Jeremiah 12:3

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

1Lord, when I complain to you, you always do what is right. But I must ask you about your justice. Why do wicked people have success in life? Why do people who cheat their friends live in comfort? 2They are like trees that you have planted. They have strong roots. They produce good fruits. Those people like to talk about you a lot, but they do not really love you. But you know everything about me, Lord. You watch me carefully to test me. You know what I am thinking. You should kill those wicked men, as they deserve! Take them away like sheep, to kill them when the time is right. 4Our land has been dry for a long time. The grass everywhere is dying. How long will this continue? The animals and the birds are dying. This has happened because the people who live in this land do wicked things. They like to boast, ‘God will not see what happens to us.’ 5‘Jeremiah, you are running a race against people, and you are already tired! So you will never be able to run a race against horses. You are walking in flat fields, and you still fall over! So it will be much worse when you try to run through the trees and bushes near the Jordan River.

Jeremiah 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 11:20So I said, ‘Lord Almighty, you judge people in a fair way. You know what people are thinking. You understand how they feel. I trust you to show that I have not done anything that is wrong. So please punish these people. Pay them back for their sins.’
• 2 Kings 20:3He said, ‘Lord, please remember that I have served you well. I have always obeyed you. You could trust me to do the things that you told me to do.’ Hezekiah wept very much.
• 1 Chronicles 29:17My God, I know that you look carefully at our thoughts. You are pleased when we want to do things that are right. And I really do want to offer all these things to you. I know that your people who have met together here are happy. I can see that they are pleased to give these things to you.
• Job 23:10But he knows the way that I live. When he has finished testing me, he will see that I am pure. I will be as pure as gold.
• Psalms 17:3You look deep into my mind. You check my thoughts at night. When you test me, you find nothing that is wrong. I have decided that I will never tell any lies.
• Psalms 26:1Lord, I always try to do what is right. I continue to trust you all the time. So please show that I am not guilty of wrong things.
• Psalms 44:21But if we had done that, you would have discovered it. You know even our most secret thoughts.
• Psalms 139:1Lord, you look deep inside me, and you know all about me.
• John 21:17Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was sad because Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’ So he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, you know everything. You know that I really love you!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Take care of my sheep.
• 1 John 3:20Even if our thoughts tell us that we have done something wrong, we still will not be afraid of God. We can trust God more than we trust our thoughts. He already knows everything about us.
• Jeremiah 17:18Please bring shame on those who want to hurt me. Do not make me ashamed. Make those people afraid, but do not make me afraid. Destroy them with a time of great trouble. Punish them completely!
• Jeremiah 18:21So now I ask you to punish them! Yes, may famine kill their children. May they die in war. May wives no longer have husbands or children. May disease kill the old men. May the young men die in battle.
• Jeremiah 20:12Lord Almighty, you test righteous people, to see if they are faithful. You know what people think. You know their feelings. I trust you to show that I am not guilty. So punish those people who want to hurt me.
• Jeremiah 48:15I am the King, the Lord Almighty, and I tell you this: The enemy will soon destroy Moab and its cities. They will kill its strongest young men.
• Jeremiah 50:27Kill all their strong soldiers. Let them go to their place of death! Terrible trouble has come to the people of Babylon. The time of their punishment has arrived!’
• Jeremiah 51:4Their dead bodies will lie on the ground all over Babylonia and in the streets of the city.

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

• Heart
• Jeremiah
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Pluck
• Talk
• Covenant, the New
• Crime; Crimes
• Foreknow; Foreknowledge

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