Our chapter contains three different prophecies, and we’ll briefly mention the key aspects of each prophecy.

A. Yirmiyahu as a Persecuted Prophet

As we saw in the previous chapter, Yirmiyahu is persecuted by the people of his hometown (Anatot), and prays to God for help. Yet God warns him that this is only the easy part of the journey — when he begins prophesying to the people and leaders of Jerusalem, his challenges will be far greater: "You ran with foot runners, and they exhausted you; how do you presume to complete with horses?" (12:5). Just as God warned Yirmiyahu at the very outset of his prophetic mission, he will need to be, "a fortified city, an iron column" (1:18).

In this passage, Yirmiyahu raises a question that has troubled many prophets before him — what is often called today the problem of ‘the wicked prospering’. Frustrated by his persecution, he wonders why God allows his enemies to go unpunished. He is not the first prophet to wrestle with this dilemma, and as in many other instances in the Tanakh, his question is not theological but existential. Yirmiyahu is not inquiring out of abstract curiosity about divine justice; he is crying out in frustration, questioning why God allows these wicked people to torment him.

B. God’s Lament

In previous chapters, we encountered Yirmiyahu’s laments over the fate of Yehuda. Now, we hear God Himself lamenting: "I have abandoned My house; I have deserted My heritage. I have given over My dear beloved into the hands of her enemies" (12:7). God is not interested in the destruction of His land and the suffering of His people. Throughout the book, we see a fundamental dispute between Yirmiyahu and the false prophets regarding the nature of the covenant between God and Israel and the sanctity of Jerusalem. The people believe that, no matter what happens, God will never destroy His house or forsake His people. In a sense, they are correct — God does not want to abandon His house or bring destruction upon His people. But they are gravely mistaken in assuming that this alone will protect them from the consequences of their actions. Everything depends on their behavior: "The entire land has become desolate, yet no one takes it to heart" (12:11).

C. The Nations in the Land

Yirmiyahu’s prophecy of calamity is not directed solely at Yehuda. He also prophesies destruction upon the surrounding nations — those who taught Yehuda to swear by Baal. Yet alongside this prophecy of punishment, Yirmiyahu delivers a prophecy of redemption: after exile, redemption will come and God will let these nations return to their land — on one condition: "Then, if they study well the ways of My people, to swear by My name 'As the Lord lives', just as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they will flourish together with My people" (12:16). Just as these nations once taught Yehuda the ways of idolatry, so too, in exile, they will have to learn from Yehuda the ways of serving God. The vision of the nations ultimately turning to God is a central theme in the Tanakh. We have already seen it in Yeshayahu (Yeshayahu 2:3), and we will encounter it again in Mikha (4:2) and Zekharya (8:22).