Online Bible

Jeremiah’s Plea

^aRighteous are You, O Yahweh, when I would plead my case with You;Indeed I would ^bspeak matters of justice with You:Why has the ^cway of the wicked succeeded?Why are all those who ^ddeal in treachery complacent?2 You have ^aplanted them; they have also taken root;They grow; they have even produced fruit.You are ^bnear ¹to their lipsBut far from their ²inmost being.3 But You, O Yahweh, You ^aknow me;You see me;And You ^btest my heart’s attitude toward You.Drag them off like sheep for the slaughterAnd ¹set them apart for a ^cday of carnage!4 How long is the ^aland to mournAnd the ^bplants of every field to dry up?Because of the ^cevil of those who inhabit it,^dAnimals and birds have been swept away,Because men have said, “He will not see our latter ^eending.”

Yahweh Answers Jeremiah

5 “If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out,Then how can you compete with horses?If you fall down in a land of peace,How will you do in the ¹^athicket of the Jordan?6 “For even your ^abrothers and the household of your father,Even they have dealt treacherously with you,Even they have called aloud after you.Do not believe them, although they may say ^bnice things to you.”

7 “I have ^aforsaken My house;I have abandoned My inheritance;I have given the ^bbeloved of My soulInto the hand of her enemies.8 “My inheritance has become to MeLike a lion in the forest;She has ^agiven forth its voice against Me;Therefore I have come to ^bhate her.9 “Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?Are the ^abirds of prey against her on every side?Go, gather all the ^bbeasts of the field,Bring them to devour!10 “Many ^ashepherds have ruined My ^bvineyard;They have ^ctrampled down My portion;They have made My ^ddesired portionA desolate wilderness.11 “¹It has been made a desolation;Desolate, it ^amourns ²before Me;The ^bwhole land has been made desolateBecause no man ^csets it upon his heart.12 “On all the ¹^abare heights in the wildernessDestroyers have come,For a ^bsword of Yahweh is devouringFrom one end of the land even to the ²other;There is ^cno peace for any flesh.13 “They have ^asown wheat and have reaped thorns;They have ^bstrained themselves ¹to no profit.But be ashamed of your ^cproduceBecause of the ^dburning anger of Yahweh.”

14 Thus says Yahweh concerning all My ^aevil neighbors who ^bbeat at the inheritance with which I have caused My people Israel to inherit, “Behold, I am about to uproot them from their land and will ^cuproot the house of Judah from among them. 15 And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will ^areturn and have compassion on them; and I will ^bcause them to return, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. 16 Then if they will really ^alearn the ways of My people, to ^bswear by My name, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ even as they taught My people to ^cswear by Baal, they will be ^dbuilt up in the midst of My people. 17 But if they will not listen, then I will ^auproot that nation, uproot and make it perish,” declares Yahweh.