1 Righteous art thou, Jehovah, when I plead with thee; yet will I speak with thee of [thy] judgments. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? [wherefore] are all they at ease that deal very treacherously?
And now we hold the proud for happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they tempt God, and they escape.
The tents of desolators are in peace, and they that provoke ùGod are secure; into whose hand +God bringeth.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in thy sight; that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, be clear when thou judgest.
{[A Psalm] of David.} Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, and be not envious of them that work unrighteousness;
Wherefore do the wicked live, grow old, yea, become mighty in power? Their seed is established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of +God upon them. Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They shout to the tambour and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity, and in a moment go down to Sheol. And they say unto ùGod, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways! What is the Almighty that we should serve him? and what are we profited if we pray unto him?
The righteous Jehovah is in the midst of her: he doeth no wrong. Every morning doth he bring his judgment to light; it faileth not: but the unrighteous knoweth no shame.
[Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on mischief: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, [and] keepest silence when the wicked swalloweth up a [man] more righteous than he? And thou makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them. He taketh up all of them with the hook, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them into his drag; therefore he rejoiceth and is glad: therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; for by them his portion is become fat, and his meat dainty. Shall he therefore empty his net, and not spare to slay the nations continually?
Thine, O Lord, is the righteousness, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, in all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their unfaithfulness in which they have been unfaithful against thee.
But thou, Jehovah of hosts, who judgest righteously, who triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
As a cage full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and have enriched themselves. They are become fat, they shine, yea, they surpass in deeds of wickedness; they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, and they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not adjudge.
For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith Jehovah.
How long shall the wicked, O Jehovah, how long shall the wicked triumph? [How long] shall they utter [and] speak insolence -- all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
But I will speak to the Almighty, and will find pleasure in reasoning with ùGod;
Jehovah, God of Israel, thou art righteous; for we are a remnant that is escaped, as [it is] this day. Behold, we are before thee in our trespasses; for there is no standing before thee because of this.
But if our unrighteousness commend God's righteousness, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who inflicts wrath? I speak according to man. Far be the thought: since how shall God judge the world?
But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.
Yea, thou heardest not, yea, thou knewest not, yea, from of old thine ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldest ever deal treacherously, and thou wast called a transgressor from the womb.
Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forward your arguments, saith the King of Jacob.
Jehovah is righteous in all his ways, and kind in all his works.
TZADE. Righteous art thou, Jehovah, and upright are thy judgments.
For I was envious at the arrogant, seeing the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs in their death, and their body is well nourished; They have not the hardships of mankind, neither are they plagued like [other] men: Therefore pride encompasseth them as a neck-chain, violence covereth them [as] a garment; Their eyes stand out from fatness, they exceed the imaginations of their heart: They mock and speak wickedly of oppression, they speak loftily: They set their mouth in the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore his people turn hither, and waters in fulness are wrung out to them. And they say, How can ùGod know, and is there knowledge in the Most High? Behold, these are the wicked, and they prosper in the world: they heap up riches. Truly have I purified my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency: For all the day have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I said, I will speak thus, behold, I should be faithless to the generation of thy children. When I thought to be able to know this, it was a grievous task in mine eyes; Until I went into the sanctuaries of ùGod; [then] understood I their end. Truly thou settest them in slippery places, thou castest them down in ruins. How are they suddenly made desolate! they pass away, consumed with terrors. As a dream, when one awaketh, wilt thou, Lord, on arising despise their image. When my heart was in a ferment, and I was pricked in my reins, Then I was brutish and knew nothing; I was [as] a beast with thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden my right hand; Thou wilt guide me by thy counsel, and after the glory, thou wilt receive me. Whom have I in the heavens? and there is none upon earth I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: God is the rock of my heart and my portion for ever. For behold, they that are far from thee shall perish; thou destroyest every one that goeth a whoring from thee. But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord Jehovah, that I may declare all thy works.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 12
Commentary on Jeremiah 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
In this chapter we have,
Jer 12:1-6
The prophet doubts not but it would be of use to others to know what had passed between God and his soul, what temptations he had been assaulted with and how he had got over them; and therefore he here tells us,
Jer 12:7-13
The people of the Jews are here marked for ruin.
Jer 12:14-17
The prophets sometimes, in God's name, delivered messages both of judgment and mercy to the nations that bordered on the land of Israel: but here is a message to all those in general who had in their turns been one way or other injurious to God's people, had either oppressed them or triumphed in their being oppressed. Observe,