Jeremiah 12:5 - Easy To Read Version “Jeremiah, if you get tired running\par in a footrace with men,\par how will you race against horses?\par If you get tired in a safe place,\par what will you do in a dangerous place?\par What will you do in the thorn bushes\par that grow along the Jordan River?\par Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 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? Amplified Bible - Classic Edition [But the Lord rebukes Jeremiah's impatience, saying] If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? And if [you take to flight] in a land of peace where you feel secure, then what will you do [when you tread the tangled maze of jungle haunted by lions] in the swelling and flooding of the Jordan? American Standard Version (1901) If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and though in a land of peace thou art secure, yet how wilt thou do in the pride of the Jordan? Common English Bible If you have raced with people and are worn out, how will you compete with horses? If you fall down in an open field, how will you survive in the forest along the Jordan? Catholic Public Domain Version "If you have struggled to run on foot, how will you be able to compete with horses? And if you have been secure in a land of peace, what will you do about the arrogance of the Jordan? Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version If thou hast wearied with running with footmen, how canst thou contend with horses? And if thou hast been secure in a land of peace, what wilt thou do in the swelling of the Jordan? |
The people from the family group of Gad were the soldiers that went across the Jordan River in the first month of the year. That was a time of year when the Jordan River was flooding. They chased away all the people living in the valleys. They chased those people to the east and to the west.
I hear the crashing of the water\par as water from deep in the earth\par spills over the waterfall.\par Lord, your waves are crashing\par all around me and washing over me! {\cf2\super [262]} \par
My son, sometimes the Lord will show you that you are doing wrong. But don’t be angry about this punishment. Try to learn from it.
The men from Anathoth were planning to kill Jeremiah. Those men said to Jeremiah, “Don’t prophesy {\cf2\super [100]} in the name of the Lord, or we will kill you.” The Lord made a decision about those men from Anathoth.
Jeremiah finished speaking everything the Lord had commanded him to say to the people. Then the priests, the prophets, and all the people grabbed Jeremiah. They said, “You will die for saying such terrible things!
And King Jehoiakim commanded some men to arrest Baruch the scribe {\cf2\super [314]} and Jeremiah the prophet. Those men were Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel. But those men could not find Baruch and Jeremiah, because the Lord had hidden them.
“Sometimes a lion will come from the thick bushes near the Jordan River. And that lion will go into the fields where people put their sheep and cattle. I am like that lion. I will go to Edom. And I will scare those people. I will make them run away. None of their young men will stop me. No one is like me. No one will challenge me. None of their shepherds (leaders) will stand up against me.”
\{The Lord says,\}\par “Sometimes a lion will come from\par the thick bushes near the Jordan River.\par That lion will walk into the fields\par where people have their animals.\par \{and the animals will all run away.\}\par I will be like that lion,\par I will chase Babylon from its land.\par Who should I choose to do this?\par There is no person like me.\par There is no person that can challenge me.\par \{So I will do it.\}\par No shepherd will come to chase me away.\par I will chase away the people of Babylon.”\par
(During harvest time the Jordan River overflows its banks. So the river was at its fullest.) The priests who were carrying the Box came to the shore of the river. They stepped into the water.
My friends, don’t be surprised at the painful things that you are now suffering. Those things are testing your faith. Don’t think that something strange is happening to you.