Jeremiah's Complaint to God
Jeremiah 12:1-4
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Jer.12.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- צדיק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- אריב: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- אך: PART
- משפטים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אדבר: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- אותך: PRON,2,m,sg
- מדוע: ADV
- דרך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רשעים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- צלחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שלו: PRON,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- בגדי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- בגד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 73:3, 12-13 (verbal): Asaph's complaint that the wicked prosper and are at ease closely echoes Jeremiah's question why the way of the wicked succeeds and the treacherous are secure.
- Job 21:7-16 (thematic): Job protests the apparent longevity and prosperity of the wicked and asks why the righteous suffer—an extended lament similar in theme to Jeremiah's challenge to God's justice.
- Psalm 37:35-36 (thematic): This psalmist observes the flourishing of the wicked yet ultimately contrasts their fate with that of the righteous, addressing the same problem of apparent success of evildoers raised by Jeremiah.
- Habakkuk 1:2-4 (thematic): Habakkuk's complaint about violence, injustice, and the seeming triumph of wrongdoing parallels Jeremiah's protest and request to speak about God's judgments.
- Ecclesiastes 8:14 (thematic): Qoheleth notes that sometimes the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper—another reflection on the problem of evil and divine justice that Jeremiah articulates in this verse.
Alternative generated candidates
- You are righteous, O LORD, when I contend with you; yet I will speak of your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all those at ease who deal very treacherously?
- You are righteous, O LORD, when I contend with you; yet I will speak of your judgments: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the workers of treachery thrive?
Jer.12.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נטעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- גם: ADV
- שרשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ילכו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- גם: ADV
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- פרי: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- קרוב: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- בפיהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl+PRON,3,m,pl
- ורחוק: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מכליותיהם: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 29:13 (verbal): Almost identical language/idea — 'they draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,' echoing 'near in their mouth and far from their inward parts.'
- Matthew 15:8 (quotation): Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13 to condemn hypocrisy: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,' paralleling Jeremiah's 'near in their mouth, far from their reins.'
- Psalm 1:3 (thematic): Uses the planted-tree image ('like a tree planted by streams of water... yields its fruit') paralleling Jeremiah's 'you planted them... they took root... they bear fruit.'
- Jeremiah 17:7-8 (thematic): Within Jeremiah's own corpus the planted/tree metaphor appears again to contrast the person rooted in the LORD (stable, fruitful) with the unfaithful, resonating with the planted/taking-root language of 12:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- You planted them, and they took root; they grew, they bore fruit. You are near in their mouths but far from their inward parts.
- You planted them, and they took root; they grew, they bore fruit. You are near in their mouths but far from their inmost parts.
Jer.12.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ידעתני: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg+SUFF,1,sg
- תראני: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ובחנת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- אתך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- התקם: VERB,hithpael,perf,3,m,sg
- כצאן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לטבחה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3fs
- והקדשם: CONJ+VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg+3mp
- ליום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הרגה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 139:1-2 (verbal): Both verses emphasize God’s intimate knowledge and searching of the speaker: “O LORD, you have searched me and known me” echoes Jeremiah’s appeal that YHWH knows and see/test his heart.
- Psalm 26:2 (quotation): A direct petition to God to examine and test the heart—“Prove me, O LORD, and try me” parallels Jeremiah’s phrase to be seen and tested (בחנת לבי).
- Psalm 44:22 (verbal): Uses the same persecuted-image language—“we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” corresponds to Jeremiah’s simile כצאן לטבחה (like sheep for slaughter).
- Isaiah 53:7 (allusion): The motif of the lamb led to slaughter/innocent suffering connects to Jeremiah’s sacrificial/slaughter imagery, invoking the figure who endures suffering like a lamb.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yet you, O LORD, know me; you see me and test my heart toward you. Upraise them like sheep for the slaughter; appoint them for the day of slaughter.
- And you, O LORD, know me; you see me and test my heart toward you. Rise up—treat them like sheep for the slaughter; appoint them for the day of killing.
Jer.12.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עד: PREP
- מתי: ADV,int
- תאבל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ועשב: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ייבש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מרעת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ספתה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בהמות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ועוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- אמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- יראה: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אחריתנו: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Hosea 4:3 (verbal): Directly parallels language and theme: the land mourns and the beasts and birds are swept away because of the people's sin (very close verbal wording and imagery).
- Isaiah 24:4-6 (thematic): The earth mourns and withers because people have transgressed and defiled the land—connects national sin with cosmic/agrarian devastation.
- Joel 1:10-12 (thematic): Describes fields wasted, beasts and birds mourning, and the land's desolation after human/ritual failure—similar lament over agricultural and animal loss.
- Psalm 10:11 (verbal): Expresses the same attitude as the people in Jeremiah 12:4: 'He will not see' or 'God has forgotten/will not see'—an assertion of divine hiddenness or impunity.
- Leviticus 26:22 (thematic): Part of covenantal curses where God sends wild beasts and other judgments that affect people and livestock—links communal sin to the affliction of animals and land as punitive consequence.
Alternative generated candidates
- How long will the land mourn, and every field's grass wither because of the evil of those who dwell in it? The beasts and the birds are swept away, because they say, 'He will not see our latter end.'
- How long will the land mourn, and all the grass of every field wither because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it? The beasts and the birds are swept away, for they say, 'He will not see our end.'
You are righteous, O LORD, when I contend with you; yet I will speak of your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all who deal treacherously at ease?
You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. Yet you are near in their mouths and far from their inward parts. And you, O LORD, know me; you see me and test my heart toward you. Make them like sheep for the slaughter; appoint them for the day of slaughter.
How long will the land mourn, and every herb of the field wither—because of the evil of those who dwell in it? The beasts and the birds are swept away, for they say, 'He will not see our last end.'