צַדִּיק אַתָּה ה' כִּי אָרִיב אֵלֶיךָ אַךְ מִשְׁפָּטִים אֲדַבֵּר אוֹתָךְ מַדּוּעַ דֶּרֶךְ רְשָׁעִים צָלֵחָה שָׁלוּ כָּל־בֹּגְדֵי בָגֶד

Here Jeremiah turns to God with a more general argument: You are the righteous one, Lord, though I contend with You. I know that You are righteous and correct; however, I will speak justice with You, as I want You to hear my complaint: Why does the way of the wicked succeed? All who engage in treachery are tranquil, when none should be loyal to them.

נְטַעְתָּם גַּם־שֹׁרָשׁוּ יֵלְכוּ וְגַּם־עָשׂוּ פֶרִי קָרוֹב אַתָּה בְּפִיהֶם ורָחוֹק מִכִּלְיוֹתֵיהֶם

You planted them in the ground, and they have also taken root; they continue to grow, and they have also produced fruit. You are frequently close in their mouth, that is, they speak often of You, and they may even be priests or individuals who are considered pious, but in fact You are far from their kidneys, their deeper thoughts.

וְאַתָּה ה' יְדַעְתָּנִי תִּרְאֵנִי וּבָחַנְתָּ לִבִּי אִתָּךְ הַתִּקֵם כְּצֹאן לְטִבְחָה וְהַקְדִּשֵׁם לְיוֹם הֲרֵגָה

But You, Lord, know me; You see me, and You probe my heart with You. You are aware that I am not a hypocrite like them, as I follow Your ways wholeheartedly. Although I accept the righteousness of Your ways, I am nevertheless requesting that matters unfold differently: Remove them, the wicked, from their secure status; send them like sheep to the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of killing.

עַד־מָתַי תֶּאֱבַל הָאָרֶץ וְעֵשֶׂב כָּל־הַשָּׂדֶה יִיבָשׁ! מֵרָעַת יֹשְׁבֵי־בָהּ סָפְתָה בְהֵמוֹת וָעוֹף כִּי אָמְרוּ לֹא יִרְאֶה אֶת־אַחֲרִיתֵנוּ

The prophet’s question and appeal are left unanswered. A new prophecy begins here: Until when will the land mourn in its desolation, and the vegetation of the entire field wither? Because of the evildoing of those who inhabit it, not only has all the plant life been destroyed, but the beasts and the birds have also ceased to exist. For they, the people, have said in their despair: He will not see our end. We have no future. Many commentaries explain this last sentence differently: The beasts and the birds have ceased to exist, because the inhabitants of the land said about God that He does not look upon their deeds.

כִּי אֶת רַגְלִים רַצְתָּה וַיַּלְאוּךָ וְאֵיךְ תְּתַחֲרֶה אֶת־הַסּוּסִים! וּבְאֶרֶץ שָׁלוֹם אַתָּה בוֹטֵחַ וְאֵיךְ תַּעֲשֶׂה בִּגְאוֹן הַיַּרְדֵּן !

God addresses the prophet: For you ran against those on foot, and they exhausted you; now how will you presume to compete with horses? In a land of peace you are secure, and yet your patience runs thin; but how will you fare in the thickets of the Jordan River, where evil beasts lurk? You will need to cope with far greater dangers than the inhabitants of Anatot, as you must ultimately face the nobles of Judah.

כִּי גַם־אַחֶיךָ וּבֵית־אָבִיךָ גַּם־הֵמָּה בָּגְדוּ בָךְ גַּם־הֵמָּה קָרְאוּ אַחֲרֶיךָ מָלֵא – אַל־תַּאֲמֵן בָּם כִּי יְדַבְּרוּ אֵלֶיךָ טוֹבוֹת

For your brothers and the house of your father too, they too betrayed you, and they too called after you fully. They mocked you heartily. Do not place faith in them even when they speak pleasantries to you. You should not be affected by the positive or negative statements of those who are close to you.

עָזַבְתִּי אֶת־בֵּיתִי נָטַשְׁתִּי אֶת־נַחֲלָתִי נָתַתִּי אֶת־יְדִדוּת נַפְשִׁי בְּכַף אֹיְבֶיהָ

I forsook My house, and I abandoned My inheritance, and consequently I delivered the beloved of My soul, My adored nation, into the palm of her enemies.

הָיְתָה־לִּי נַחֲלָתִי כְּאַרְיֵה בַיָּעַר נָתְנָה עָלַי בְּקוֹלָהּ – עַל־כֵּן שְׂנֵאתִיהָ

My inheritance has become for Me like a lion in the forest. Zion has become wild. She has raised her voice against Me; therefore, I have come to hate her and I have abandoned her to the hands of her enemies.

הַלעַיִט צָבוּעַ נַחֲלָתִי לִי! הַעַיִט סָבִיב עָלֶיהָ לְכוּ אִסְפוּ כָּל־חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה הֵתָיוּ לְאָכְלָה

Is My inheritance for Me like a speckled bird of prey? The people are predatory and voracious. Therefore, the birds of prey, symbolizing the nations, are all gathering around against her and calling: Come, assemble all the beasts of the field and bring them to eat.

רֹעִים רַבִּים שִׁחֲתוּ כַרְמִי בֹּסְסוּ אֶת־חֶלְקָתִי נָתְנוּ אֶת־חֶלְקַת חֶמְדָּתִי לְמִדְבַּר שְׁמָמָה

Another metaphor: Many thieving shepherds destroyed My vineyard and trampled My tract; they transformed the tract of My desire, My cherished portion, into a wilderness of desolation.

שָׂמָהּ לִשְׁמָמָה אָבְלָה עָלַי שְׁמֵמָה נָשַׁמָּה כָּל־הָאָרֶץ כִּי אֵין אִישׁ שָׂם עַל־לֵב

It, the enemy, has rendered it, My tract, desolation, and that desolation mourns before Me, as though the land itself laments before Me of its suffering. The entire land has become desolate, for no man takes it to heart. All are apathetic. The prophet is speaking not only of his own estate but also of the general state in Judah: Everything has been abandoned, and we have become our enemies’ prey.

עַל־כָּל־שְׁפָיִם בַּמִּדְבָּר בָּאוּ שֹׁדְדִים כִּי חֶרֶב לַה' אֹכְלָה מִקְצֵה אֶרֶץ וְעַד־קְצֵה הָאָרֶץ אֵין שָׁלוֹם לְכָל־בָּשָׂר

On all the bare hills, the elevated spots in the wilderness, plunderers came, for the sword of the Lord consumes from the end of the land to the other end of the land; there is killing everywhere, and no peace for all flesh.

זָרְעוּ חִטִּים וקֹצִים קָצָרוּ נֶחְלוּ לֹא יוֹעִלוּ וּבֹשׁוּ מִתְּבוּאֹתֵיכֶם מֵחֲרוֹן אַף־ה'

They sowed wheat, and yet they reaped thorns; they strove for success until they grew ill, but they did not avail. Be ashamed of yourselves and of your disappointing produce, because of the enflamed wrath of the Lord.

כֹּה אָמַר ה' עַל־כָּל־שְׁכֵנַי הָרָעִים הַנֹּגְעִים בַּנַּחֲלָה אֲשֶׁר־הִנְחַלְתִּי אֶת־עַמִּי אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל הִנְנִי נֹתְשָׁם מֵעַל אַדְמָתָם וְאֶת־בֵּית יְהוּדָה אֶתּוֹשׁ מִתּוֹכָם

After describing the retribution that will be visited upon Israel, Jeremiah prophesies about their enemies. So said the Lord: About all My evil neighbors, who touch the inheritance that I bequeathed to My people Israel, as when Israel is weak and the great ruler from the north comes to battle it, the neighboring nations seize the opportunity to plunder and lay waste to the land as much as possible, behold, I am displacing them from upon their land, and the house of Judah I will displace from among them, in the general dispersion of peoples.

וְהָיָה אַחֲרֵי נָתְשִׁי אוֹתָם אָשׁוּב וְרִחַמְתִּים וַהֲשִׁיבֹתִים אִישׁ לְנַחֲלָתוֹ וְאִישׁ לְאַרְצוֹ

It shall be after My displacement of them, Israel and the neighboring peoples, that I will again have compassion on them, and I will restore each man to his inheritance and each man to his land.

וְהָיָה אִם לָמֹד יִלְמְדוּ אֶת־דַּרְכֵי עַמִּי לְהִשָּׁבֵעַ בִּשְׁמִי חַי־ה' כַּאֲשֶׁר לִמְּדוּ אֶת־עַמִּי לְהִשָּׁבֵעַ בַּבָּעַל – וְנִבְנוּ בְּתוֹךְ עַמִּי

It shall be at that time, if they, the neighboring nations, learn the ways of My people to take oaths in My name, saying: As the Lord lives, and thereby they accept My authority, just as they themselves earlier influenced and taught My people to take oaths by the Baal, then they, those nations, will be established and rehabilitated among, together with, My people.

וְאִם לֹא יִשְׁמָעוּ – וְנָתַשְׁתִּי אֶת־הַגּוֹי הַהוּא נָתוֹשׁ וְאַבֵּד נְאֻם־ה'

But if they do not heed, then I will displace that nation, displace and destroy them until they are annihilated – the utterance of the Lord.