New International Version
Jeremiah 12:3
3Yet 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!
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But as for me, Lord, you know my heart. You see me and test my thoughts. Drag these people away like sheep to be butchered! Set them aside to be slaughtered!
Context of Jeremiah 12:3
1You are always righteous, Lord, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? 2You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. 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! 4How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happens to us.” 5“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?
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 you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause.
- 2 Kings 20:3“Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
- 1 Chronicles 29:17I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
- Job 23:10But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
- Psalms 17:3Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me, you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed.
- Psalms 26:1Vindicate me, Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.
- Psalms 44:21would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?
- Psalms 139:1You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
- John 21:17The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
- 1 John 3:20If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
- Jeremiah 17:18Let my persecutors be put to shame, but keep me from shame; let them be terrified, but keep me from terror. Bring on them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction.
- Jeremiah 18:21So give their children over to famine; hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men be put to death, their young men slain by the sword in battle.
- Jeremiah 20:12Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause.
- Jeremiah 48:15Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded; her finest young men will go down in the slaughter,” declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.
- Jeremiah 50:27Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter! Woe to them! For their day has come, the time for them to be punished.
- Jeremiah 51:4They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally 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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