Jeremiah 12:3 — Meaning and Application

Righteous {art} thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of {thy} judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? {wherefore} are all they happy that deal very treacherously? {talk...: or, reason the case with thee}

Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou {art} near in their mouth, and far from their reins. {they grow: Heb. they go on}

But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. {toward...: Heb. with thee}

How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and {if} in the land of peace, {wherein} thou trustedst, {they wearied thee}, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?