Jeremiah 20:12

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, you test and prove the righteous. You see into people’s hearts and minds. Pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיהוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ בֹּחֵ֣ן צַדִּ֔יק רֹאֶ֥ה כְלָי֖וֹת וָלֵ֑ב אֶרְאֶ֤ה נִקְמָֽתְךָ֙ מֵהֶ֔ם כִּ֥י אֵלֶ֖יךָ גִּלִּ֥יתִי אֶת־רִיבִֽי׃

Transliteration

And waYHWH ṣəbāʾôt bōḥēn ṣaddîq, rōʾeh kəlāyôt and wālēb, ʾerʾeh niqmātəḵā from them for to you gillîtî ʾet-rîbî.

Grammar Details

• *waYHWH*: waw + proper noun, divine name - and the LORD
• *ṣəbāʾôt*: noun, masculine plural - of hosts
• *bōḥēn*: qal participle, masculine singular - testing/examining
• *ṣaddîq*: adjective, masculine singular - righteous
• *rōʾeh*: qal participle, masculine singular - seeing
• *kəlāyôt*: noun, feminine plural - kidneys/inward parts
• *wālēb*: waw + noun, masculine singular - and heart
• *ʾerʾeh*: qal imperfect, 1st common singular - I will see
• *niqmātəḵā*: noun, feminine singular construct with 2nd masculine singular suffix - your vengeance
• *mēhem*: preposition with 3rd masculine plural suffix - from them
• *ʾēlêḵā*: preposition with 2nd masculine singular suffix - to you
• *gillîtî*: piel perfect, 1st common singular - I have revealed
• *rîbî*: noun, masculine singular construct with 1st common singular suffix - my cause/case

Word Meanings

• *YHWH ṣəbāʾôt*: LORD of hosts/LORD of armies
• *bōḥēn ṣaddîq*: tester of the righteous/one who examines the righteous
• *kəlāyôt wālēb*: kidneys and heart/inmost thoughts and emotions/mind and heart
• *niqmātəḵā*: your vengeance/revenge/retribution
• *gillîtî*: I have revealed/uncovered/disclosed
• *rîbî*: my cause/case/complaint/controversy

Referenced Verses

• Jer 11:20 : 20 So I said,“O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, you are a just judge! You examine people’s hearts and minds. I want to see you pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause.”
• Ps 62:8 : 8 Trust in him at all times, you people! Pour out your hearts before him! God is our shelter!(Selah)
• Ps 54:7 : 7 Surely he rescues me from all trouble, and I triumph over my enemies.
• Ps 59:10 : 10 The God who loves me will help me; God will enable me to triumph over my enemies.
• Ps 7:9 : 9 May the evil deeds of the wicked come to an end! But make the innocent secure, O righteous God, you who examine inner thoughts and motives!
• Jer 17:10 : 10 I, the LORD, probe into people’s minds. I examine people’s hearts. I deal with each person according to how he has behaved. I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.
• Ps 11:5 : 5 The LORD approves of the godly, but he hates the wicked and those who love to do violence.
• Ps 17:3 : 3 You have scrutinized my inner motives; you have examined me during the night. You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin. I am determined I will say nothing sinful.
• Ps 26:2-3 : 2 Examine me, O LORD, and test me! Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives! 3 For I am ever aware of your faithfulness, and your loyalty continually motivates me.
• Ps 139:23 : 23 Examine me, O God, and probe my thoughts! Test me, and know my concerns!
• Isa 37:14 : 14 Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the LORD’s temple and spread it out before the LORD.
• Isa 38:14 : 14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp, I coo like a dove; my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. O Lord, I am oppressed; help me!
• Ps 86:4 : 4 Make your servant glad, for to you, O Lord, I pray!
• Ps 109:6-9 : 6 Appoint an evil man to testify against him! May an accuser stand at his right side! 7 When he is judged, he will be found guilty! Then his prayer will be regarded as sinful. 8 May his days be few! May another take his job! 9 May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow! 10 May his children roam around begging, asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home! 11 May the creditor seize all he owns! May strangers loot his property! 12 May no one show him kindness! May no one have compassion on his fatherless children! 13 May his descendants be cut off! May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! 14 May his ancestors’ sins be remembered by the LORD! May his mother’s sin not be forgotten! 15 May the LORD be constantly aware of them, and cut off the memory of his children from the earth! 16 For he never bothered to show kindness; he harassed the oppressed and needy, and killed the disheartened. 17 He loved to curse others, so those curses have come upon him. He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings. 18 He made cursing a way of life, so curses poured into his stomach like water and seeped into his bones like oil. 19 May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on, or a belt one wears continually! 20 May the LORD repay my accusers in this way, those who say evil things about me!
• Jer 12:8 : 8 The people I call my own have turned on me like a lion in the forest. They have roared defiantly at me. So I will treat them as though I hate them.
• 1 Sam 1:15 : 15 But Hannah replied,“Not so, my lord! I am a woman under a great deal of stress. I haven’t drunk wine or beer. But I have poured out my soul before the LORD.
• 2 Chr 24:22 : 22 King Joash disregarded the loyalty his father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s son. As Zechariah was dying, he said,“May the LORD take notice and seek vengeance!”
• Jer 17:18 : 18 May those who persecute me be disgraced. Do not let me be disgraced. May they be dismayed. Do not let me be dismayed. Bring days of disaster on them. Bring on them the destruction they deserve.”
• Jer 18:19-23 : 19 Then I said,“LORD, pay attention to me. Listen to what my enemies are saying. 20 Should good be paid back with evil? Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. Just remember how I stood before you pleading on their behalf to keep you from venting your anger on them. 21 So let their children die of starvation. Let them be cut down by the sword. Let their wives lose their husbands and children. Let the older men die of disease and the younger men die by the sword in battle. 22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me and have hidden traps for me to step into. 23 But you, LORD, know all their plots to kill me. Do not pardon their crimes! Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them! Let them be brought down in defeat before you! Deal with them while you are still angry!
• 1 Pet 2:23 : 23 When he was maligned, he did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened no retaliation, but committed himself to God who judges justly.
• 1 Pet 4:19 : 19 So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good.
• Rev 2:23 : 23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers with a deadly disease, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve.
• Rev 6:10 : 10 They cried out with a loud voice,“How long, Sovereign Master, holy and true, before you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?”
• Rev 18:20 : 20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has pronounced judgment against her on your behalf!)
• Rev 19:2-3 : 2 because his judgments are true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants poured out by her own hands!” 3 Then a second time the crowd shouted,“Hallelujah!” The smoke rises from her forever and ever.