Jeremiah Chapter 12 verse 5 Holy Bible
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and though in a land of peace thou art secure, yet how wilt thou do in the pride of the Jordan?
read chapter 12 in ASV
If running with the fighting-men has made you tired, how will you be able to keep up with horses? and if in a land of peace you go in flight, what will become of you in the thick growth of Jordan?
read chapter 12 in BBE
If thou hast run with footmen, and they have wearied thee, how wilt thou then contend with horses? And if in a land of peace thou thinkest thyself in security, how wilt thou then do in the swelling of the Jordan?
read chapter 12 in DARBY
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
read chapter 12 in KJV
read chapter 12 in WBT
If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? and though in a land of peace you are secure, yet how will you do in the pride of the Jordan?
read chapter 12 in WEB
For -- with footmen thou hast run, And they weary thee, And how dost thou fret thyself with horses! Even in the land of peace, `In which' thou art confident -- And how dost thou in the rising of Jordan!
read chapter 12 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 5. - Jeremiah's impatience corrected. The expressions are evidently proverbial. The opposition to the prophet will reach a still higher pitch; and if he is so soon discouraged, how will he bear his impending trials? And if in the land of peace, etc.? a second figure, the translation of which needs amending. If (only) in a land of peace thou art confident, how wilt thou do in the pride of Jordan? The "pride of Jordan" means the thickets on its banks, which were notorious as the haunts of lions (Jeremiah 49:19; Jeremiah 50:44; Zechariah 11:3). " Lions' bones have been found by Dr. Roth in the gravel of the Jordan. Lions are seldom or never found now west of the Euphrates, although they occasionally cross the river" (Revelation W. Houghton, 'Bible Educator,' 1:22).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(5) If thou hast run with the footmen.--The prophet is compelled to make answer to himself, and the voice of Jehovah is heard in his inmost soul rebuking his impatience. What are the petty troubles that fall on him compared with what others suffer, with what might come on himself? The thought is not unlike that with which St. Paul comforts the Corinthians (1Corinthians 10:13), or what we find in Hebrews 12:4. The meaning of the first clause is plain enough. The man who was wearied in a foot-race should not venture (as Elijah, e.g., had done, 1Kings 18:46) to measure his speed against that of horses. The latter ("the swelling of Jordan") suggests the thoughts of the turbid stream of the river overflowing its banks in the time of harvest (Joshua 3:15; 1Chronicles 12:15). In Zechariah 11:3, however, the same phrase (there translated "the pride of Jordan") is used apparently in connection with the lions and other beasts of prey that haunted the jungle on its banks (Jeremiah 49:19; Jeremiah 50:44), and that may be the thought here. Commentators differ, and there are no data for deciding. In any case, there is no need for the interpolated words of the English Version. The sentence should run, "In a land of peace thou art secure (i.e., it is easy to be tranquil when danger is not pressing). What wilt thou in the swelling (or, amid the pride) of Jordan? . . .
