Bible Strands
Jeremiah 12:9
Is not My inheritance to Me like a speckled bird of prey with other birds of prey circling against her? Go, gather all the beasts of the field; bring them to devour her.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Jeremiah, responding to the prophet’s complaint about the apparent prosperity of the wicked by describing Judah as a corrupted inheritance. He commands the nation to face the consequences of its spiritual decay.
The words — The Hebrew word צָבֻעַ (tzaVu'a) translates literally as "speckled," describing the distinct plumage of a bird of prey. The imperative אִסְפֻּ (isFu) commands a gathering, directing hostile forces to converge on the designated target.
The thread — The summons to gather wild beasts for destruction parallels the prophetic warnings in Isaiah 56:9 and Jeremiah 7:33, where foreign armies and scavengers are mobilized as instruments of judgment. This motif aligns with the historical fulfillment recorded in 2 Kings 24:2.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that covenant betrayal transforms a cherished possession into a target for destruction. It requires the reader to accept that spiritual corruption justifies the withdrawal of divine protection and the arrival of judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 56:9 Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest.
- Jeremiah 7:33 The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
- 2 Kings 24:2 And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.
- Ezekiel 23:22 Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will incite your lovers against you, those from whom you turned away in disgust. And I will bring them against you from every side—
- Revelation 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,
- Jeremiah 2:15 The young lions have roared at him; they have sounded their voices. They have laid waste his land; his cities lie in ruins, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 15:3 I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the LORD: the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the air and beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.
- Ezekiel 16:36 This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them,
- Ezekiel 39:17 And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
- Revelation 17:16 And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.