New International Version
Jeremiah 12:9
9Has not my inheritance become to me like a speckled bird of prey that other birds of prey surround and attack? Go and gather all the wild beasts; bring them to devour.
Jeremiah 12:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair? Are the birds of prey against her all around? Go, assemble all the wild beasts; bring them to devour.
- New King James Version (NKJV)My heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture; The vultures all around are against her. Come, assemble all the beasts of the field, Bring them to devour!
- New Living Translation (NLT)My chosen people act like speckled vultures, but they themselves are surrounded by vultures. Bring on the wild animals to pick their corpses clean!
Context of Jeremiah 12:9
7“I will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies. 8My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest. She roars at me; therefore I hate her. Has not my inheritance become to me like a speckled bird of prey that other birds of prey surround and attack? Go and gather all the wild beasts; bring them to devour. 10Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field; they will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland. 11It will be made a wasteland, parched and desolate before me; the whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares.
Read all of Jeremiah 12Jeremiah 12:9 word by word
הַעַ֨יִט צָב֤וּעַ נַחֲלָתִי֙ לִ֔י הַעַ֖יִט סָבִ֣יב עָלֶ֑יהָ לְכ֗וּ אִסְפ֛וּ כָּל־חַיַּ֥ת הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה הֵתָ֥יוּ לְאָכְלָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Mine heritageנַחֲלָהnachălâh · inheritanceH5159
- a speckledצָבוּעַtsâbûa‛ · variegatedH6641
- birdעַ֫יִט‛ayiţ · bird of preyH5861
- round aboutסָבִיבsâbîyb sebîybâh · aroundH5439
- against her; comeיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- ye, assembleאָסַף'âsaph · to gatherH622
- all the beastsחַיָּהchay · living thingH2416
- of the fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: wildlifeH7704
- comeאָתָה'âthâh 'âthâ' · to comeH857
- to devourאׇכְלָה'ôklâh · foodH402
Cross-references for Jeremiah 12:9
- Jeremiah 2:15Lions have roared; they have growled at him. They have laid waste his land; his towns are burned and deserted.
- 2 Kings 24:2The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by his servants the prophets.
- Ezekiel 16:36This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you poured out your lust and exposed your naked body in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children’s blood,
- Ezekiel 23:22“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stir up your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side—
- Revelation 17:16The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
- Jeremiah 7:33Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.
- Isaiah 56:9Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
- Ezekiel 39:17“Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
- Revelation 19:17And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
Commentaries on Jeremiah 12:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Is unto me as a speckled bird - A bird of divers colors. This is a people who have corrupted the worship of the true God with heathenish rites and ceremonies; therefore, the different nations, (see Jeremiah 12:10; whose gods and forms of worship they have adopted shall come and spoil them. As far as you have followed the surrounding nations in their worship, so far shall they prevail over your state. Every one shall take that which is his own; and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7-9Verses 7-9 Yahweh shows that the downfall of the nation was occasioned by no want of love on His part, but by the nation‘s conduct. Left - More correctly, cast away. Jeremiah 12:8 Judah has not merely refused obedience, but become intractable and fierce, like an untamed lion. It has roared against God with open blasphemy. As His favor is life, so is His hatred death, i. e., Jerusalem‘s punishment shall be as if inflicted by one that hated her. Jeremiah…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 God's people had been the dearly-beloved of his soul, precious in his sight, but they acted so, that he gave them up to their enemies. Many professing churches become like speckled birds, presenting a mixture of religion and the world, with its vain fashions, pursuits, and pollutions. God's people are as men wondered at, as a speckled bird; but this people had by their own folly made themselves so; and the beasts and birds are called to prey…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Large flocks of speckled vultures would prey on the people of Judah. Soon, wild animals would pick their bodies clean.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. speckled bird--Many translate, "a ravenous beast, the hyena"; the corresponding Arabic word means hyena; so the Septuagint. But the Hebrew always elsewhere means "a bird of prey." The Hebrew for "speckled" is from a root "to color"; answering to the Jewish blending together with paganism the altogether diverse Mosaic ritual. The neighboring nations, birds of prey like herself (for she had sinfully assimilated herself to them), were ready to pounce upon…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 12:9
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries