Jeremiah now prays to the Lord of hosts, who judges righteously.
The Lord is righteous in character and so he will always judge rightly, and he is the one who tests the heart and mind
of people. Jeremiah is praying to the only one who can truly discern the evil that is being plotted against him. He therefore asks the Lord to rightly judge his enemies and to bring vengeance upon them.
His description of the Lord as the one who judges righteously implies that Jeremiah believes that not only will the Lord find his enemy guilty, but that his own heart and mind will be found to be righteous.1 Not only that, but Jeremiah says he has committed his cause to the Lord. The Hebrew word used here is rib, which is a legal word referring to a case.
Jeremiah has laid his case before the Lord and trusts in the Lord’s response.2
20 But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.