Jeremiah’s Complaint
aRighteous are you, O Lord,
when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
bWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all cwho are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and produce fruit;
ayou are near in their mouth
and far from their heart.
3 aBut you, O Lord, know me;
byou see me, and test my heart toward you.
cPull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and set them apart for dthe day of slaughter.
4 aHow long will the land mourn
and the grass of every field wither?
bFor the evil of those who dwell in it
cthe beasts and the birds are swept away,
because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”
The Lord Answers Jeremiah
5 “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
what will you do in athe thicket of the Jordan?
6 For aeven your brothers and the house of your father,
beven they have dealt treacherously with you;
they are in full cry after you;
cdo not believe them,
though they speak friendly words to you.”
7 “I have forsaken my house;
I have abandoned amy heritage;
I have given bthe beloved of my soul
into the hands of her enemies.
8 aMy heritage has become to me
like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me;
therefore I hate her.
9 Is amy heritage to me like ba hyena’s lair?
Are the bbirds of prey against her all around?
Go, cassemble all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
athey have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it a desolation;
desolate, ait mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
bbut no man lays it to heart.
12 Upon all the bare heights in the desert
destroyers have come,
for the sword of the Lord devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no flesh has peace.
13 aThey have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
bthey have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their harvests
cbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
14 Thus says the Lord concerning all amy evil neighbors bwho touch the heritage that cI have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, aand I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, ato swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, bthen they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 aBut if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord.”