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Jeremiah 12
Common English Bible
Jeremiah 12
Common English Bible
12 If I took you to court, Lord,
you would win.
But I still have questions about your justice.
Why do guilty persons enjoy success?
Why are evildoers so happy?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
they flourish and bear fruit.
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.
3 Yet you, Lord, you know me.
You see me.
You can tell that I love you.[a]
So drag them away
and butcher them like sheep.
Prepare them for the slaughterhouse.
4 How long will the land mourn
and the grass in the fields dry up?
The animals and birds are swept away
due to the evil of those in the land.
The people say,
“God doesn’t see what we’re up to!”
5 If you have raced with people and are worn out,
how will you compete with horses?
If you fall down in an open field,[b]
how will you survive in the forest along the Jordan?
6 Even your relatives, your very family,
are planning to trap you.
They are out to get you.
So don’t trust them,
even if they appear to be on your side.
God’s lament over Judah’s destruction
7 I have abandoned my house;
I have deserted my inheritance.
I have given the one I love
into the power of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has turned against me
like a lion in the forest;
she growls at me;
therefore, I have rejected her.
9 My inheritance has become
like a bird of prey,
surrounded and attacked.[c]
Go, gather all the wild animals for the feast.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
they have trampled down my field;
they have reduced my treasured field
to a desolate wilderness.
11 They have devastated her;
desolate, she cries out to me in distress:
“The whole land is desolate,
and no one seems to care.”
12 Over all the desert roads
destroyers march;
for the sword of the Lord devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no one is safe.
13 They have sown wheat and reaped weeds;
they have worn themselves out for nothing.
They will be ashamed of their[d] harvest
on account of the Lord’s fierce anger.
14 The Lord proclaims: The evil nations have seized the land[e] that I gave my people Israel. I’m going to dig them up from their own lands, and I will dig up the people of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have dug them up, I will again have compassion on them and restore their inheritance and their land. 16 And then, if they will learn the ways of my people, to make a solemn pledge in my name, “As the Lord lives,” just as they once taught my people to swear to Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if they don’t listen, I will dig up that nation; yes, I will dig up and destroy, declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:3 Or You test my heart.
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or If you are at ease only when in a peaceful land
- Jeremiah 12:9 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 12:13 Or your
- Jeremiah 12:14 Or inheritance
Jeremiah 12
New International Version
Jeremiah 12
New International Version
Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You are always righteous,(A) Lord,
when I bring a case(B) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:(C)
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(D)
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2 You have planted(E) them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.(F)
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.(G)
3 Yet you know me, Lord;
you see me and test(H) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep(I) to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!(J)
4 How long will the land lie parched(K)
and the grass in every field be withered?(L)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.(M)
Moreover, the people are saying,
“He will not see what happens to us.”
God’s Answer
5 “If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble[a] in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets(N) by[b] the Jordan?
6 Your relatives, members of your own family—
even they have betrayed you;
they have raised a loud cry against you.(O)
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.(P)
7 “I will forsake(Q) my house,
abandon(R) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love(S)
into the hands of her enemies.(T)
8 My inheritance has become to me
like a lion(U) in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.(V)
9 Has not my inheritance become to me
like a speckled bird of prey
that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.(W)
10 Many shepherds(X) will ruin my vineyard
and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
into a desolate wasteland.(Y)
11 It will be made a wasteland,(Z)
parched and desolate before me;(AA)
the whole land will be laid waste
because there is no one who cares.
12 Over all the barren heights in the desert
destroyers will swarm,
for the sword(AB) of the Lord(AC) will devour(AD)
from one end of the land to the other;(AE)
no one will be safe.(AF)
13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.(AG)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”(AH)
14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance(AI) I gave my people Israel, I will uproot(AJ) them from their lands and I will uproot(AK) the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion(AL) and will bring(AM) each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 16 And if they learn(AN) well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’(AO)—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal(AP)—then they will be established among my people.(AQ) 17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy(AR) it,” declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.