1 Righteous are You, LORD {YHWH, Just Arbiter}, when I plead my case to You; yet I will speak with You about judgments {mishpatim: decisions}. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all who deal treacherously at ease?
2 You {YHWH, Divine Planter} have planted them; indeed, they have taken root, they go on, and also bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their inner parts {kilyot: innermost being}.
3 But you, LORD {YHWH, All-Knowing Judge}, know me; you see me and have tested my heart {libbi: innermost self} in your presence. Pull them out like sheep for slaughter, and dedicate them for the day of killing.
4 Until when will the land mourn, and the grass of all the field wither {yivash: lose life}? From the evil of those dwelling in it, beasts and birds have been consumed, for they have said, "He will not see our latter end {acharitenu: final destiny}."
5 For if you have run with footmen and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a land of peace you are trusting {boteach: feeling secure}, then how will you fare in the thicket of the Jordan {gəʾon: overgrown banks}?
6 For even your brothers {achekha: close blood relatives} and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; even they have cried out loudly after you. Do not trust them {ta’amen: place confidence}, for they speak good words to you.
7 I have forsaken my house; I have abandoned my heritage {nachalah: allotted inheritance}; I have given the beloved {yedidut: dearly beloved} of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
8 My inheritance {nachalati: covenant possession} has become to me like a lion in the forest; she has raised her voice against me; therefore I have hated {senetihah: utterly rejected} her.
9 Is my inheritance to me {li: personal possession} like a speckled bird of prey {tsavua: mottled}? Are the birds of prey all around her, attacking? Go, assemble every beast of the field; bring them to devour.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard and trampled my portion {chelqati: allotted share} underfoot; they have made my portion of delight {chemdati: precious possession} a desolate wilderness.
11 It has been made a desolation; it mourns {avlah: laments, expresses deep grief} over Me {YHWH, Sorrowful Judge}. The whole land has become a wasteland because there is no one who sets it upon his heart.
12 Upon all the heights in the wilderness, plunderers have come; for the sword of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Judge} is devouring from one end of the land to the other end of the land; there is no peace for any flesh {basar: mortal being}.
13 They have sown wheat, but reaped thorns; they have worn themselves out, yet do not profit, and are ashamed of their harvests because of the burning anger {haron: intense wrath} of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Judge}.
14 Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge} concerning all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance {nachalah: God-given heritage} which I have bestowed on My people Israel; behold, I am going to uproot them from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.
15 And it will be, after I {YHWH, Just Judge} have uprooted {natshi: torn out} them, I will return and have compassion on them, and I will bring them back, each man to his inheritance and each man to his land.
16 And it shall be that if they indeed learn the ways of My people to swear {lehisheva: take an oath} by My name, “As the LORD {YHWH, Eternal Sustainer} lives,” just as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of My people.
17 But if they do not listen {shama: heed}, then I will surely uproot that nation—uproot and destroy it—declares the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge}.