New Living Translation
Jeremiah 12:5
5“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?
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 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! 4How long must this land mourn? Even the grass in the fields has withered. The wild animals and birds have disappeared because of the evil in the land. For the people have said, “The Lord doesn’t see what’s ahead for us!” “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? 6Even your brothers, members of your own family, have turned against you. They plot and raise complaints against you. Do not trust them, no matter how pleasantly they speak. 7“I have abandoned my people, my special possession. I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies.
Read all of Jeremiah 12Jeremiah 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, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
- Proverbs 24:10If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.
- Hebrews 12:3Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
- 1 Peter 4:12Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
- Jeremiah 26:8But when Jeremiah had finished his message, saying everything the Lord had told him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people at the Temple mobbed him. “Kill him!” they shouted.
- Jeremiah 36:26Then the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the Lord had hidden them.
- Jeremiah 38:4So these officials went to the king and said, “Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!”
- Jeremiah 49:19I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan, leaping on the sheep in the pasture. I will chase Edom from its land, and I will appoint the leader of my choice. For who is like me, and who can challenge me? What ruler can oppose my will?”
- Jeremiah 50:44“I will come like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan, leaping on the sheep in the pasture. I will chase Babylon from its land, and I will appoint the leader of my choice. For who is like me, and who can challenge me? What ruler can oppose my will?”
- Joshua 3:15It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge,
- 1 Chronicles 12:15These were the men who crossed the Jordan River during its seasonal flooding at the beginning of the year and drove out all the people living in the lowlands on both the east and west banks.
- Psalms 42:7I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
- Psalms 69:1Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are 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
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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