Jeremiah 12
1 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?
Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2 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,
You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.
3 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.
But You know me, O LORD; You see me and test my heart toward You. Drag away the wicked like sheep to the slaughter and set them apart for the day of carnage.
4 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!
How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”
5 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?
“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?
6 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.
Even your brothers— your own father’s household— even they have betrayed you; even they have cried aloud against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.
7 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:
I have forsaken My house; I have abandoned My inheritance. I have given the love of My life into the hands of her enemies.
8 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.
My inheritance has become to Me like a lion in the forest. She has roared against Me; therefore I hate her.
9 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.
Is not My inheritance to Me like a speckled bird of prey with other birds of prey circling against her? Go, gather all the beasts of the field; bring them to devour her.
10 Many shepherds, have laid waste my vineyard, They have trampled down my portion, —They have turned my coveted portion into a desert of desolation:
Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard; they have trampled My plot of ground. They have turned My pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.
11 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.
They have made it a desolation; desolate before Me, it mourns. All the land is laid waste, but no man takes it to heart.
12 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!
Over all the barren heights in the wilderness the destroyers have come, for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the earth to the other. No flesh has peace.
13 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.
They have sown wheat but harvested thorns. They have exhausted themselves to no avail. Bear the shame of your harvest because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”
14 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.
This is what the LORD says: “As for all My evil neighbors who attack the inheritance that I bequeathed to My people Israel, I am about to uproot them from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.
15 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.
But after I have uprooted them, I will once again have compassion on them and return each one to his inheritance and 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 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.
And if they will diligently learn the ways of My people and swear by My name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’—just as they once taught My people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among My people.
17 But if they will not hearken, Then will I Uproot that nation, Uproot, that I may destroy, —Declareth Yahweh.
But if they will not obey, then I will uproot that nation; I will uproot it and destroy it, declares the LORD.”
