Jeremiah 12
1 You are righteous, Yahweh, whenever I bring disputes to you. I must certainly tell you of my reason to complain: Why do the ways of the wicked succeed? All the faithless people are successful.
You [are] righteous, O YHWH, When I plead toward You, Only, let me speak judgments with You, Why did the way of the wicked prosper? All treacherous dealers have been at rest.
2 You planted them and they took root. They continue to produce fruit. You are near to them in their mouths, but far away from their hearts.
You have planted them, Indeed, they have taken root, They go on, indeed, they have made fruit, You [are] near in their mouth, And far off from their reins.
3 Yet you, Yahweh, know me. You see me and you test my heart toward you. Take them away like sheep to the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter!
And You, O YHWH, You have known me, You see me, and have tried my heart with You, Draw them away as sheep to slaughter, And separate them for a day of slaughter.
4 How long will the land go on drying up, and the plants in every field wither because of the wickedness of its inhabitants? The animals and the birds have been taken away. Indeed, the people say, “God will not see what happens to us.”
Until when does the earth mourn, And the herb of the whole field wither? For the wickedness of those dwelling in it, Beast and bird have been consumed, Because they said, “He does not see our latter end.”
5 Yahweh said, “Indeed, if you, Jeremiah, have run with foot soldiers and they have tired you out, how can you compete against horses? If you fall down in the safe countryside, how will you do in the thickets along the Jordan?
“For you have run with footmen, And they weary you, And how you fret yourself with horses! Even in the land of peace, [In which] you are confident—And how will you do in the rising of Jordan?
6 For even your brothers and your father's family have betrayed you and have loudly denounced you. Do not trust in them, even if they say nice things to you.
For even your brothers and the house of your father, Even they dealt treacherously against you, Even they called after you fully, Do not trust in them when they speak good things to you.
7 I have abandoned my house; I have forsaken my inheritance. I have given my beloved into the hands of her enemies.
I have forsaken My house, I have left My inheritance, I have given the beloved of My soul Into the hand of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has become to me like a lion in a thicket; she sets herself against me with her own voice, so I hate her.
My inheritance has been to Me as a lion in a forest, She gave forth against Me with her voice, Therefore I have hated her.
9 Has not my prized possession become a speckled bird, that other birds of prey go against her all around? Go and gather all the wild beasts and bring them to devour her.
[Is] My inheritance a speckled bird to Me? Is the bird around against her? Come, assemble, every beast of the field, Come for food.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard. They have stomped all over my portion of land; they turned my delightful portion into a wilderness, a desolation.
Many shepherds destroyed My vineyard, They have trodden down My portion, They have made My desirable portion Become a wilderness—a desolation.
11 They have made her a desolation. I mourn for her; she is desolate. All the land has been made desolate, for there is no one who takes it to heart.
He has made it become a desolation, The desolation has mourned to Me, All the land has been desolated, But there is no one laying it to heart.
12 Destroyers have come against all the bare places in the wilderness, for Yahweh's sword is devouring from one end of the land to the other. There is no safety in the land for any living creature.
Spoilers have come in on all high places in the plain, For the sword of YHWH is consuming, From the end of the land even to the end of the land, There is no peace to any flesh.
13 They have sown wheat but harvest thornbushes. They are exhausted from work but have gained nothing. So be ashamed of your gain because of Yahweh's anger.”
They sowed wheat, and have reaped thorns, They have become sick—they do not profit, And they have been ashamed of your increases, Because of the fierceness of the anger of YHWH.”
14 Yahweh says this against all my neighbors, the wicked ones who strike at the possession that I made my people Israel inherit, “See, I am the one who is about to uproot them from their own ground, and I will pull up the house of Judah from among them.
Thus said YHWH: “Concerning all My evil neighbors, who are striking against the inheritance that I caused My people—Israel—to inherit: Behold, I am plucking them from off their ground, And I pluck the house of Judah out of their midst.
15 Then after I uproot those nations, it will happen that I will have compassion on them and bring them back; I will return them—each man to his inheritance and his land.
And it has been, after My plucking them out, I turn back, and have pitied them, And I have brought them back, Each to his inheritance, and each to his land.
16 It will come about that if those nations carefully learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name 'As Yahweh lives' just as they have taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people.
And it has come to pass, If they learn the ways of My people well, To swear by My Name, YHWH lives, As they taught My people to swear by Ba‘al, Then they have been built up in the midst of My people.
17 But if any do not listen, then I will uproot that nation. It will certainly be uprooted and destroyed—this is Yahweh's declaration.”
And if they do not listen, Then I have plucked up that nation, Plucking up and destroying,” A declaration of YHWH!
