Tree of Life Version
Jeremiah 12:13
13They sowed wheat but reaped thorns. They wore themselves out, gaining nothing. So be ashamed of your harvest, because of Adonai’s fierce anger.
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 made it a wasteland. It mourns before Me, desolate. The whole land will be laid waste, because no one takes it to heart.” 12On all the bare hills in the wilderness destroyers have come. For the sword of Adonai is devouring from the one end of the land to the other end of the land. No flesh has shalom. They sowed wheat but reaped thorns. They wore themselves out, gaining nothing. So be ashamed of your harvest, because of Adonai’s fierce anger. 14Thus says Adonai, “As for all My evil neighbors who strike at the inheritance that I bequeathed to My people Israel—I am about to uproot them from their land and pluck the house of Judah from them. 15Yet it will come to pass, after I have uprooted them, that I will again have compassion on them and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.
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 26:16then I will do the following to you in return. I will appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever that will dim the eyes and cause the soul to pine away. You will sow your seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.
- Deuteronomy 28:38“Much seed you will take out to the field—but little will you bring in, for the locust will eat it up.
- Micah 6:15You will sow but not reap; You will tread olives but not anoint yourself with oil, and grapes but not drink wine.
- Haggai 1:6You sowed much but bring in little. You eat but are never satisfied. You drink but not enough to get filled. You put on clothes but no one is warm. And whoever earns wages works for a bag full of holes.”
- Haggai 2:16how were things? When one came to a grain-heap of twenty measures, there were ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were twenty.
- Jeremiah 3:23Surely help from the hills is a delusion— the commotion of the mountains! Surely in Adonai Eloheinu is the salvation of Israel.
- Isaiah 30:1“Oy , the rebellious children” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “Who carry out a plan, but not Mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Ruach, so they may add sin to sin,
- Isaiah 31:1Oy , those going down to Egypt for help. They are relying on horses, trusting in chariots since they are many, and in horsemen since they are very mighty, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel nor seek Adonai!
- Isaiah 55:2Why do you spend money for what is not bread? Your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance.
- Habakkuk 2:13Behold, is it not from Adonai-Tzva’ot that peoples toil to fuel a fire, and nations exhaust themselves for emptiness?
- Romans 6:21So then, what outcome did you have that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death.
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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