Jeremiah 12

1Righteous are you, LORD,
when I bring a case against you;
yet I would speak with you about matters of justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why are all who deal treacherously at ease—
those who deal in treachery? 2You planted them; they have also taken root.
They go on; they also bear fruit.
You are near in their mouth,
but far from their kidneys. 3But you, LORD, know me;
you see me and test my heart toward you.
Pull them away like sheep for slaughter;
set them apart for a day of killing. 4How long will the land mourn
and all the vegetation of the field wither?
Because of the evil of those who live in it,
livestock and birds are swept away,
for they say, “He will not see our end.” 5If you have run with foot soldiers
and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And in a land of peace you are secure—
but what will you do in the swelling of the Jordan? 6For even your brothers and your father’s house—
even they have dealt treacherously with you;
even they have called after you at full voice.
Do not trust them
when they speak good things to you. 7I have forsaken my house;
I have abandoned my inheritance.
I have given the beloved of my soul
into the hand of her enemies. 8My inheritance has become to me
like a lion in the forest;
she has raised her voice against me;
therefore I hate her. 9Is my inheritance to me a speckled bird of prey,
with birds of prey all around her?
Go, gather all the wild animals;
bring them to devour. 10Many shepherds have ruined my vineyard;
they have trampled my portion.
They have made my delightful portion
a desolate wilderness. 11He has made it a desolation;
desolate, it mourns to me.
All the land is made desolate,
because no one takes it to heart. 12Upon every bare height in the wilderness
destroyers have come,
for the sword of the LORD devours
from one end of the land to the other end of the land;
there is no peace for any flesh. 13They have sown wheat
and harvested thorns.
They have worn themselves out;
they will gain nothing.
Be ashamed of your yields
because of the burning anger of the LORD.

14Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the inheritance that I caused my people Israel to inherit: See, I am uprooting them from upon their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.

15And after I uproot them, I will again have compassion on them, and I will restore each one to their inheritance and each one to their land.

16And if they truly learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, “As the LORD lives,” just as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people.

17But if they will not listen, I will uproot that nation, uprooting and destroying it, declares the LORD.