Jer 12:1Righteous are You, O LORD, that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease?
Jer 12:2You have planted them, they have also taken root; They grow, they have even produced fruit. You are near to their lips But far from their mind.
Jer 12:3But You know me, O LORD; You see me; And You examine my heart's attitude toward You. Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter And set them apart for a day of carnage!
Jer 12:4How long is the land to mourn And the vegetation of the countryside to wither? For the wickedness of those who dwell in it, Animals and birds have been snatched away, Because men have said, "He will not see our latter ending."
Jer 12:5¶ "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 thicket of the Jordan?
Jer 12:6"For even your brothers and the household of your father, Even they have dealt treacherously with you, Even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you."
Jer 12:7¶ "I have forsaken My house, I have abandoned My inheritance; I have given the beloved of My soul Into the hand of her enemies.
Jer 12:8"My inheritance has become to Me Like a lion in the forest; She has roared against Me; Therefore I have come to hate her.
Jer 12:9"Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me? Are the birds of prey against her on every side? Go, gather all the beasts of the field, Bring them to devour!
Jer 12:10"Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard, They have trampled down My field; They have made My pleasant field A desolate wilderness.
Jer 12:11"It has been made a desolation, Desolate, it mourns before Me; The whole land has been made desolate, Because no man lays it to heart.
Jer 12:12"On all the bare heights in the wilderness Destroyers have come, For a sword of the LORD is devouring From one end of the land even to the other; There is no peace for anyone.
Jer 12:13"They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns, They have strained themselves to no profit. But be ashamed of your harvest Because of the fierce anger of the LORD."
Jer 12:14¶ Thus says the LORD concerning all My wicked neighbors who strike at the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel, "Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them.
Jer 12:15"And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.
Jer 12:16"Then if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, 'As the LORD lives,' even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of My people.
Jer 12:17"But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it," declares the LORD.