JEREMIAH 12 [†]  m Righteous are you, O LORD,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

 n Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all  o who are treacherous thrive?

2[†] You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and produce fruit;

 p you are near in their mouth

and far from their heart.

3[†]  q But you, O LORD, know me;

 r you see me, and test my heart toward you.

 s Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

and set them apart for  t the day of slaughter.

4[†]  u How long will the land mourn

and the grass of every field wither?

 v For the evil of those who dwell in it

 w the beasts and the birds are swept away,

because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

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  x the thicket of the Jordan?

6 For  y even your brothers and the house of your father,

 o even they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

 z do not believe them,

though they speak friendly words to you.”

7[^][†] “I have forsaken my house;

I have abandoned  a my heritage;

I have given  b the beloved of my soul

into the hands of her enemies.

8  a My 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  a my heritage to me like  c a hyena’s lair?

Are the  c birds of prey against her all around?

Go,  d assemble all the wild beasts;

bring them to devour.

10[†] Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;

 e they have trampled down my portion;

they have made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

11 They have made it a desolation;

desolate,  u it mourns to me.

The whole land is made desolate,

 f but 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[†]  g They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;

 h they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

They shall be ashamed of their [1] harvests

 i because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”

14[†]Thus says the LORD concerning all  j my evil neighbors  k who touch the heritage that  l I 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,  m and 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,  n to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal,  o then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 p But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.”