Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah 12:3
3As for you, Lord, you know me; you see me. You test whether my heart is with you. Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter and set them apart for the day of killing.
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 will be righteous, Lord, even if I bring a case against you. Yet, I wish to contend with you: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the treacherous live at ease? 2You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their conscience. As for you, Lord, you know me; you see me. You test whether my heart is with you. Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter and set them apart for the day of killing. 4How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? Because of the evil of its residents, animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.” 5If you have raced with runners and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, what will you do in the thickets of 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, Lord of Armies, who judges righteously, who tests heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for I have presented my case to you.
- 2 Kings 20:3“Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases you.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
- 1 Chronicles 29:17I know, my God, that you test the heart and that you are pleased with what is right. I have willingly given all these things with an upright heart, and now I have seen your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to you.
- Job 23:10Yet he knows the way I have taken; when he has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold.
- Psalms 17:3You have tested my heart; you have examined me at night. You have tried me and found nothing evil; I have determined that my mouth will not sin.
- Psalms 26:1Vindicate me, Lord, because I have lived with integrity and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
- Psalms 44:21wouldn’t God have found this out, since he knows the secrets of the heart?
- Psalms 139:1Lord, you have searched me and known me.
- John 21:17He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” “Feed my sheep,” Jesus said.
- 1 John 3:20whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things.
- Jeremiah 17:18Let my persecutors be put to shame, but don’t let me be put to shame. Let them be terrified, but don’t let me be terrified. Bring on them the day of disaster; shatter them with total destruction.
- Jeremiah 18:21Therefore, hand their children over to famine, and give them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives become childless and widowed, their husbands slain by deadly disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
- Jeremiah 20:12Lord of Armies, testing the righteous and seeing the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for I have presented my case to you.
- Jeremiah 48:15The destroyer of Moab and its towns has come up, and the best of its young men have gone down to slaughter. This is the King’s declaration; the Lord of Armies is his name.
- Jeremiah 50:27Put all her young bulls to the sword; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them because their day has come, the time of their punishment.
- Jeremiah 51:4Those who were slain will fall in the land of the Chaldeans, those who were pierced through, 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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