Jeremiah 12:3

3 But You know me, O LORD; You see me and test my heart toward You. Drag away the wicked like sheep to the slaughter and set them apart for the day of carnage.

Jeremiah 12:3 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 12:3

But thou, O Lord, knowest me
The Lord knew him before he was born, ( Jeremiah 1:5 ) , he knew what he designed him for, and what use he would make of him; and he knew him now, and loved him, and cared for him, as his prophet; he knew his sincerity and faithfulness, and took notice of it, with what integrity he performed his office, and discharged his duty; and he knew that all his enemies said of him were scandal and reproach, lies and calumnies. Thou hast seen me;
his inside, his heart, and all in it; for all things are naked and open to the eyes of an omniscient God: and tried mine heart towards thee;
he had tried him by various afflictive providences, and his heart was found towards God; the affections and desires of his soul were towards him, and he remained faithful and upright before him, and not like the wicked before mentioned. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter;
either out of the fold, or from a fat pasture; so fat sheep are plucked from the rest, in order to be killed: this shows that their riches, affluence, and plenty, served but to ripen them for ruin and destruction, and were like the fattening of sheep for slaughter; which the prophet, by this imprecation, suggests and foretells would be their case, as a righteous judgment upon them; see ( James 5:5 ) . Prepare them for the day of slaughter;
or, "sanctify them" ^F23; set them apart for it: this, doubtless, refers to the time of Jerusalem's destruction by the Chaldeans.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 (Mvdqhw) "et sanctifica eos", V. L. Montanus; "segrega", Piscator; "destina", Schmidt; "consecra", Cocceius.

Jeremiah 12:3 In-Context

1 Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

2 You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.

3 But You know me, O LORD; You see me and test my heart toward You. Drag away the wicked like sheep to the slaughter and set them apart for the day of carnage.

4 How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”

5 “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?