Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 12

Introduction

Jeremiah 12:0

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

(The parentheses represent poetic literary units)

READING CYCLE THREE (see “Guide to Good Bible Reading”)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.

Verses 1-4

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jeremiah 12:1-4 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, they have also taken root; They grow, they have even produced fruit. You are near to their lips But far from their mind. 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 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.”

Jeremiah 12:1 “Righteous” See Special Topic: Righteousness.

▣ “are You” YHWH is righteous which denotes His justice. This is one aspect of His character.

SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL'S GOD

▣ “I would plead my case with You” This chapter has three poetic strophes. The first two (Jeremiah 12:1-4; 5-6) are part of Jeremiah's first confession starting in Jeremiah 11:18. It is presented as a court case (as is Jeremiah 2:0).

Jeremiah almost seems to border on blasphemy in his dialog with God, therefore, the two Jewish exegetists in the Middle Ages, Rashi and Kimchi, try to explain away Jeremiah's hard words. Rashi says that he asked God to know God's ways, while Kimchi says he asked because the prophet was confused. To me the depth of Jeremiah's emotions directed toward God are a sign of their deep interpersonal relationship. I believe God prefers our heartfelt thoughts to false piety!

▣ “Why has the way of the wicked prospered?

Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease” These are in a Hebrew synonymous parallel relationship (see Appendix One: Hebrew Poetry). This is a major theological question because it seems to be exactly opposite to the Mosaic Law and Psalms 1:0. Humans have always struggled with the unfairness of life (cf. Job. Psalms 73:0; Habakkuk; Malachi 3:13-15). Psalms 37:7-9 is a good summary of the Bible's advice in this area. See Special Topic: Hebrew Poetry.

Jeremiah 12:2 “You have planted them” YHWH created a nation out of the seed of Abraham (cf. Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 15:12-21). He created/planted (cf. Jeremiah 11:17) them to be a light to the world, but they became evil and reflected the character of the fallen world instead of YHWH (cf Ezekiel 36:22-38).

▣ “You are near to their lips

But far from their mind” They had religion but not relationship (cf. Isaiah 29:13; Ezekiel 33:30-33; Romans 2:17-29; 2 Timothy 3:5).

Jeremiah 12:4 “You know me, O LORD” The Hebrew word “to know” (see Special Topic: Know) emphasizes intimate personal relationship (cf. Genesis 4:1; Jeremiah 1:5). Jeremiah was confident that God knew his motives and his heart (cf. Psalms 139:1, Psalms 139:23).

▣ “Drag them off” The last two lines of Jeremiah 12:3 have two parallel IMPERATIVES.

1. “drag them off” - BDB 683, KB 736, Hiphil IMPERATIVE

2. “set them apart” (lit. “sanctify”) - BDB 872, KB 1073, Hiphil IMPERATIVE (see Special Topic at Jeremiah 2:3)

Both call on God (IMPERATIVES OF REQUEST) to actively judge the wickedness of His own people (cf. Amos 3:2; 1 Peter 4:17).

Jeremiah is much like David (i.e., some Psalms); he is very forceful in his request for vengeance.

▣ “How long is the land to mourn” Judah's wickedness causes the curses of Leviticus 26:0 and Deuteronomy 27-28 to fall on Palestine (cf. Hosea 4:1-3). The land of milk and honey has no produce nor flocks! This is exactly the opposite of what YHWH wanted to do!

The same question, “how long,” was also asked by Isaiah in Isaiah 6:11-13! Judgment is coming on God's covenant people.

The sin of Adam and Eve brought about the disruption of the normal cycles of nature (cf. Romans 5:12-21; Romans 8:18-25). This is not the world God intended it to be (see John W. Wenham, The Goodness of God and The Enigma of Evil: Can We Believe in the Goodness of God).

▣ “Because men have said, 'He will not see our latter ending'“ This line can have two meanings.

1. the prophets are giving a false message of peace and prosperity (cf. Jeremiah 5:31)

2. the Judean people do not believe YHWH will act against them because of

a. Abrahamic covenant

b. the presence of the temple (cf. Jeremiah 7:0)

There are two textual issues.

1. who does “he” refer to

a. Jeremiah - “he” (ambiguous)

b. God - LXX, NRSV, TEV, NJB, REB

2. how to translate the last words

a. our ways (ארחותנו) - LXX, NJB, REB

b. our latter end (אחריתנו) - MT, NASB, NKJV, JPSOA

3. our fate - NRSV (possibly from #2 above)

The NET Bible (p. 1323) adds an interesting thought that this line may relate to Deuteronomy 32:20.

Verses 5-6

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jeremiah 12:5-6 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? 6For 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.”

Jeremiah 12:5-6 God is telling Jeremiah (cf. TEV, JPSOA footnote), if you cannot handle the pressure from your hometown, how are you going to handle the pressure from Jerusalem? In reality, God is saying, Jeremiah, are you too impatient or too sensitive? If you think this is bad now, you have seen nothing yet! Problems cause us to depend on God trials are for training (cf. Hebrews 5:8)!

Jeremiah 12:6

NASB“Even they have cried aloud after you” NKJV“yes, they have called a multitude after you” NRSV“they will pursue you in full cry” TEV“they join in the attacks against you” LXX“they too shouted; they were gathered behind you” JPSOA“they cry after you as a mob”

The MT is ambiguous. The context suggests that after he preached, they (his hometown tribal friends and relatives) chased after him condemning him loudly.

▣ “Do not believe them” The VERB (BDB 52, KB 63, see Special Topic at Jeremiah 3:12) is a Hiphil JUSSIVE. Be careful of the flattery of wicked people (cf. Jeremiah 9:8; Psalms 28:3; Proverbs 26:23, Proverbs 26:25). Kind words often hide an agenda (cf. Psalms 12:6-8)! The self centeredness of the Fall is a perennial flower.

It seems that Jeremiah 12:6, lines 1-3, relates to negative things said and done against Jeremiah by his hometown. However, the last line deals with their flattery!

Verses 7-13

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jeremiah 12:7-13 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 inheritance has become to Me Like a lion in the forest; She has roared against Me; Therefore I have come to hate her. 9Is 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! 10Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard, They have trampled down My field; They have made My pleasant field A desolate wilderness. 11It 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 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. 13They 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.”

Jeremiah 12:7-13 This is written in a characteristic poetic form which has three beats followed by two beats, denoting a funeral dirge or lament. The VERBS, all mostly PERFECTS, denote a completed action. YHWH's attitude is set on judgment because Judah's attitude is set on sin! In this section God is described as a broken-hearted husband (i.e., “I have come to hate her,” Jeremiah 12:8). This is very similar to Jeremiah 8:18-16 and Hosea 11:8, Hosea 11:9.

One wonders if Jeremiah 12:7-8 is theologically related to Jeremiah 12:5-6. As Jeremiah was painfully and loudly rejected by his own hometown, YHWH is rejected by His own. As Jeremiah's hometown “cries” against him, YHWH's people “roar” against Him. It is possible that Jeremiah 12:6, line 3, is a hunting metaphor, if so, then the animals searching prey in Jeremiah 12:9 are a literary parallel.

Notice the series of covenant terms used by God to describe Judah:

1. “My house” (cf. Jeremiah 11:15; Hosea 8:1; Hosea 9:15)

2. “My inheritance” (cf. Jeremiah 12:7, Jeremiah 12:8, Jeremiah 12:9; Jeremiah 2:7; Jeremiah 50:11)

3. “Beloved of My soul” (cf. Jeremiah 11:15)

4. “My vineyard” (cf. Isaiah 5:0)

5. “My pleasant field” (cf. Jeremiah 3:19)

Jeremiah 12:7 Notice the parallelism of. Jeremiah 12:7. YHWH has

1. forsaken - BDB 736, KB 806, Qal PERFECT

2. abandoned - BDB 643, KB 695, Qal PERFECT

3. given - BDB 678, KB 733, Qal PERFECT

His people into the hand (see Special Topic: Hand) of foreign invaders!

Jeremiah 12:8-9 YHWH has rejected them because

1. they became as a lion to Him, Jeremiah 12:8

2. they became as a bird of prey, Jeremiah 12:9

The result is that YHWH's love, mercy, and care have changed to “hate” (cf. Hosea 9:15; Amos 6:8).

Jeremiah 12:9 “My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me” The interpretive question is about the word “speckled” (BDB 840, KB 997), which is found only here. It can denote colored (BDB 840, cf. Judges 5:30), therefore,

1. hyena

2. speckled bird of prey (NRSV, NKJV)

JPSOA translates the phrase as “like a bird of prey [or] hyena” (cf. NJB). The LXX translates it as “a hyena's cave.” The UBS Text Project gives “speckled” an A Rating, but suggests translating it as (“is my heritage to me) a hyena's lair (with birds of prey [hovering] all about it,” p. 214). This is how REB translates it.

The enemies described here seem to refer to the surrounding nations which were a part of the mercenary army of Neo-Babylon (cf. 2 Kings 24:2).

▣ The last two lines of Jeremiah 12:9 have three IMPERATIVES which are the consequences of covenant violations (cf. Deuteronomy 28:64). The birds and beasts shall eat the flesh of the fallen of Judah (cf. Jeremiah 7:33; Jeremiah 15:3; Jeremiah 16:4; Jeremiah 19:7; Jeremiah 34:20; Psalms 79:2; Isaiah 18:6; Isaiah 56:9).

1. go - BDB 229, KB 246, Qal IMPERATIVE

2. gather - BDB 62, KB 74, Qal IMPERATIVE

3. bring - BDB 87, KB 102, Hiphil IMPERATIVE

Jeremiah 12:10 “Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard” “Shepherds” refers to the spiritual leaders of Judah (cf. Jeremiah 2:8; Jeremiah 10:21; Ezekiel 34:1-10). But, because of the context, it could refer to foreign alliances (cf. Jeremiah 6:3).

Jeremiah 12:11 “it mourns before Me

The whole land has been made desolate” There is a repetition of the root שמס (BDB 1031, cf. Jeremiah 12:10, line 4).

1. a FEMININE SINGULAR NOUN - BDB 1031

2. a FEMININE SINGULAR ADJECTIVE - BDB 1031

3. a Niphal PERFECT VERB - BDB 1030, KB 1563)

The NASB Study Bible (p. 1075, footnote) mentions that in Jeremiah 12:11 there are seven “s” sound words and seven “n” sound words. See Special Topic: Hebrew Poetry.

▣ Here again (cf. Jeremiah 12:4) is the theological emphasis on the land (personified) being affected by human sin (cf. Leviticus 26:0; Deuteronomy 27-28; Romans 5:12-21; Romans 8:18-22).

▣ “Because no man lays it to heart” This line can have one of two orientations.

1. Judah sinned and did not repent so the land suffered (cf. Isaiah 42:25).

2. There was no righteous person to intercede on Judah's behalf (cf. Jeremiah 5:1; Isaiah 59:16; Ezekiel 22:30).

Jeremiah 12:12 “On all the bare heights in the wilderness” This could refer to

1. judgment coming from the desert winds, cf. Jeremiah 4:11-13

2. the place of Ba'al worship, cf. Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 3:2, Jeremiah 3:6; Jeremiah 17:2; Deuteronomy 12:2-3

3. invaders capturing the “caravan trails” (see NASB, NJB footnote) or passes (heights, BDB 1046, cf. Jeremiah 14:6) through the Judean highlands

▣ “a sword of the LORD is devouring” Remember, this was not the power of the foreign invaders or their gods, but the punishing power of YHWH (cf. Jeremiah 51:15-23; Isaiah 10:5).

▣ “There is no peace for anyone” This may be a play on the message of the false prophets who said “Peace, peace” (cf. Jeremiah 8:11). The term “anyone” is literally “all flesh” and could refer to animals and humans. All were suffering because of Judah's idolatry.

Jeremiah 12:13 “They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns” There have been three ways to understand this.

1. The farmers sowed but because of the invasion there was no one to work the fields so weeds and thorns flourished (cf. Leviticus 26:16; Deuteronomy 28:38).

2. There was a series of drought seasons (cf. Jeremiah 12:4; Jeremiah 14:2-4).

3. Human effort without God will come to naught (cf. Psalms 108:12; Psalms 127:1-2).

▣ “But be ashamed of your harvest” This is a Qal IMPERATIVE (BDB 101, KB 116) which refers to their idolatry. They were reaping the results of willful, continual covenant violations (cf. Jeremiah 11:20; Jeremiah 17:10).

Verses 14-17

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jeremiah 12:14-17 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. 15And 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. 16Then 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 if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it,” declares the LORD .

Jeremiah 12:14-17 This is an extremely important section which deals not only with the judgment on the surrounding nations which have participated in or benefitted from the Babylonian invasion of Judah, but also the hope of their incorporation one day into the people of God. This is a wonderful passage which shows clearly that God desires all humans to be a part of His covenant people. See Special Topic at Jeremiah 1:5!

There is a repeated use of “uprooted” (BDB 684, KB 737), the opposite of “planted” (see Jeremiah 1:10).

1. surrounding nations will be uprooted, Jeremiah 12:14

2. Judah will be uprooted, Jeremiah 12:14

3. after uprooting them YHWH will have compassion (BDB 933, KB 1216, Piel PERFECT), Jeremiah 12:15

4. if they will not listen then He will uproot

a. that nation, Jeremiah 12:17

b. uproot and destroy it, Jeremiah 12:17

Jeremiah 12:14 “all My wicked neighbors who strike at the inheritance” We know from history that nations like Edom and probably some of the other surrounding nations (i.e., Ammon, Jeremiah 49:1; Moab, Zechariah 2:8-11) became mercenaries in the Babylonian army, and even participated in the siege of Jerusalem and its plunder.

▣ “Behold I am about to uproot them” This is a metaphor used quite often in the book of Jeremiah to describe the work of the prophet (cf. Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 18:7).

Jeremiah 12:15 “I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back” This is a tremendous statement of hope of restoration, not only for Judah, but for Gentiles as well. This universal theme is found several times in the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 3:17, Jeremiah 3:19; Jeremiah 4:2; Jeremiah 16:19; Jeremiah 48:47; Jeremiah 49:6, Jeremiah 49:39. This reflects the recurrent universal theme of the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 2:2-4; Isaiah 12:4-5; Isaiah 19:16-25; Isaiah 25:6-9; Isaiah 42:6-12; Isaiah 45:22-23; Isaiah 49:5-6; Isaiah 51:4-5; Isaiah 56:6-8; Isaiah 60:11-14). See Special Topic: YHWH's Eternal Redemptive Plan.

Jeremiah 12:16 “they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name” The use of YHWH's name was part of the regular worship liturgy of the temple (cf. Jeremiah 4:2; Deuteronomy 6:13; Deuteronomy 10:20; Isaiah 65:16; Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:9-13).

Notice that the Lord's compassion (Jeremiah 12:15) is conditional on “if they will really learn the ways of My people.”

1. “really learn” - this is the intensified form of an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB from the same root (BDB 540, KB 531, cf. Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6)

2. notice Judah's faith was meant to be a light and learning for the nations (cf. Ezekiel 36:22-38)

▣ “As the Lord lives” This reflects the covenant name for God, YHWH, from the Hebrew VERB “to be,” Exodus 3:14. See Special Topic: NAMES FOR DEITY.

▣ “to swear by Baal” See Special Topic: Fertility Worship of the Ancient Near East.

▣ “they will be built up in the midst of My people” The VERB “build” (BDB 124, KB 139, Niphal PERFECT) is used several times to describe Jeremiah's ministry (cf. Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 18:9; Jeremiah 24:6; Jeremiah 30:18; Jeremiah 31:4, Jeremiah 31:28; Jeremiah 32:31; Jeremiah 33:7; Jeremiah 42:10; Jeremiah 45:4). It can be used in a positive or negative way.

Jeremiah 12:17 The conditional nature of biblical covenants is repeated (i.e., Deuteronomy 30:1-10).