Jeremiah

Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?

1LORD, you are always right when I bring my case to you. Still, I want to ask you about your judgments. Why do wicked people do so well? Why is life easy for people who cheat and betray?

2Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.

2You planted them, and they took root. They grew, and they gave fruit. They talk about you all the time, but you are far from their hearts.

NoteThe KJV says God is "far from their reins." "Reins" is an old word for the kidneys, which people then thought of as the seat of a person's deepest thoughts. It means their inner self, or heart.

3But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

3But you know me, LORD. You see me. You have tested my heart toward you. Drag these people away like sheep to be killed. Set them apart for the day of slaughter.

4How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

4How long will the land mourn and the grass in every field dry up? The animals and the birds are gone, because the people who live there are evil. They said, "God will not see how we end up."

5If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

5The LORD answered: If you have raced against men on foot and they wore you out, how will you race against horses? If you stumble in a safe land, what will you do in the thick brush along the Jordan?

NoteThe "swelling of Jordan" is the tangled brush and thicket along the Jordan River, where lions once hid. It stands for a place far more dangerous than open country.

6For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.

6Even your brothers and your own father's family have turned against you. They have shouted against you too. Do not trust them, even when they speak kind words to you.

7I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

7I have left my own house. I have given up the land that belonged to me. I have handed the one I love into the hands of her enemies.

8Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.

8The people who were mine have become like a lion in the forest. She roars against me. That is why I hate her.

9Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.

9The people who were mine are like a speckled bird of prey, with other birds circling to attack her. Go, gather all the wild animals. Bring them to eat her.

10Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard. They have trampled my field under their feet. They have turned my good land into an empty waste.

Note"Pastors" here means shepherds, and shepherd was a common word for a ruler or leader. These are Judah's leaders and the foreign kings who overran the land.

11They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.

11They have made it empty. It lies bare and mourns before me. The whole land is ruined, but no one takes it to heart.

12The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.

12Destroyers have come over every bare hill in the desert. The LORD's sword eats up the land from one end to the other. No one anywhere has peace.

13They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

13They planted wheat but harvested thorns. They wore themselves out and gained nothing. You will be ashamed of your harvest, because the LORD is fiercely angry.

14Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them.

14This is what the LORD says about all my evil neighbors, the nations that attack the land I gave my people Israel: I am going to pull them up out of their land. And I will pull the people of Judah out from among them.

15And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.

15After I have pulled those nations up, I will feel sorry for them again. I will bring each one back to his own land and his own home.

16And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.

16They must carefully learn the ways of my people. They must swear by my name, saying, "As surely as the LORD lives." They once taught my people to swear by the god Baal. If they learn my ways, they will be settled among my people.

17But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.

17But if they will not obey, I will pull that nation up by the roots and destroy it, says the LORD.