Jeremiah 12:4
New International Version
How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happens to us.”

New Living Translation
How 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!”

English Standard Version
How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are swept away, because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

Berean Standard Bible
How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”

King James Bible
How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

New King James Version
How long will the land mourn, And the herbs of every field wither? The beasts and birds are consumed, For the wickedness of those who dwell there, Because they said, “He will not see our final end.”

New American Standard Bible
How long is the land to mourn, And the vegetation of the countryside to dry up? Due to the wickedness of those who live in it, Animals and birds have been snatched away, Because people have said, “He will not see our final end.”

NASB 1995
How long is the land to mourn And the vegetation of the countryside to wither? For the wickedness of those who dwell in it, Animals and birds have been snatched away, Because men have said, “He will not see our latter ending.”

NASB 1977
How long is the land to mourn And the vegetation of the countryside to wither? For the wickedness of those who dwell in it, Animals and birds have been snatched away, Because men have said, “He will not see our latter ending.”

Legacy Standard Bible
How long is the land to mourn And the plants of every field to dry up? Because of the evil of those who inhabit it, Animals and birds have been swept away, Because men have said, “He will not see our latter ending.”

Amplified Bible
How long must the land mourn And the grass of the countryside wither? Because of the wickedness and hypocrisy of those who live in it, The beasts and the birds are consumed and are swept away [by the drought], Because men [mocking me] have said, “He will not [live long enough to] see [what happens at] our final end.”

Christian Standard Bible
How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? Because of the evil of its residents, animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? Because of the evil of its residents, animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”

American Standard Version
How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole country wither? for the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our latter end.

Contemporary English Version
How long will the ground be dry and the pasturelands parched? The birds and animals are dead and gone. And all of this happened because the people are so sinful. They even brag, "God can't see the sins we commit."

English Revised Version
How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole country wither? for the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our latter end.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
How long will the land mourn? How long will the plants in every field remain dried up? The animals and the birds are dying, because people are wicked. They think that God doesn't know what they are doing.

Good News Translation
How long will our land be dry, and the grass in every field be withered? Animals and birds are dying because of the wickedness of our people, people who say, 'God doesn't see what we are doing.'"

International Standard Version
How long will the land mourn and the vegetation of every field dry up? Because of the wickedness of those who live in it, animals and birds are swept away. For they say, "He does not see our future."

Majority Standard Bible
How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”

NET Bible
How long must the land be parched and the grass in every field be withered? How long must the animals and the birds die because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land? For these people boast, "God will not see what happens to us."

New Heart English Bible
How long shall the land be parched, and the grass of every field wither? For the wickedness of those who dwell in it, the animals are consumed, and the birds; because they said, "He shall not see our latter end."

Webster's Bible Translation
How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He will not see our last end.

World English Bible
How long will the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole country wither? Because of the wickedness of those who dwell therein, the animals and birds are consumed; because they said, “He won’t see our latter end.”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Until when does the earth mourn, "" And the herb of the whole field wither? For the wickedness of those dwelling in it, "" Beast and bird have been consumed, "" Because they said, “He does not see our latter end.”

Young's Literal Translation
Till when doth the earth mourn, And the herb of the whole field wither? For the wickedness of those dwelling in it, Consumed have been beast and fowl, Because they said, 'He doth not see our latter end.'

Smith's Literal Translation
How long shall the land mourn, and the herbage of every field dry up from the evil of those dwelling in it the earth perished, and the birds; for they said, He shall not see our last Part.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of every field wither for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? The beasts and the birds are consumed: because they have said: He shall not see our last end.

Catholic Public Domain Version
How long shall the earth mourn? And how long shall the plants of every field whither because of the wickedness of the inhabitants within them? It has consumed the wild animals and the birds. For they said: “He will not see our very end.”

New American Bible
How long must the land mourn, the grass of the whole countryside wither? Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it beasts and birds disappear, for they say, “God does not care about our future.”

New Revised Standard Version
How long will the land mourn, and the grass of every field wither? For the wickedness of those who live in it the animals and the birds are swept away, and because people said, “He is blind to our ways.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
How long shall the land mourn and all herbs of the field wither for the wickedness of those who dwell therein? The cattle and the birds are consumed because wicked men have said, We shall not see an end.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
How long shall the land mourn, and every green plant of the field dry up from the evil of its inhabitants? Beast and bird have ended, for they said: “We will not see an end”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
How long shall the land mourn, And the herbs of the whole field wither? For the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts are consumed, and the birds; Because they said: 'He seeth not our end.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
How long shall the land mourn, and the grass of the field wither, for the wickedness of them, that dwell in it? the beasts and birds are utterly destroyed; because the people said, God shall not see our ways.
Audio Bible



Context
The Prosperity of the Wicked
3But You know me, O LORD; You see me and test my heart toward You. Drag away the wicked like sheep to the slaughter and set them apart for the day of carnage. 4How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”

Cross References
Romans 8:22
We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.

Hosea 4:3
Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.

Isaiah 24:4-6
The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away. / The earth is defiled by its people; they have transgressed the laws; they have overstepped the decrees and broken the everlasting covenant. / Therefore a curse has consumed the earth, and its inhabitants must bear the guilt; the earth’s dwellers have been burned, and only a few survive.

Joel 1:10-12
The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails. / Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. / The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, palm, and apple—all the trees of the orchard—are withered. Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.

Amos 8:8
Will not the land quake for this, and all its dwellers mourn? All of it will swell like the Nile; it will surge and then subside like the Nile in Egypt.

Zephaniah 1:2-3
“I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD. / “I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.

Isaiah 33:8-9
The highways are deserted; travel has ceased. The treaty has been broken, the witnesses are despised, and human life is disregarded. / The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decayed. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

Ezekiel 14:13-21
“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast, / then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD. / Or if I send wild beasts through the land to leave it childless and desolate, with no man passing through it for fear of the beasts, ...

Habakkuk 3:17-18
Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, / yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!

Revelation 11:18
The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your name, both small and great—and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Psalm 107:33-34
He turns rivers into deserts, springs of water into thirsty ground, / and fruitful land into fields of salt, because of the wickedness of its dwellers.

Isaiah 42:14-15
“I have kept silent from ages past; I have remained quiet and restrained. But now I will groan like a woman in labor; I will at once gasp and pant. / I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn the rivers into dry land and drain the marshes.

Matthew 24:7-8
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. / All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Mark 13:8
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, as well as famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

Luke 21:11
There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.


Treasury of Scripture

How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

long.

Jeremiah 9:10
For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.

Jeremiah 14:2
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

Jeremiah 23:10
For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

the herbs.

Psalm 107:34
A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

Joel 1:10-17
The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth…

the beasts.

Jeremiah 4:24
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

Jeremiah 7:20
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

Hosea 4:3
Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

he.

Jeremiah 5:13,31
And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them…

Psalm 50:21
These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

Ezekiel 7:2-13
Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land…

Jump to Previous
Animals Beasts Birds Consumed Country Countryside Dwell End Ending Field Grass Happens Herbs Latter Moreover Mourn Parched Perished Snatched Swept Therein Vegetation Whole Wickedness Wither Withered
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Animals Beasts Birds Consumed Country Countryside Dwell End Ending Field Grass Happens Herbs Latter Moreover Mourn Parched Perished Snatched Swept Therein Vegetation Whole Wickedness Wither Withered
Jeremiah 12
1. Jeremiah, complaining of the prosperity of the wicked, by faith sees their ruin.
5. God admonishes him of his brothers' treachery against him;
7. and laments his heritage.
14. He promises to the penitent return from captivity.














How long
This phrase reflects a deep yearning and impatience for divine intervention. In Hebrew, "ad-matay" conveys a sense of enduring suffering and a plea for God's justice. It echoes the cries of the faithful throughout Scripture who seek God's deliverance in times of distress, reminding us of the human tendency to question God's timing while encouraging trust in His perfect plan.

will the land mourn
The Hebrew word for "mourn" is "abel," which signifies a deep, sorrowful lamentation. The land's mourning is a personification, illustrating the profound impact of human sin on creation. This concept is rooted in the biblical understanding that the earth is affected by the moral state of its inhabitants, as seen in Genesis 3:17-18, where the ground is cursed because of Adam's sin.

and the grass of every field wither
The withering of grass symbolizes the loss of vitality and prosperity. In the Hebrew context, "yavesh" (wither) suggests a drying up or fading away, often used to describe spiritual or physical decline. This imagery serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of sin, which leads to barrenness and desolation, both spiritually and materially.

Because of the evil of its residents
"Evil" here is translated from the Hebrew word "ra," which encompasses wickedness, harm, and moral corruption. The residents' evil actions have direct repercussions on the land, highlighting the biblical principle that sin affects not only individuals but also the broader community and environment. This serves as a call to righteousness and repentance.

the beasts and birds have been swept away
The phrase "swept away" comes from the Hebrew "asaf," meaning to gather or remove. The disappearance of animals signifies ecological imbalance and divine judgment. In the biblical narrative, animals often suffer alongside humans due to sin, as seen in the plagues of Egypt. This underscores the interconnectedness of all creation and the far-reaching impact of human sinfulness.

for they have said
This phrase introduces the rationale behind the judgment. It reflects the people's dismissive attitude towards God's omniscience and justice. Their words reveal a heart hardened by unbelief and rebellion, a common theme in prophetic literature where the people's words and actions betray their lack of faith.

'He cannot see what our end will be.'
This statement is a direct challenge to God's sovereignty and omniscience. The Hebrew concept of "seeing" often implies understanding and judgment. By claiming that God cannot see, the people deny His ability to judge and intervene in their lives. This reflects a dangerous spiritual blindness and arrogance, warning against underestimating God's awareness and justice. It serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of living with an awareness of God's presence and accountability.

(4) How long shall the land mourn . . .--The Hebrew punctuation gives a different division, How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole field (i.e., all the open country) wither? For the wickedness of them that dwell therein, cattle and birds perish, for, say they, he (i.e., the prophet) will not see our latter end (i.e., we shall outlive him, though he prophesies our destruction). A slightly different reading, however, adopted by the LXX. and by some modern scholars, would give for the last clause, "He (God) seeth not our ways," i.e., will leave us unpunished. The opening words point to a time of distress, probably of drought and famine. But out of this wretchedness, the men who were Jeremiah's enemies--the forestallers, and monopolists, and usurers of the time--continued to enrich themselves, and scornfully defied all his warnings.

Verse 4. - How long, etc.? The verse is decided rather differently by the Hebrew accents. The question should end at wither, and the following words run on. Every field should be the whole field (i.e. open country). The connection has caused some difficulty. But drought is constantly described as a judgment (Jeremiah 3:3; Jeremiah 5:24, 25; Jeremiah 14:2-7; Jeremiah 23:10), and it is a prophetic doctrine that the lower animals suffer for the fault of man. Because they said; rather, because they say. The speakers are the ungodly. The subject of the following verb is uncertain. Some think it is God; but when God is said to "see" (i.e. take notice of) anything, it is always something actually existing. The subject must, therefore, be the prophet, of whom the ungodly scoffingly declare, He shall not see our last end, because his predictions are mere delusions.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
How long
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

will the land
הָאָ֔רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

mourn
תֶּאֱבַ֣ל (te·’ĕ·ḇal)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 56: To bewail

and the grass
וְעֵ֥שֶׂב (wə·‘ê·śeḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6212: Herb, herbage

of every
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

field
הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה (haś·śā·ḏeh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7704: Field, land

be withered?
יִיבָ֑שׁ (yî·ḇāš)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3001: To be ashamed, confused, disappointed, to dry up, wither

Because of the evil
מֵרָעַ֣ת (mê·rā·‘aṯ)
Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

of its residents,
יֹֽשְׁבֵי־ (yō·šə·ḇê-)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

the animals
בְהֵמוֹת֙ (ḇə·hê·mō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 929: A dumb beast, any large quadruped, animal

and birds
וָע֔וֹף (wā·‘ō·wp̄)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5775: Flying creatures

have been swept away,
סָפְתָ֤ה (sā·p̄ə·ṯāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5595: To sweep or snatch away, catch up

for
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the people have said,
אָמְר֔וּ (’ā·mə·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“He cannot
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

see
יִרְאֶ֖ה (yir·’eh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

what our end will be.”
אַחֲרִיתֵֽנוּ׃ (’a·ḥă·rî·ṯê·nū)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 319: The last, end, the future, posterity


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 12:4 How long shall the land mourn (Jer.)
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