Olive Tree Bible App

Jeremiah 12 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Jeremiah’s Prayer

12 ^(A)Righteous are You, Lord, when I plead my case with You;
Nevertheless I would ^(B)discuss matters of justice with You:
Why has the ^(C)way of the wicked prospered?
Why are all those who ^(D)deal in treachery at ease?
²You have ^(E)planted them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have also produced fruit.
You are ^(F)near ^[a]to their lips
But far from their ^[b]mind.
³But You ^(G)know me, Lord;
You see me
And ^(H)examine my heart’s attitude toward You.
Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter,
And ^[c]set them apart for a ^(I)day of slaughter!
⁴How long is the ^(J)land to mourn,
And the ^(K)vegetation of the ^[d]countryside to dry up?
Due to the ^(L)wickedness of those who live in it,
^(M)Animals and birds have been snatched away,
Because people have said, “He will not see our final ^(N)end.”

⁵“If you have run with infantrymen and they have tired you out,
How can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the ^(O)thicket by the Jordan?
⁶For even your ^(P)brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you,
Even they have called aloud after you.
Do not believe them, though they say ^(Q)nice things to you.”

God’s Answer

⁷“I have ^(R)forsaken My house,
I have abandoned My inheritance;
I have handed the ^(S)beloved of My soul
Over to her enemies.
⁸My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has ^[e]^(T)roared against Me;
Therefore I have come to ^(U)hate her.
⁹Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?
Are the ^(V)birds of prey against her on every side?
Go, gather all the ^(W)animals of the field,
Bring them to devour!
¹⁰Many ^(X)shepherds have ruined My ^(Y)vineyard,
They have ^(Z)trampled down My field;
They have made My ^(AA)pleasant field
A desolate wilderness.
¹¹^[f]It has been made a desolation;
Desolate, it ^(AB)mourns ^[g]before Me;
The ^(AC)whole land has been made desolate,
Because no one ^(AD)takes it to heart.
¹²On all the ^[h]^(AE)bare heights in the wilderness
Destroyers have come,
For the ^(AF)sword of the Lord is devouring
From one end of the land even to the ^[i]other;
There is ^(AG)no peace for ^[j]anyone.
¹³They have ^(AH)sown wheat but have harvested thorns,
They have ^(AI)strained themselves ^[k]to no profit.
So be ashamed of your ^(AJ)produce
Because of the ^(AK)fierce anger of the Lord.”

¹⁴This is what the Lord says concerning all My ^(AL)wicked neighbors who ^(AM)do harm to the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel: “Behold, I am going to drive them out of their land, and I will ^(AN)drive the house of Judah out from among them. ¹⁵And it will come about that after I have driven them out, I will ^(AO)again have compassion on them; and I will ^(AP)bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. ¹⁶Then, if they will really ^(AQ)learn the ways of My people, to ^(AR)swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ just as they taught My people to ^(AS)swear by Baal, they will be ^(AT)built up in the midst of My people. ¹⁷But if they do not listen, then I will ^(AU)drive out that nation, drive it out and destroy it,” declares the Lord.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)