Jeremiah 12

KING JAMES BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 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?	1 Your uprightness is too great, Yahweh, for me to dispute with you. But I should like to discuss somepoints of justice with you: Why is it that the way of the wicked prospers? Why do al treacherous people thrive?
2 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.	2 You plant them, they take root, they flourish, yes, and bear fruit. You are on their lips, yet far from theirheart.
3 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.	3 You know me, Yahweh, you see me, you probe my heart, which is close to yours. Drag them off likesheep for the slaughterhouse, reserve them for the day of butchery.
4 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.	4 (How long will the land be in mourning, and the grass wither all over the countryside? The animals andbirds are dying as a result of the wickedness of the inhabitants.) For they say, 'God does not see our fate.'
5 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?	5 'If you find it exhausting to race against me on foot, how wil you compete against horses? In a countryat peace you feel secure, but how wil you fare in the thickets of the Jordan?
6 For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.	6 'For even your brothers and your own family will betray you. They will pursue you in ful cry. Put no faithin them when they speak you fair!'
7 I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.	7 I have abandoned my house, left my heritage, I have delivered what I dearly loved into the clutches ofits enemies.
8 Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.	8 To me, my heritage has behaved like a lion in the forest, it roared at me ferociously: so I now hate it.
9 Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.	9 I see my heritage as a brightly-coloured bird of prey attacked by birds of prey on every side! Go,assemble al the wild animals, make them come and dine!
10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.	10 Many shepherds have laid my vineyard waste, have trampled over my plot of land, the plot of landwhich was my joy, reducing my favourite estate to a deserted wilderness.
11 They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.	11 They have made it a waste; wasted, it mourns before me. The whole country has been devastatedand no one takes it to heart.
12 The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.	12 The devastators have arrived on all the bare heights of the desert (for Yahweh wields a devouringsword); from one end of the country to the other, there is no peace for any living thing.
13 They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.	13 Wheat they have sown, thorns they reap: they have worn themselves out, to no profit. They aredisappointed in their harvests, because of Yahweh's burning anger.
14 Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them.	14 Yahweh says this, 'As regards al my evil neighbours who have laid hands on the heritage I grantedmy people Israel, look, I shal uproot them from their soil, (though I shall uproot the House of Judah from amongthem).
15 And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.	15 But having uprooted them, I shall take pity on them again and bring them back each to its ownheritage, each to its own country,
16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.	16 and if they carefully learn my people's ways and swear by my name, "As Yahweh lives", as they havetaught my people to swear by Baal, then they wil be re-established among my people.
17 But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.	17 But if any nation refuses to listen, I shall uproot it for ever and destroy it, Yahweh declares.'