Jeremiah 12

¹ “God, you go prove to dey right, if I argue my case with you. Yet I wan question you about justice. Why be say wicked people dey prosper? Why people wey no dey honest dey succeed?

² Na you plant them, and dem take root; dem grow and get fruit. Dem dey always talk better about you, yet dem no care about you.

³ But, you know me, God. You see wetin I do, and how I dey love you. Drag these evil people commot like sheep wey dem wan kill; guard them until time don reach to slaughter them.

⁴ How long our land go dry and grass for every field go weak? Animals and bird dey die because of wickedness of our people, wey talk say, ‘God no dey see wetin we dey do.’”

⁵ God talk say, “Jeremiah, if you don tire to dey race against people, how you go fit race against horse? If you no fit stand up for open country, how you go fit manage inside jungle for Jordan?

⁶ Even your relative, member of your family, don betray you; dem join people to attack you. Make you no trust them, even though dem dey follow you talk like friend.”

⁷ God say, “I don abandon Israel; I don reject my chosen nation. I don carry people wey I love give their enemy.

⁸ The people wey I choose don turn against me; dem don shout at me, like lion wey dey forest, naso I hate them.

⁹ My people be like bird wey hawk dey attack from every side. Dem call wild animals make dem come join them to chop!

¹⁰ Plenty foreign rulers don destroy my vineyard; dem don press down my field; dem don turn the land wey I love to desert.

¹¹ Dem don turn am to wasteland; e dey empty before me, all the land don become desert, and nobody care about am.

¹² People don come thief on top all desert highland. I don send war make e destroy all the land; no one fit live in peace.

¹³ My people dey sow wheat, but dem dey gather weeds; dem don work hard, but nothing dey to show for am. Thier crops don fail because I dey vex.”

¹⁴ God talk say, “I get something wey I wan talk about Israel neighbor wey don destroy the land wey I give my people Israel. I go take those wicked people away from their land like plant wey dem uproot, and I go rescue Judah from them.

¹⁵ But after I don take them away, I go have mercy on them; I go bring each nation come back hin land and come hin own country.

¹⁶ If dem go accept the religion of my people with their heart and swear say, ‘As God dey live’ – as dem don teach my people to dey swear by Baal- then dem go be part of my people and dem go prosper.

¹⁷ But if any nation no go obey, then I go uproot am completely and I go destroy am. I, the LORD, don talk.”