Chapter 12
1 You are always in the right, O Lord,
whenever I take a position that conflicts with yours;
nevertheless, let me plead my case before you.
Why does it happen that the wicked prosper
and that treacherous people thrive?
2 When you planted them, they took root,
flourished, and brought forth fruit.
Your name is always on their lips,
but you are far from their hearts.
3 You know me, O Lord, and you see me;
you are aware that my heart is devoted to you.
Drag off the wicked like
sheep for a sacrifice;
set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4 For how long a period must the land be in mourning
and the green grass wither throughout the countryside?
The animals and the birds are perishing
because of the wickedness of those who dwell there
and assert that God is not concerned about them.
God’s Response
5 If you become exhausted in a footrace with men,
how will you compete with horses?
And if you fall headlong in a peaceful land,
how will you fare in the thickets of the Jordan?
6 Even your brothers and your own family
continue to deal treacherously with you
as they pursue you while shouting threats.
Do not trust them
even when they speak gentle words to you.
The Lord’s Lament[a]
7 I have abandoned my house
and forsaken my heritage.
I have given the beloved of my heart
into the hands of her enemies.
8 My own people have become to me
like a lion in the forest;
they have threatened me incessantly,
and therefore, I despise them.
9 Why has my land become a lair for hyenas,
with birds of prey hovering on every side?
Go forth and gather all the wild beasts
so that they may assemble for the feast.
10 My shepherds have ravaged my vineyard
and trampled my heritage underfoot.
They have made the plot of land that is my delight
into a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it into a wasteland,
the sight of which causes me to mourn.
The entire land has become desolate,
and no one shows the slightest bit of concern.
12 Upon all the barren heights of the desert
those who wreak destruction have arrived.
For the Lord will wield a devouring sword
from one end of the land to the other;
no living thing will remain unscathed.
13 Men have sown wheat only to reap thorns;
they have worked to the point of exhaustion
but have profited nothing.
Their harvests are a source of disappointment
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
14 Judah’s Evil Neighbors. Thus says the Lord, “As for all my evil neighbors who have seized the inheritance I gave to my people Israel, I will uproot them from their land, and from among them I will uproot the house of Judah. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again take pity on them and bring them back, each one to his own heritage and his own land.
16 “Then, if they carefully adhere to the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As the Lord lives,’ just as previously they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be reestablished among my people. 17 But if any nation refuses to listen, I will uproot that nation and destroy it completely,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:7 An editor has linked to the prophet’s call for vengeance (v. 3) the following two oracles, both of which speak of the judgment of God. The passage is probably an echo of the repression that was followed by the rebellion of Jehoiakim against his sovereign (Nebuchadnezzar). With the approval of the king of Babylon, some neighboring peoples engaged in a series of raids against Judah in about 599 B.C. (see 2 Ki 24:13). An accounting for their cruelty will be demanded of them, as well as the possibility of entering into the saving covenant, provided they renounce their false god, Baal, and follow the Lord. This marks the beginning of the call to universal salvation.