Read the Bible

Jeremiah's Prayer

¹ You, O LORD are uncompromisingly ^(C1)righteous and consistently just when I plead my case with You;
Yet let me ^(C2)discuss issues of justice with You:
Why has the ^(C3)way of the wicked prospered?
Why are those who ^(C4)deal in treachery (deceit) at ease and thriving?

² You have ^(C1)planted them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have even produced fruit.
You are ^(F1)(C2)honored by their hypocritical lips
But You are far from their heart and mind.

³ But You, O LORD, ^(C1)know me and understand my devotion to You;
You see me;
And You ^(C2)examine the attitude of my heart toward You.
Drag out the faithless like sheep for the slaughter O LORD
And set them apart for the ^(C3)day of slaughter.

⁴ How long must the ^(C1)land mourn
And the ^(C2)grass of the countryside wither?
Because of the ^(C3)wickedness and hypocrisy of those who live in it,
The ^(C4)beasts and the birds are consumed and are swept away by the drought,
Because men mocking me have said, "He will not live long enough to see what happens at our final ^(C5)end."

⁵ The LORD rebukes Jeremiah for his impatience, saying "If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out,
Then how can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace where you feel secure,
Then how will you do among the lions in the flooded ^(C1)thicket beside the Jordan?

⁶ "For even your tribal ^(C1)brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously (unfaithfully) with you;
Indeed they are like a pack of hounds howling after you.
Do not believe them, although they may say ^(C2)kind words and promise you good things."

God's Answer

⁷ "I have ^(C1)abandoned My house,
I have given up My precious inheritance (Judah);
I have given the dearly ^(C2)beloved of My life
Into the hands of her enemies.

⁸ "My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has ^(C1)raised her voice and roared against Me;
So I have come to treat her as if I ^(C2)hate her.

⁹ "Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me unlike the others?
Are the ^(C1)birds of prey (enemies) surrounding her on every side?
Go, gather all the wild ^(C2)beasts of the field;
Bring them to devour her!

¹⁰ "Many ^(C1)shepherds (invaders) have destroyed My ^(C2)vineyard (Judah),
They have ^(C3)trampled My field underfoot;
They have made My ^(C4)pleasant field
A desolate wilderness.

¹¹ "They have made it a wasteland,
Desolate, it ^(C1)mourns before Me;
The ^(C2)whole land has been made a wasteland,
Because no man ^(C3)takes it to heart.

¹² "Destroyers have come
On all the ^(C1)caravan roads in the desert,
For the ^(C2)sword of the LORD (Babylon) is devouring
From one end of the land even to the other;
^(C3)No one has peace or a way of escape.

¹³ "They have ^(C1)planted wheat but have reaped thorns;
They have ^(C2)exhausted themselves but without profit.
So be ashamed of your ^(C3)harvest
Because of the ^(C4)fierce and raging anger of the LORD."

¹⁴ Thus says the LORD regarding all My ^(C1)evil neighbors (Gentile nations) who ^(C2)strike at the inheritance which I have granted to My people Israel, "Behold, I will uproot them from their land and I will ^(C3)uproot the house of Judah from among them.¹⁵ "And it shall come about that after I have uprooted them, I will ^(C1)return and have compassion on them; and I will ^(C2)bring them back again, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.¹⁶ "And if these neighboring nations will diligently ^(C1)learn the ways of My people, to ^(C2)swear by My Name, saying, 'As the LORD lives'—even as they taught My people to ^(C3)swear by Baal, then they will be ^(C4)built up among My people.¹⁷ "But if any nation will not listen and obey, I will completely ^(C1)uproot and destroy that nation, says the LORD."