Jeremiah 20:12

12 Yet, O LORD of hosts, You who 1test the righteous, Who see the mind and the heart; Let me 2see Your vengeance on them; For 3to You I have set forth my cause.

Jeremiah 20:12 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 20:12

But, O Lord, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins
and the heart
That tries the cause of the righteous, and vindicates them, rights their wrongs, and does them justice; being the omniscient God, the seer and searcher of the hearts and reins; who knows the uprightness of their hearts, as well as their ways, and the sincerity of their affections: or that tries the faith and patience of the righteous, their constancy and integrity; and upon trial finds that their affections are real, and their souls sincere; let me see thy vengeance on them;
his enemies and persecutors; he does not seek vengeance himself, but desires it of the Lord; he does not ask to see his vengeance, but the Lord's vengeance on them, what he thought was just and proper to inflict on them; he knew that vengeance belonged to the Lord, and therefore left it with him, and prayed for it from him. The Targum is,

``let me see the vengeance of thy judgments on them;''
for unto thee have I opened my cause;
or "revealed", or "made it manifest" F11; this he did in prayer, at this time, when he laid before the Lord his whole case, and appealed and applied to him for justice, who judgeth righteous persons, and judgeth righteously.
FOOTNOTES:

F11 (ybyr ta ytylg) "revelavi causam meam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. So Schmidt.

Jeremiah 20:12 In-Context

10 For I have heard the whispering of many, "Terror on every side! Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!" All my trusted friends , Watching for my fall, say: "Perhaps he will be deceived, so that we may prevail against him And take our revenge on him."
11 But the LORD is with me like a dread champion; Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed, With an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.
12 Yet, O LORD of hosts, You who test the righteous, Who see the mind and the heart; Let me see Your vengeance on them; For to You I have set forth my cause.
13 Sing to the LORD , praise the LORD ! For He has delivered the soul of the needy one From the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!

Cross References 3

  • 1. Psalms 7:9; Psalms 11:5; Psalms 17:3; Psalms 139:23; Jeremiah 11:20; Jeremiah 17:10
  • 2. Psalms 54:7; Psalms 59:10; Jeremiah 11:20
  • 3. Psalms 62:8

Footnotes 1

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