Jeremiah 11:18-12:6
New Catholic Bible
Jeremiah’s Persecution[a]
18 I was aware of this, O Lord,
because you had made it known to me
then you revealed to me their evil deeds.
19 I had been like a trusting lamb
that was being led to the slaughter.
And I was not aware about the schemes
that they were plotting against me, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
let us cut him off from the land of the living
so that his name will no longer be remembered.”
20 O Lord of hosts, you who judge righteously
and test the heart and the mind,
allow me to behold your vengeance on them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
21 Therefore, in regard to the people of Anathoth who are determined to end my life and who say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord or we will kill you,” 22 this is what the Lord has to say, “I am about to punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, and their sons and daughters will perish by famine. 23 Not a single one of them will survive. For in the year of reckoning for them, I will bring disaster upon the people of Anathoth.”
Chapter 12
1 You are always in the right, O Lord,
whenever I take a position that conflicts with yours;
nevertheless, let me plead my case before you.
Why does it happen that the wicked prosper
and that treacherous people thrive?
2 When you planted them, they took root,
flourished, and brought forth fruit.
Your name is always on their lips,
but you are far from their hearts.
3 You know me, O Lord, and you see me;
you are aware that my heart is devoted to you.
Drag off the wicked like
sheep for a sacrifice;
set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4 For how long a period must the land be in mourning
and the green grass wither throughout the countryside?
The animals and the birds are perishing
because of the wickedness of those who dwell there
and assert that God is not concerned about them.
God’s Response
5 If you become exhausted in a footrace with men,
how will you compete with horses?
And if you fall headlong in a peaceful land,
how will you fare in the thickets of the Jordan?
6 Even your brothers and your own family
continue to deal treacherously with you
as they pursue you while shouting threats.
Do not trust them
even when they speak gentle words to you.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 11:18 Threatened with death, Jeremiah raises the thorny problem of the just who suffer and the wicked who prosper; this was a scandal to which traditional teaching on retribution had no valid answer. And in fact, it is not possible to rise above the scandal without a very radical act of faith. God himself promises Jeremiah ever harder trials in which he must be bold enough to trust solely in the Lord. Modern readers may perhaps be put off by the vindictive sentiments of the prophet, but these must be seen in the setting of the times. There was still no idea of retribution in a future life or even of a resurrection; therefore, the call for revenge seemed the only way of expressing faith in the justice of God. The image of the lamb led to slaughter (Jer 11:19) will later be applied by Second Isaiah (Isa 53:7) to the suffering Servant and, in the New Testament, to Jesus.
