Jeremiah 12 — Septuagint (LXX)

You are righteous, O LORD, when I bring my case before you. Yet I would plead my case with you: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the treacherous thrive?

You have planted them, and they have taken root. They grow and even bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their heart.

But you, O LORD — you know me. You see me and test my heart toward you. Drag them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of killing.

How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it, the animals and birds are swept away — for they say, 'He will not see our end.'

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

For even your brothers and your father's house — even they have betrayed you. Even they have raised a full cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak kindly to you.

I have abandoned my house. I have forsaken my inheritance. I have given the beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest. She has roared against me; therefore I have turned against her.

Is my inheritance to me like a speckled bird of prey, with birds of prey circling against her on every side? Go, gather all the wild beasts — bring them to devour.

Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard. They have trampled my portion underfoot. They have turned my cherished portion into a desolate wilderness.

They have made it desolate. It mourns before me in its desolation. The whole land is made desolate, because no one takes it to heart.

Over all the barren heights in the wilderness, destroyers have come, for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the land to the other. There is no peace for any living thing.

They have sown wheat but reaped thorns. They have exhausted themselves for no profit. Be ashamed of your harvests because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

This is what the LORD says concerning all my evil neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel to possess: I am about to uproot them from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.

And after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them, and I will restore each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.

And if they diligently learn the ways of my people — to swear by my name, 'As the LORD lives,' just as they once taught my people to swear by Baal — then they will be built up in the midst of my people.

But if they will not obey, then I will utterly uproot and destroy that nation, declares the LORD.