Jeremiah 12:4-14

4 usquequo lugebit terra et herba omnis regionis siccabitur propter malitiam habitantium in ea consumptum est animal et volucre quoniam dixerunt non videbit novissima nostra

5 si cum peditibus currens laborasti quomodo contendere poteris cum equis cum autem in terra pacis secura fueris quid facies in superbia Iordanis

6 nam et fratres tui et domus patris tui etiam ipsi pugnaverunt adversum te et clamaverunt post te plena voce ne credas eis cum locuti fuerint tibi bona

7 reliqui domum meam dimisi hereditatem meam dedi dilectam animam meam in manu inimicorum eius

8 facta est mihi hereditas mea quasi leo in silva dedit contra me vocem ideo odivi eam

9 numquid avis discolor hereditas mea mihi numquid avis tincta per totum venite congregamini omnes bestiae terrae properate ad devorandum

10 pastores multi demoliti sunt vineam meam conculcaverunt partem meam dederunt portionem meam desiderabilem in desertum solitudinis

11 posuerunt eam in dissipationem luxitque super me desolatione desolata est omnis terra quia nullus est qui recogitet corde

12 super omnes vias deserti venerunt vastatores quia gladius Domini devoravit ab extremo terrae usque ad extremum eius non est pax universae carni

13 seminaverunt triticum et spinas messuerunt hereditatem acceperunt et non eis proderit confundemini a fructibus vestris propter iram furoris Domini

14 haec dicit Dominus adversum omnes vicinos meos pessimos qui tangunt hereditatem quam distribui populo meo Israhel ecce ego evellam eos de terra eorum et domum Iuda evellam de medio eorum

Jeremiah 12:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 12

This chapter contains the prophets complaint of the prosperity of the wicked, and the Lord's answer to it; an account of the deplorable and miserable estate of the Jewish nation; and a threatening to the neighbouring nations that had used them ill; with a promise of deliverance of the Jews from them, and settlement among God's people in case of obedience. The prophet's complaint is in Jer 12:1,2 in which he asserts the justice of God, yet seems at a loss to reconcile it with the prosperity of the wicked; and the rather, because of their hypocrisy; and appeals to the Lord for his own sincerity and uprightness, Jer 12:3 and prays for the destruction of the wicked, and that the time might hasten, for whose wickedness the land was desolate, and herbs, beasts, and birds, consumed, Jer 12:3,4, the Lord's answer, in which he reproves him for his pusillanimity, seeing he had greater trials than those to encounter with, and instructs him how to behave towards his treacherous friends, is in Jer 12:5,6 the account of the miserable condition of the Jewish nation is from Jer 12:7-14, under the simile of a house and heritage left by the Lord, given up to enemies, and compared to a lion and a speckled bird, hateful to God, and hated by those about it, Jer 12:7-9 and of a vineyard destroyed and trodden down by shepherds, and made desolate, Jer 12:10,11 even as a wilderness through the ravage of the sword; so that what is sown upon it comes to nothing, Jer 12:12,13 then follows a threatening to those who had carried the people of Israel captive, with a promise to deliver the Jews out of their hands, and bring them into their own land, and settle them among the Lord's people, in case they use diligence to learn their ways, Jer 12:14-16, but in case of disobedience are threatened to be plucked up and utterly destroyed, Jer 12:17.