Jeremiah 12:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Jeremiah 12:3
But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
to know (properly · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
seen
תִּרְאֵ֕נִיtir.'E.ni
H7200
to see · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
tried
וּבָחַנְתָּ֥u.va.chan.Ta
H974
to test (especially metals) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
heart
לִבִּ֖יli.Bi
H3820
the heart · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
out
הַתִּקֵם֙ha.ti.Kem
H5423
to tear off · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
sheep
כְּצֹ֣אןke.Tzon
H6629
a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats) · preposition + noun, common both genders singular absolute
slaughter
לְטִבְחָ֔הle.tiv.Chah
H2878
properly · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
prepare
וְהַקְדִּשֵׁ֖םve.hak.di.Shem
H6942
to be (causatively · conjunction + verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
day
לְי֥וֹםle.Yom
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
slaughter
הֲרֵגָֽהha.re.Gah
H2028
slaughter · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Kings 20:3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in th…
Jeremiah 17:18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them th…
Psalms 139:1-4 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Psalms 17:3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shal…
James 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Psalms 26:1 Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
Psalms 44:21-22 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 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,
I. What liberty he humbly took, and was graciously allowed him, to reason with God concerning his judgments, Jer 12:1. He is about to plead with God, not to quarrel with him, or find fault with his proceedings, but to enquire into the meaning of them, that he might more and more see reason to be satisfied in them, and might have wherewith to answer both his own and others' objections against them. The works of the Lord, and the reasons of them, are sought out even of those that have…
knowest me-- (Psa 139:1).
tried . . . heart-- (Jer 11:20).
toward thee--rather, "with Thee," that is, entirely devoted to Thee; contrasted with the hypocrites (Jer 12:2), "near in . . . mouth, and far from . . . reins." This being so, how is it that I fare so ill, they so well?
pull . . . out--containing the metaphor, from a "rooted tree" (Jer 12:2).
prepare--literally, "separate," or "set apart as devoted."
day of slaughter-- (Jam 5:5).
John Gill on Jeremiah 12:3
But thou, O Lord, knowest me,.... The Lord knew him before he was born, Jeremiah 1:5, he knew what he designed him for, and what use he would make of him; and he knew him now, and loved him, and cared for him, as his prophet; he knew his sincerity and faithfulness, and took notice of it, with what integrity he performed his office, and discharged his duty; and he knew that all his enemies said of him were scandal and reproach, lies and calumnies.
Thou hast seen me; his inside, his heart, and all in it; for all things are naked and open to the eyes of an omniscient God:
and tried mine heart towards thee; he had tried him by various afflictive providences, and his heart was found towards God…
"And you, Lord, know me, you have seen me, you have tested my heart before you; purify them for the day of their slaughter." What shall I do, that I may make these things clear? He calls the punishments a purification of those being punished; for "purify them," he says, "for the day of their slaughter." Through their being slaughtered, purify them; for "whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives."
(Verse 3.) And you, Lord, you know me: you have seen me, and you have tested my heart with you. Gather them together like a flock for the sacrifice, and sanctify them on the day of slaughter. There is no scandal, it is said, that the wicked, or all heretics, flourish for a time: For you, Lord, know me, and you have seen me, and you have tested my heart with you. How does the Father God know his Son this way? For no one knows the Son except the Father: and no one knows the Father, except the Son, and whom the Son wants to reveal (Matt. XI, 17). It is permitted, he says, that they may prosper, that they may generate children, and that heretics may produce fruit, and you may be close to their mouth and far from their kidneys, that is, their conscience: nevertheless, there is some consolation, in that they are fattened like sheep for the slaughter. Gather them in the city of Jerusalem, or in their assemblies: so that they may be slaughtered as if they were victims of death, and then may be sanctified, when they have been beheaded by the sword of the Church: for the killing of heretics is the salvation of those who had been deceived.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Day · A time of judgment called a day of: Slaughter — A time of judgment called a day of: Slaughter
Heart · .Tested — .Tested
Heart, The · God: Tries — God: Tries
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
on Jeremiah 12:3
Jeremiah 12:3
3. But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
3. Et tu, Jehova, cognoscis me (cognovisti me), videbis me (vides me), et probasti cor meum tecum (hoc est, probasti quale sit cor meum apud to, vel, coram to:) extrahe eos tanquam oves ad mactationem, et praepara eos ad diem occisionis.
The Prophet is not here solicitous about himself, but, on the contrary, undertakes the defense of his own office, as though he had said that, he faithfully discharged the office committed to him by God. Though then the Jews, and even the citizens of Anathoth, his own peop…
The prophet's displeasure at the prosperity of the wicked. - The enmity experienced by Jeremiah at the hands of his countrymen at Anathoth excites his displeasure at the prosperity of the wicked, who thrive and live with immunity. He therefore beings to expostulate with God, and demands from God's righteousness that they be cut off out of the land (Jer 12:1-4); whereupon the Lord reproves him for this outburst of ill-nature and impatience by telling him that he must patiently endure still worse. - This section, the connection of which with the preceding is unmistakeable, shows by a concrete instance the utter corruptness of the people; and it has been included in the prophecies because it se…
Although Jeremiah’s words seem self-righteous, he was submissive to the Lord’s personal searching of his heart. Jeremiah was also angry enough to demand that his enemies suffer the fate they had intended for him. He hoped they would be butchered or slaughtered like helpless sheep. Jeremiah did not seem to desire their forgiveness or their return to the Lord.
Rashi on Jeremiah 12:3
But You, O Lord, have known me Also, concerning the men of Anathoth You have aided me, for You have known me.
Draw them out like sheep to the slaughter Draw them out of life to death (detache les in French, separate them, cut them off). Comp. (Joshua 8:6) “until we have drawn (התיקנו) them from the city.”
and prepare them Heb. הקדישם, prepare them.
