Jeremiah 12:5

Jeremiah 12:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
• New International Version (NIV)“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?
• English Standard Version (ESV)"If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
• New King James Version (NKJV)“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?

Context of Jeremiah 12:5

3You know me, O Lord. You see me and test my devotion to you. Drag them away like sheep to be slaughtered. Prepare them for the day of slaughter. 4How long will the land mourn? How long will the plants in every field remain dried up? The animals and the birds are dying, because people are wicked. They think that God doesn’t know what they are doing. “If you have raced against others on foot, and they have tired you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in open country, how can you live in the jungle along the Jordan River? 6Even your relatives and members of your father’s household betray you. They have also formed a mob to find you. Don’t trust them when they say good things about you. 7“I have abandoned my nation. I have left my own people. I have handed the people I love over to their enemies.

Jeremiah 12:5 word by word

כִּ֣י אֶת־רַגְלִ֥ים׀ רַ֙צְתָּה֙ וַיַּלְא֔וּךָ וְאֵ֥יךְ תְּתַֽחֲרֶ֖ה אֶת־הַסּוּסִ֑ים וּבְאֶ֤רֶץ שָׁלוֹם֙ אַתָּ֣ה בוֹטֵ֔חַ וְאֵ֥יךְ תַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה בִּגְא֥וֹן הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If thou hast runרוּץrûts · to run: runH7323
• with the footmenרַגְלִיraglîy · on footH7273
• and they have weariedלָאָהlâ'âh · be wearyH3811
• thee, then how canst thou contendתַּחָרָהtachârâh · to contendH8474
• with horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of peaceשָׁלוֹםshâlôm shâlôm · peace: well-beingH7965
• thou trustedstבָּטַחbâţach · to trustH982
• then how wilt thou doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• in the swellingגָּאוֹןgâ'ôn · prideH1347
• of Jordanיַרְדֵּןyardên · JordanH3383

Cross-references for Jeremiah 12:5

• Proverbs 3:11Do not reject the discipline of the Lord, my son, and do not resent his warning,
• Proverbs 24:10If you faint in a crisis, you are weak.
• Hebrews 12:3Think about Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners, so that you don’t become tired and give up.
• 1 Peter 4:12Dear friends, don’t be surprised by the fiery troubles that are coming in order to test you. Don’t feel as though something strange is happening to you,
• Jeremiah 26:8But as soon as Jeremiah finished saying everything that the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets, and all the people grabbed him and said, “You must die!
• Jeremiah 36:26The king commanded Jerahmeel (the king’s son), Seraiah (son of Azriel), and Shelemiah (son of Abdeel) to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. But the Lord had hidden Baruch and Jeremiah.
• Jeremiah 38:4Then the officials said to the king, “Have this man put to death. He discourages the soldiers who are left in this city and all the people by telling them such things. This man is not trying to help these people; he’s trying to hurt them.”
• Jeremiah 49:19“I will suddenly chase them from their places like a lion coming out of the jungle along the Jordan River into pastureland. I will appoint over Edom whomever I choose. Who is like me? Who can challenge me? Is there any leader who can stand up to me?”
• Jeremiah 50:44I will suddenly chase them from their places like a lion coming out of the jungle along the Jordan River into pastureland. I will appoint over Babylon whomever I choose. Who is like me? Who can challenge me? Is there any leader who can stand up to me?
• Joshua 3:15(The Jordan overflows all its banks during the harvest season.) When the priests who were carrying the ark came to the edge of the Jordan River and set foot in
• 1 Chronicles 12:15In the first month of the year, these men crossed the Jordan River when it was flooding its banks. They chased away all the people in the valleys to the east and west.
• Psalms 42:7One deep sea calls to another at the roar of your waterspouts. All the whitecaps on your waves have swept over me.
• Psalms 69:1Save me, O God! The water is already up to my neck!

Commentaries on Jeremiah 12:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5If thou hast run with the footmen - If the smallest evils to which thou art exposed cause thee to make so many bitter complaints, how wilt thou feel when, in the course of thy prophetic ministry, thou shalt be exposed to much greater, from enemies much more powerful? Footmen may here be the symbol of common evil events; horsemen, of evils much more terrible. If thou have sunk under small difficulties, what wilt thou do when great ones come? And if in the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Yahweh rebukes Jeremiah‘s impatience, showing him by two proverbial sayings, that there were still greater trials of faith in store for him. Prosperous wickedness is after all a mere ordinary trial, a mere “running with the footmen;” he will have to exert far greater powers of endurance. And if in the land … - Rather, “and in a land of peace thou art secure; but how wilt thou do amid the pride of Jordan?” if thou canst feel safe only where things are…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Jeremiah's conflict with his family and friends was like racing against men. This was nothing compared to racing against horses, which would happen when the foreign army arrived. The coming war would be as difficult as navigating the dense bushes near the Jordan River.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Jehovah's reply to Jeremiah's complaint. horses--that is, horsemen: the argument a fortiori. A proverbial phrase. The injuries done thee by the men of Anathoth ("the footmen") are small compared with those which the men of Jerusalem ("the horsemen") are about to inflict on thee. If the former weary thee out, how wilt thou contend with the king, the court, and the priests at Jerusalem? wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee--English Version thus…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 12:5

• Confidence
• Jeremiah
• Jordan

In the dictionaries

• Jordan
• Jordan River, Jordan
• Pluck
• Swelling
• Talk
• Contend; Contention
• Covenant, the New
• Crime; Crimes

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