| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1LORD, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. So let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy? | 1Righteous are You, O LORD, that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease? |
| 2You have planted them, and they have taken root and prospered. Your name is on their lips, but you are far from their hearts. | 2You have planted them, they have also taken root; They grow, they have even produced fruit. You are near to their lips But far from their mind. |
| 3But as for me, LORD, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts. Drag these people away like sheep to be butchered! Set them aside to be slaughtered! | 3But You know me, O LORD; You see me; And You examine my heart's attitude toward You. Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter And set them apart for a day of carnage! |
| 4How long must this land mourn? Even the grass in the fields has withered. The wild animals and birds have disappeared because of the evil in the land. For the people have said, “The LORD doesn’t see what’s ahead for us!” The LORD’s Reply to Jeremiah | 4How long is the land to mourn And the vegetation of the countryside to wither? For the wickedness of those who dwell in it, Animals and birds have been snatched away, Because men have said, "He will not see our latter ending." |
| 5“If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan? | 5"If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? |
| 6Even your brothers, members of your own family, have turned against you. They plot and raise complaints against you. Do not trust them, no matter how pleasantly they speak. | 6"For even your brothers and the household of your father, Even they have dealt treacherously with you, Even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you." |
| 7“I have abandoned my people, my special possession. I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies. | 7"I have forsaken My house, I have abandoned My inheritance; I have given the beloved of My soul Into the hand of her enemies. |
| 8My chosen people have roared at me like a lion of the forest, so I have treated them with contempt. | 8"My inheritance has become to Me Like a lion in the forest; She has roared against Me; Therefore I have come to hate her. |
| 9My chosen people act like speckled vultures, but they themselves are surrounded by vultures. Bring on the wild animals to pick their corpses clean! | 9"Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me? Are the birds of prey against her on every side? Go, gather all the beasts of the field, Bring them to devour! |
| 10“Many rulers have ravaged my vineyard, trampling down the vines and turning all its beauty into a barren wilderness. | 10"Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard, They have trampled down My field; They have made My pleasant field A desolate wilderness. |
| 11They have made it an empty wasteland; I hear its mournful cry. The whole land is desolate, and no one even cares. | 11"It has been made a desolation, Desolate, it mourns before Me; The whole land has been made desolate, Because no man lays it to heart. |
| 12On all the bare hilltops, destroying armies can be seen. The sword of the LORD devours people from one end of the nation to the other. No one will escape! | 12"On all the bare heights in the wilderness Destroyers have come, For a sword of the LORD is devouring From one end of the land even to the other; There is no peace for anyone. |
| 13My people have planted wheat but are harvesting thorns. They have worn themselves out, but it has done them no good. They will harvest a crop of shame because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” A Message for Israel’s Neighbors | 13"They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns, They have strained themselves to no profit. But be ashamed of your harvest Because of the fierce anger of the LORD." |
| 14Now this is what the LORD says: “I will uproot from their land all the evil nations reaching out for the possession I gave my people Israel. And I will uproot Judah from among them. | 14Thus says the LORD concerning all My wicked neighbors who strike at the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel, "Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them. |
| 15But afterward I will return and have compassion on all of them. I will bring them home to their own lands again, each nation to its own possession. | 15"And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. |
| 16And if these nations truly learn the ways of my people, and if they learn to swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’ (just as they taught my people to swear by the name of Baal), then they will be given a place among my people. | 16"Then if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, 'As the LORD lives,' even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of My people. |
| 17But any nation who refuses to obey me will be uprooted and destroyed. I, the LORD, have spoken!” | 17"But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it," declares the LORD. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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