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?
Yahweh, whenever I tell you that I am unhappy [about what is happening to me], you [always] act justly/fairly. So now allow me to ask about one more thing [that I do not understand]: Why are wicked people [often] very prosperous? Why do things go very well for dishonest/wicked people?
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.
You allow them to prosper like [MET] trees that grow tall and bear [a lot of] fruit. They [always] say [MTY] good things about you, but their hearts are [really] far from you.
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 Yahweh, as for me, you know what is in my inner being. You see what I [do] and you are able to know what I am thinking. So drag away those [wicked] people, like [people drag away] sheep that they are going to butcher. Set them aside like sheep that are about to be slaughtered!
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.
This land is [RHQ] becoming very dry and even the grass is withering. The wild animals and the birds have [all] died because the people are [very] wicked. [All that has happened] because the people have said, “Yahweh does not know what we are doing (OR, what will happen to us)!”
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?
[Then to show me that I needed to be prepared to endure even greater difficulties, Yahweh said to me], [“It is as though] you have become exhausted from racing against men; so how will you be able to race against horses? If you [stumble and] fall when you are running on open/bare/smooth ground, what will happen to you when you are running through the thornbushes near the Jordan [River]?
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.
[Already] your brothers and [other members of] your own family oppose you. They (plot against/plan to do evil things to) you and they say bad things about you. So even if they say nice things about you, do not trust them!
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 abandoned my [Israeli] people, the people whom I chose to belong to me. I have allowed their enemies to conquer the Israeli people, whom I love.
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.
My people have become to me like [SIM] a lion in the forest. [It is as though] they roar at me like a lion, so now I hate them.
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.
My chosen people have [RHQ] become like speckled hawks that are surrounded by vultures [waiting to eat their flesh after they are dead]. Tell all the wild animals to come and eat [the flesh of their corpses].
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden under foot my field, they have rendered my pleasant field a desolate wilderness.
Many rulers [from other countries have come with their armies and] devastated/destroyed my people [whom I care for like a farmer takes care of his] vineyard. They have caused my beautiful land to become a barren desert where no one lives.
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.
They have caused it to become completely empty; [it is as though] I hear the land crying sadly/mournfully. The whole land is desolate, and no one (worries about/pays any attention to) it.
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.
The soldiers [of our enemies] have marched across all the barren hilltops. But [I], Yahweh, am using those armies [MTY] to punish your land from one end to the other, and no one will escape.
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.
[It is as though] my people planted wheat, but now they are harvesting thorns. They have become very tired [because of much hard work], but they have gained nothing [from all that work]. They will be very disappointed because their harvests [will be very small], [and that will happen] because [I], Yahweh, am extremely angry [with them].”
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.
This is [also] what Yahweh said to me: “[I will punish] the evil nearby nations that have been trying to take away the land that I gave to my Israeli people, and I will force them to leave their own land. But I will throw the people of Judah out of their land, also.
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.
But later I will act mercifully toward those nations again, and I will bring them back to their own lands again. Each [clan] will come back to its 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 if the people [of the other nations whose armies have invaded Israel] learn the [religious] customs of my people, and if they learn that I [am listening] when they solemnly promise that they will do something good, like they taught my people to believe that [their god] Baal [was listening] when they made solemn promises, I will cause them to become prosperous, and they also will be 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 I will expel any nation whose people refuse to obey me, and I will destroy that nation and its people. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”
