Jeremiah 12:1-5

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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?

You have ^aplanted them; they have also taken root;

They grow; they have even produced fruit.

You are ^bnear ¹to their lips

But far from their ²inmost being.

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 slaughter

And ¹set them apart for a ^cday of carnage!

How long is the ^aland to mourn

And 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

“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?

Jeremiah 15:10-18

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Jeremiah Pleads for Vengeance

^aWoe to me, my mother, that you have borne me

As a ^bman of strife and a man of contention to all the land!

I have not ^clent, nor have men lent money to me,

Yet everyone curses me.

Yahweh said, “Surely I will ^aset you free for purposes of good;

Surely I will cause the ^benemy to intercede with you

In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

“Can anyone smash iron,

^aIron from the north, or bronze?

Your ^awealth and your treasures

I will give for plunder ^bwithout cost,

Even for all your sins

And within all your borders.

Then I will cause your enemies to pass ¹it over

Into a ^aland you do not know,

For a ^bfire has been kindled in My anger;

It will burn upon you.”

^aYou who know, O Yahweh,

Remember me, take notice of me,

And ^btake vengeance for me on my persecutors.

Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;

Know that ^cfor Your sake I endure reproach.

Your words were found, and I ^aate them,

And Your ^bwords became for me joy and gladness in my heart,

For I have been ^ccalled by Your name,

O Yahweh God of hosts.

I ^adid not sit in the circle of merrymakers,

Nor did I exult.

Because of Your hand upon me I sat ^balone,

For You ^cfilled me with indignation.

Why has my pain been perpetual

And my ^awound incurable, refusing to be healed?

Will You indeed be to me ^blike a deceptive stream

With water that is unreliable?