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1Yahweh , whenever I complain to you,
you always prove to be right.
Nevertheless, hear my plea that I bring to you.
Why is it that wicked people are successful?
Why do scoundrels live so secure and serene?
2You plant them like trees that take root;
they spread their branches and bear fruit.
They talk like they know you,
but their affections are so far from you.
3But as for me, Yahweh , you know me fully.
You see me, and you understand me.
You have tested my feelings for you
and found that I am fully devoted to you .
Set them aside like sheep that are going to be killed;
keep them ready for the time of their slaughter.
4How much longer will the land mourn?
How much longer must the birds and animals perish?
Even the grass of every field withers
because of the wickedness of these people!
For the people boast, “God doesn’t see what happens to us.”
5“So, the footmen have beaten you, have they?
How, then, will you run with the cavalry?
If you stumble in the open country,
how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?
6For even your brothers and relatives have betrayed you,
and are in full pursuit of you.
Don’t believe them when they speak to you as friends.”
7“I have abandoned my house of Israel[#12:7 Most scholars view “my house” as a reference to not just the temple but also the household (nation) of Israel. God’s people are his “house,” his “people,” and “the beloved” of his soul. The pain of the Father’s heart and his deep affection for his people are obvious in this passage.]
and deserted the people I call my own.
I have surrendered
the beloved of my soul
over to her enemies.
8My own inheritance has turned against me
like savage, roaring lions in the jungle;
therefore, I will deal with her as though I hate her.
9Are hyenas and birds of prey all trying
to devour the people I chose for myself?
Are birds of prey circling around her?
Go, gather all the wild beasts
and bring them to devour her.
10Many rulers have destroyed my vineyard.[#12:10 Or “Many shepherds.” Some view the shepherds as foreign kings, yet it is likely that this refers to Judah’s kings, who bore the responsibility of the ruin of the nation.]
They have trampled my property
and have made my magnificent fields
into a desolate desert.
11They have left it a wasteland—
wasted, waterless, and empty before me.
The whole land is laid waste,
yet there is no one who seems to care.
12Many destroyers have marched over those barren hills.
Yahweh ’s sword has devoured the people throughout the land;
no one is safe.
13The people planted wheat but reaped nothing but weeds.
They wearied themselves for nothing.
They will be disappointed by their small harvest
because of the burning anger of Yahweh .”
14Here is what Yahweh said to me concerning our evil neighboring nations who attacked the land he promised to my people Israel: “I will uproot those nations and throw them off their land. I will also uproot the people of Judah and rescue them from the midst of their enemies.
15Then after a period of exile, I will again show compassion to each nation and bring each one back to their homelands.[#12:15 Or “after I have uprooted them.”]
16They once taught my people to worship Baal, but if they acknowledge me as the only true God, and if they learn from my people how to worship me, then I will establish them and prosper them alongside my people.[#12:16 Or “if they learn to swear by my name, ‘As lives.’ ”; #12:16 This verse shows us that God loves the nations and forgives nations who turn to him.]
17However, if they don’t listen to me, I will uproot them from their lands and completely destroy them. I, Yahweh , have spoken.”