountain-peaks in the wilderness did the destroyers come; for the sword of the Lord devoureth from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: there is no peace to any flesh.

On all the bare heights in the wilderness, have come despoilers, For the sword of Yahweh hath devoured from one end of the land unto the other, —There is peace for no flesh!

13 They have sown wheat, but they reap thorns; they have put themselves to pain [but] have no profit; be therefore ashamed of your products, because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

They sowed, wheat, but thorns, have they reaped, They have put themselves to pain they shall not be profited, —Yea turn ye pale at your produce, Because of the glow of the anger of Yahweh.

14 Thus hath said the Lord against all my bad neighbors, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit, Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and the house of Judah will I pluck out from the midst of them.

Thus, saith Yahweh, Concerning all my wicked neighbours, who have been touching the inheritance which I gave as an inheritance unto my people Israel, —Behold me! uprooting them from off their own soil, Whereas the house of Judah, will I uproot out of their midst.

15 And it shall come to pass, that, after I have plucked them out, and I will again have mercy on them, and will restore them, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.

And it shall come to pass after I bare uprooted them, I will again have compassion upon them, —and will bring them back—Every man—to his own inheritance and Every man—to his own land.

16 And it shall come to pass, if they will truly learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, As the Lord liveth; as they had taught my people to swear by Ba'al: that they shall then be built up in the midst of my people.

And it shall come to pass—If they will, diligently learn, the ways of my people—To swear by my Name saying, By the life of Yahweh, 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 hearken, then will I pluck out that nation, plucking out and exterminating [them], saith the Lord.

But if they will not hearken, Then will I Uproot that nation, Uproot, that I may destroy, —Declareth Yahweh.