Jeremiah 11:20

20 ADONAI-Tzva'ot, righteous judge, tester of motives and thoughts, I have committed my cause to you; so let me see your vengeance on them.

Jeremiah 11:20 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 11:20

But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously
This is the prophet's appeal to God, as the Judge of the whole earth, who will do right; he found there was no justice to be done him among men; he therefore has recourse to a righteous God, who he knew judged righteous judgment: that triest the reins and the heart;
of all men; as of his own, so of his enemies; and which he mentions, not so much on his own account as theirs: let me see thy vengeance on them;
which imprecation arose from a pure zeal for God, for his glory, and the honour of his justice; and not from private revenge; and so no ways inconsistent with the character of a good man; though some consider the words as a prediction of what would befall them, and he should live to see accomplished; and render them, "I shall see &c." F17; and so the Targum,

``I shall see the vengeance of thy judgment on them:''
for unto thee have I revealed my cause;
as a client to his patron; told his whole case, and left it with him, believing he would manage it for him, and do him justice. The Apostle Peter seems to have this passage in view, when speaking of Christ, ( 1 Peter 2:23 ) .
FOOTNOTES:

F17 (hara) "videbo", Munster, Schmidt; "visurus sum", Junius & Tremellius.

Jeremiah 11:20 In-Context

18 ADONAI made this known to me, and then I knew - you showed me what they were doing.
19 But I was like a tame lamb led to be slaughtered; I did not know that they were plotting schemes against me - "Let's destroy the tree with its fruit, we'll cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will be forgotten."
20 ADONAI-Tzva'ot, righteous judge, tester of motives and thoughts, I have committed my cause to you; so let me see your vengeance on them.
21 Therefore, here is what ADONAI says concerning the men from 'Anatot who seek your life and who tell you, "Stop prophesying in the name of ADONAI, or we will kill you ourselves" -
22 this is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot says: "I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.