Jeremiah 12:3 kjv
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.
Jeremiah 12:3 nkjv
But You, O LORD, know me; You have seen me, And You have tested my heart toward You. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, And prepare them for the day of slaughter.
Jeremiah 12:3 niv
Yet you know me, LORD; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter!
Jeremiah 12:3 esv
But you, O LORD, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
Jeremiah 12:3 nlt
But 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!
Jeremiah 12 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah 12:1 | You will surely be in the right whenever I bring charges against you. | Jeremiah 12:1 (Contrasting Righteousness) |
| Psalm 37:7 | Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him. | Psalm 37:7 (Patience in Suffering) |
| Psalm 73:2-3 | But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. | Psalm 73:2-3 (Envy of Wicked Prosperity) |
| Job 21:7 | Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in might? | Job 21:7 (Questioning Wicked Prosperity) |
| Habakkuk 1:4 | Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. | Habakkuk 1:4 (Delayed Justice) |
| Psalm 14:1 | The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” | Psalm 14:1 (Rejection of God) |
| Malachi 3:14 | You have said, “It is useless to serve God. What benefit is it to keep his requirements and to walk mournfully before the LORD Almighty?” | Malachi 3:14 (Futility of Service) |
| Romans 3:4 | Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. | Romans 3:4 (God's Truthfulness) |
| 1 Corinthians 15:34 | Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning. | 1 Corinthians 15:34 (Soberness) |
| 2 Peter 3:16 | ...in all his letters. Some of these are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. | 2 Peter 3:16 (Distortion of Scripture) |
| Jeremiah 12:14 | As they were my prophets, I will no more do so. | Jeremiah 12:14 (God's Judgment) |
| Isaiah 55:8-9 | “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. | Isaiah 55:8-9 (God's Higher Ways) |
| Galatians 6:7 | Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. | Galatians 6:7 (Sowing and Reaping) |
| Revelation 16:5-6 | And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are so right in your judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink; for they deserve it.” | Revelation 16:5-6 (God's Just Judgments) |
| Psalm 92:7 | But they will be destroyed forever. | Psalm 92:7 (Fate of the Wicked) |
| Jeremiah 5:28 | They grow fat and sleek. They prosper in their evil deeds. | Jeremiah 5:28 (Prosperity of Evil) |
| Psalm 49:16-17 | Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases! For when he dies he will take nothing; his glory will not descend after him. | Psalm 49:16-17 (Transience of Riches) |
| Proverbs 24:19-20 | Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the wicked. | Proverbs 24:19-20 (Against Envy) |
| Romans 12:19 | Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave290430, instead, to God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. | Romans 12:19 (Vengeance belongs to God) |
| James 5:16 | Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. | James 5:16 (Confession and Prayer) |
Jeremiah 12 verses
Jeremiah 12 3 Meaning
You are righteous when I plead with you. Yet I want to contend with you about your justice. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
Jeremiah 12 3 Context
Jeremiah chapter 12 finds the prophet lamenting the prosperity of the wicked and questioning God's justice. Jeremiah is facing immense opposition and persecution from his own people. He feels God has dealt harshly with him. In this specific verse, Jeremiah acknowledges God's inherent righteousness but expresses his struggle with why wicked individuals seem to thrive and escape judgment. The historical context is a time of impending Babylonian exile for Judah, a nation increasingly characterized by its apostasy and unrighteousness. Jeremiah's dialogue with God here is an expression of his deep personal anguish and a theological wrestling with God’s governance of the world in the face of evil.
Jeremiah 12 3 Word Analysis
- “You are righteous”: (Hebrew: tsaddiq) This word signifies being just, righteous, and upright. Jeremiah affirms God’s inherent character.
- “when I plead with you”: Jeremiah acknowledges that even in his complaints, he is coming before a righteous God. This is not an accusation of God's unrighteousness but a challenge based on his perception of injustice.
- “Yet I want to contend with you about your justice”: (Hebrew: mišpaṭ – judgment, justice, right). Jeremiah expresses a desire to discuss or argue about the basis of God's judgments, or the operation of His justice in the world. It highlights the prophet’s deep perplexity.
- “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?”: (Hebrew: shalom – prosperity, peace, welfare, completeness). Jeremiah questions the apparent flourishing and well-being of those who act wickedly.
- “Why do all who are treacherous thrive?”: (Hebrew: boğaḏ – treacherous, deceitful, betrayers). Jeremiah focuses on the success of those who are disloyal to God and their covenants.
Jeremiah 12 3 Bonus Section
This verse demonstrates the prophet’s wrestling with theodicy – the problem of evil and suffering in the context of a good and powerful God. Jeremiah is not alone in his questioning; figures like Job and the Psalmist also grappled intensely with this issue. The phrasing "Yet I want to contend with you" reveals a level of intimacy in Jeremiah's relationship with God, where he feels he can bring his doubts and perplexities directly to Him. It's a reminder that faith isn't the absence of questions, but the trust to bring those questions to the source of all truth. God's eventual answer to Jeremiah, as seen later in the chapter, reinforces that His justice operates on a different plane, and present earthly success for the wicked is not the final word.
Jeremiah 12 3 Commentary
Jeremiah is voicing a common human struggle: the seeming paradox of wickedness prevailing while righteousness suffers. He understands God is righteous, but his experience in ministry presents a conflicting reality. He sees deceitful and disloyal people prospering, which causes him great distress and leads him to question the fairness of divine justice. This verse is not an abandonment of faith but a raw outpouring of a prophet's heart as he grapples with God's ways in a fallen world. It echoes the sentiment found in other wisdom literature, such as Psalms and Job, where similar questions about the prosperity of the wicked are raised. The ultimate resolution lies not in God’s changing His ways, but in understanding that God’s ways are higher, and His judgment is final, even if delayed. The ephemeral nature of wicked prosperity is contrasted with the eternal rewards of faithfulness.