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?
• 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?
• New Living Translation (NLT)“If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?

Context of Jeremiah 12:5

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! 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.” “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? 6Your relatives, members of your own family— even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you. 7“I will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her 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 son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke,
• Proverbs 24:10If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!
• Hebrews 12:3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
• 1 Peter 4:12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
• Jeremiah 26:8But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die!
• Jeremiah 36:26Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.
• Jeremiah 38:4Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”
• Jeremiah 49:19“Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Edom from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?”
• Jeremiah 50:44Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?”
• Joshua 3:15Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,
• 1 Chronicles 12:15It was they who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight everyone living in the valleys, to the east and to the west.
• Psalms 42:7Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
• Psalms 69:1Save me, O God, for the waters have come 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