Amplified Bible
Jeremiah 12:3
3But You, O Lord, know me [and understand my devotion to You]; You see me; And You examine the attitude of my heart toward You. Drag out the faithless like sheep for the slaughter [O Lord] And set them apart for the day of slaughter.
Jeremiah 12:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)Yet you know me, Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter!
- English Standard Version (ESV)But you, O Lord, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But You, O Lord, know me; You have seen me, And You have tested my heart toward You. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, And prepare them for the day of slaughter.
Context of Jeremiah 12:3
1You, O Lord are [uncompromisingly] righteous and consistently just when I plead my case with You; Yet let me discuss issues of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are those who deal in treachery (deceit) at ease and thriving? 2You have planted them, they have also taken root; They grow, they have even produced fruit. You are honored by their [hypocritical] lips But [You are] far from their heart and mind. But You, O Lord, know me [and understand my devotion to You]; You see me; And You examine the attitude of my heart toward You. Drag out the faithless like sheep for the slaughter [O Lord] And set them apart for the day of slaughter. 4How long must the land mourn And the grass of the countryside wither? Because of the wickedness and hypocrisy of those who live in it, The beasts and the birds are consumed and are swept away [by the drought], Because men [mocking me] have said, “He will not [live long enough to] see [what happens at] our final end.” 5[The Lord rebukes Jeremiah for his impatience, saying] “If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace [where you feel secure], Then how will you do [among the lions] in the [flooded] thicket beside the Jordan?
Read all of Jeremiah 12Jeremiah 12:3 word by word
וְאַתָּ֤ה יְהוָה֙ יְדַעְתָּ֔נִי תִּרְאֵ֕נִי וּבָחַנְתָּ֥ לִבִּ֖י אִתָּ֑ךְ הַתִּקֵם֙ כְּצֹ֣אן לְטִבְחָ֔ה וְהַקְדִּשֵׁ֖ם לְי֥וֹם הֲרֵגָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But thou, O Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- knowestיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- me: thou hast seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- me, and triedבָּחַןbâchan · to testH974
- mine heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- toward thee: pull them outנָתַקnâthaq · to tearH5423
- like sheepצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
- for the slaughterטִבְחָהţibchâh · slaughteredH2878
- and prepareקָדַשׁqâdash · to consecrate: prepareH6942
- them for the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- of slaughterהֲרֵגָהhărêgâh · slaughterH2028
Cross-references for Jeremiah 12:3
- Jeremiah 11:20But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously, Who tests the feelings and the heart (mind), Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You I have committed my cause.
- 2 Kings 20:3“Please, O Lord, remember now [with compassion] how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart [entirely devoted to You], and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
- 1 Chronicles 29:17I know also, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness and integrity. In the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. So now with joy I have seen Your people who are present here, make their offerings willingly and freely to You.
- Job 23:10But He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous].
- Psalms 17:3You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tested me and You find nothing [evil in me]; I intend that my mouth will not transgress.
- Psalms 26:1Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; I have [relied on and] trusted [confidently] in the Lord without wavering and I shall not slip.
- Psalms 44:21Would not God discover this? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
- Psalms 139:1O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
- John 21:17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me [with a deep, personal affection for Me, as for a close friend]?” Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, “Do you [really] love Me [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend]?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
- 1 John 3:20whenever our heart convicts us [in guilt]; for God is greater than our heart and He knows all things [nothing is hidden from Him because we are in His hands].
- Jeremiah 17:18Let those who persecute me be shamed, but as for me, protect me from shame; Let them lose courage, but let me be undaunted. Bring on them a day of tragedy, And destroy them with double destruction!
- Jeremiah 18:21Therefore, give their children over to the famine; Give them over to the power of the sword. And let their wives become childless and widowed; Let their men meet death [by virulent disease], Their young men be struck down by the sword in battle.
- Jeremiah 20:12But, O Lord of hosts, You who examine the righteous, Who see the heart and the mind, Let me see Your vengeance on them; For to You I have committed my cause.
- Jeremiah 48:15Moab has been made desolate and his cities have gone up [in smoke and flame]; And his chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,” Says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
- Jeremiah 50:27Kill all her young bulls [her strength—her young men]; Let them go down to the slaughter! Woe (judgment is coming) to the Chaldeans, for their day has come, The time of their punishment.
- Jeremiah 51:4They shall fall down dead in the land of the Chaldeans, And wounded in her streets.”
Commentaries on Jeremiah 12:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3But thou, O Lord, knowest me - I know that the very secrets of my heart are known to thee; and I am glad of it, for thou knowest that my heart is towards thee - is upright and sincere.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Thou hast seen me - Rather, “Thou seest me and triest mine heart” at all times, and knowest the sincerity of its devotion” toward Thee.” Pull them out - The original is used Jeremiah 10:20 of the rending asunder of the cords of the tent, and Ezekiel 17:9 of the tearing up of roots. Jeremiah does not doubt God‘s justice, or the ultimate punishment of the wicked, but he wants it administered in a summary way. Prepare - literally, “sanctify,” i. e., devote.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Jeremiah's words may seem self-righteous, but he was open to the Lord examining his heart. He was also angry and wanted his enemies to suffer the harm they planned for him. He hoped they would be killed like defenseless sheep. Jeremiah did not appear to want their forgiveness or their return to the Lord.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. knowest me--(Psa 139:1). tried ... heart--(Jr 11:20). toward thee--rather, "with Thee," that is, entirely devoted to Thee; contrasted with the hypocrites (Jr 12:2), "near in ... mouth, and far from ... reins." This being so, how is it that I fare so ill, they so well? pull ... out--containing the metaphor, from a "rooted tree" (Jr 12:2). prepare--literally, "separate," or "set apart as devoted." day of slaughter--(Jas 5:5).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 12:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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