New Living Translation
Jeremiah 12:13
13My people have planted wheat but are harvesting thorns. They have worn themselves out, but it has done them no good. They will harvest a crop of shame because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 12:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
- New International Version (NIV)They will sow wheat but reap thorns; they will wear themselves out but gain nothing. They will bear the shame of their harvest because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns; they have tired themselves out but profit nothing. They shall be ashamed of their harvests because of the fierce anger of the Lord."
- New King James Version (NKJV)They have sown wheat but reaped thorns; They have put themselves to pain but do not profit. But be ashamed of your harvest Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
Context of Jeremiah 12:13
11They have made it an empty wasteland; I hear its mournful cry. The whole land is desolate, and no one even cares. 12On all the bare hilltops, destroying armies can be seen. The sword of the Lord devours people from one end of the nation to the other. No one will escape! My people have planted wheat but are harvesting thorns. They have worn themselves out, but it has done them no good. They will harvest a crop of shame because of the fierce anger of the Lord.” 14Now this is what the Lord says: “I will uproot from their land all the evil nations reaching out for the possession I gave my people Israel. And I will uproot Judah from among them. 15But afterward I will return and have compassion on all of them. I will bring them home to their own lands again, each nation to its own possession.
Read all of Jeremiah 12Jeremiah 12:13 word by word
זָרְע֤וּ חִטִּים֙ וְקֹצִ֣ים קָצָ֔רוּ נֶחְל֖וּ לֹ֣א יוֹעִ֑לוּ וּבֹ֙שׁוּ֙ מִתְּבוּאֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם מֵחֲר֖וֹן אַף־יְהוָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- They have sownזָרַעzâra‛ · to sowH2232
- wheatחִטָּהchiţţâh · wheatH2406
- but shall reapקָצַרqâtsar · to reapH7114
- thornsקוֹץqôts qôts · thornH6975
- they have put themselves to painחָלָהchâlâh · be weak: weakH2470
- shall not profitיָעַלya‛al · to gainH3276
- and they shall be ashamedבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954
- of your revenuesתְּבוּאָהtebû'âh · produceH8393
- because of the fierceחָרוֹןchârôn chârôn · burning angerH2740
- angerאַף'aph · face: angerH639
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Jeremiah 12:13
- Leviticus 26:16I will punish you. I will bring sudden terrors upon you—wasting diseases and burning fevers that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will plant your crops in vain because your enemies will eat them.
- Deuteronomy 28:38“You will plant much but harvest little, for locusts will eat your crops.
- Micah 6:15You will plant crops but not harvest them. You will press your olives but not get enough oil to anoint yourselves. You will trample the grapes but get no juice to make your wine.
- Haggai 1:6You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!
- Haggai 2:16When you hoped for a twenty-bushel crop, you harvested only ten. When you expected to draw fifty gallons from the winepress, you found only twenty.
- Jeremiah 3:23Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the Lord our God will Israel ever find salvation.
- Isaiah 30:1“What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins.
- Isaiah 31:1What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 55:2Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
- Habakkuk 2:13Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain!
- Romans 6:21And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 12:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns - All their projects shall fail: none of their enterprises shall succeed. They are enemies to God, and therefore cannot have his blessing.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13Shall reap shall not profit - Rather, have reaped have profited nothing. The force of the proverb is that all their labors had ended only in disappointment. And they shall be ashamed of your revenues - Or, yea, be ashamed of your produce - the produce of the fields.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. 13The Lord felt no joy when invaders ate his people's crops, leaving only thorns. However, the people of Judah turned away from their faith, which deserved the Lord's fierce anger (see Ezekiel 16:36–39), leading to their shame.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. Description in detail of the devastation of the land (Mi 6:15). they shall be ashamed of your--The change of persons, in passing from indirect to direct address, is frequent in the prophets. Equivalent to, "Ye shall be put to the shame of disappointment at the smallness of your produce."Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 12:13
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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