The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 12 The country is devastated. Prophecy against its destroyers

 The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 12

The country is devastated. Prophecy against its destroyers

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.

8 My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest; it has lifted up its voice against me, therefore I have hated it.

9 My inheritance is to me a bird of many colors; birds of prey are all around it; come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour it.

10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trampled my field; they have made my pleasant field a desolate wilderness.

11 They have made it desolate, and it cries out to me in its desolation: “The whole land is desolate, because there is no one who takes it to heart.”

12 Destroyers have come upon all the high places of the wilderness; For the sword of the Lord devours from one end of the earth to the other; there is no peace for any flesh.

13 They have sown wheat, and reaped thorns; they have wearied themselves, but have gained nothing; you are ashamed of your harvests because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

14 Thus says the Lord concerning all my evil neighbors, who touch my inheritance which I gave to my people Israel: Behold, I will uproot them from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.

15 And it shall come to pass, that after I have uprooted them, I will return and have compassion on them, and I will cause them to return, each to his inheritance, and each to his land.

16 And it shall come to pass, that if they diligently learn the ways of my people, swearing by my name, 'As the Lord lives,' as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people.

17 But if they refuse to listen, I will completely uproot that nation and destroy it, declares the Lord.