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

3But you, Lord, know all about me. You watch me and test my devotion to you. Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered! Appoint a time when they will be killed! 4How long must the land be parched and the grass in every field be withered? How long must the animals and the birds die because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land? For these people boast, “God will not see what happens to us.” The Lord answered, “If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out, how will you be able to compete with horses? And if you feel secure only in safe and open country, how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River? 6As a matter of fact, even your own brothers and the members of your own family have betrayed you too. Even they have plotted to do away with you. So do not trust them even when they say kind things to you. 7“I will abandon my nation. I will forsake the people I call my own. I will turn my beloved people over to the power of 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 3:11My child, do not despise discipline from the Lord, and do not loathe his rebuke.
• Proverbs 24:10If you faint in the day of trouble, your strength is small!
• Hebrews 12:3Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.
• 1 Peter 4:12Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you.
• Jeremiah 26:8Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die!
• Jeremiah 36:26He also ordered Jerahmeel, who was one of the royal princes, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. However, the Lord hid them.
• Jeremiah 38:4So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. This man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.”
• Jeremiah 49:19“A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Edomites off their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For there is no one like me, and there is no one who can call me to account. There is no ruler who can stand up against me.
• Jeremiah 50:44“A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Babylonians off of their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For there is no one like me. There is no one who can call me to account. There is no ruler that can stand up against me.
• Joshua 3:15When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface of the water – (the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time) –
• 1 Chronicles 12:15They crossed the Jordan River in the first month, when it was overflowing its banks, and routed those living in all the valleys to the east and west.
• Psalms 42:7One deep stream calls out to another at the sound of your waterfalls; all your billows and waves overwhelm me.
• Psalms 69:1Deliver me, O God, for the water has reached 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