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Jeremiah's Prayer

^1 (C1)Righteous are You, LORD, when I plead my case with You;
Nevertheless I would ^(C2)discuss matters of justice with You:
Why has the ^(C3)way of the wicked prospered?
Why are all those who ^(C4)deal in treachery at ease?

² You have ^(C1)planted them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have also produced fruit.
You are ^(C2)near ^(F1)to their lips
But far from their ^(F2)mind.

³ But You ^(C1)know me, LORD;
You see me
And ^(C2)examine my heart's attitude toward You.
Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter,
And ^(F1)set them apart for a ^(C3)day of slaughter!

⁴ How long is the ^(C1)land to mourn,
And the ^(C2)vegetation of the ^(F1)countryside to dry up?
Due to the ^(C3)wickedness of those who live in it,
^(C4)Animals and birds have been snatched away,
Because people have said, "He will not see our final ^(C5)end."

⁵ "If you have run with infantrymen and they have tired you out,
How can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the ^(C1)thicket by the Jordan?

⁶ "For even your ^(C1)brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you,
Even they have called aloud after you.
Do not believe them, though they say ^(C2)nice things to you."

God's Answer

⁷ "I have ^(C1)forsaken My house,
I have abandoned My inheritance;
I have handed the ^(C2)beloved of My soul
Over to her enemies.

⁸ "My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has ^(F1)(C1)roared against Me;
Therefore I have come to ^(C2)hate her.

⁹ "Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?
Are the ^(C1)birds of prey against her on every side?
Go, gather all the ^(C2)animals of the field,
Bring them to devour!

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

¹¹ "^(F1)It has been made a desolation;
Desolate, it ^(C1)mourns ^(F2)before Me;
The ^(C2)whole land has been made desolate,
Because no one ^(C3)takes it to heart.

¹² "On all the ^(F1)(C1)bare heights in the wilderness
Destroyers have come,
For the ^(C2)sword of the LORD is devouring
From one end of the land even to the ^(F2)other;
There is ^(C3)no peace for ^(F3)anyone.

¹³ "They have ^(C1)sown wheat but have harvested thorns,
They have ^(C2)strained themselves ^(F1)to no profit.
So be ashamed of your ^(C3)produce
Because of the ^(C4)fierce anger of the LORD."

¹⁴ This is what the LORD says concerning all My ^(C1)wicked neighbors who ^(C2)do harm to the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel: "Behold, I am going to drive them out of their land, and I will ^(C3)drive the house of Judah out from among them.¹⁵ "And it will come about that after I have driven them out, I will ^(C1)again have compassion on them; and I will ^(C2)bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.¹⁶ "Then, if they will really ^(C1)learn the ways of My people, to ^(C2)swear by My name, 'As the LORD lives,' just as they taught My people to ^(C3)swear by Baal, they will be ^(C4)built up in the midst of My people.¹⁷ "But if they do not listen, then I will ^(C1)drive out that nation, drive it out and destroy it," declares the LORD.