Jeremiah 12:1-4 - Jeremiah's Complaint

¹ O LORD, thou art more righteous than that I should dispute with thee: Nevertheless, let me talk with thee in things reasonable. How happeneth it, that the way of the ungodly is so prosperous? And that it goeth so well with them, which without any shame offend and live in wickedness? ² Thou plantest them, they take root, they grow, and bring forth fruit. They boast much of thee, yet doest thou not punish them. ³ But thou LORD, to whom I am well known, thou that hast seen, and proved my heart; take them away, like as a flock is carried to the slaughter house, and appoint them for the day of slaughter. ⁴ How long shall the land mourn, and all the herbs of the field perish, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? The cattle and the birds are gone, yet say they, "Tush, God will not destroy us utterly."