Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.
Parallel translations
- WEB My heritage has become to me as a lion in the forest. She has uttered her voice against me; therefore I have hated her.
- BSB My inheritance has become to Me like a lion in the forest. She has roared against Me; therefore I hate her.
- NKJV My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest; It cries out against Me; Therefore I have hated it.
- NASB “My inheritance has become to Me Like a lion in the forest; She has roared against Me; Therefore I have come to hate her.
- NLT My chosen people have roared at me like a lion of the forest, so I have treated them with contempt.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God says His people turned against Him like a roaring lion, so He came to hate her ways.
Overview
Israel, meant to be God's cherished inheritance, has become hostile and defiant toward Him. God's 'hatred' here is His righteous opposition to their rebellion, not a denial of His love. The verse shows how sin turns the relationship into open enmity, which only grace can heal.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Amos 6:8The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
- Hos 9:15All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.
- Zech 11:8Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
- Jer 51:38They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.
- Jer 2:15The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 12:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.