Jeremiah 15

The Lord Will Not Relent

1 Then the Lord said to me, "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!

2 And when they ask you, 'Where shall we go?' you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord:
"'Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,
and those who are for the sword, to the sword;
those who are for famine, to famine,
and those who are for captivity, to captivity.'

3 I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the Lord: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.4 And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

5  "Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,
or who will grieve for you?
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
6  You have rejected me, declares the Lord;
you keep going backward,
so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—
I am weary of relenting.
7  I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork
in the gates of the land;
I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;
they did not turn from their ways.
8  I have made their widows more in number
than the sand of the seas;
I have brought against the mothers of young men
a destroyer at noonday;
I have made anguish and terror
fall upon them suddenly.
9  She who bore seven has grown feeble;
she has fainted away;
her sun went down while it was yet day;
she has been shamed and disgraced.
And the rest of them I will give to the sword
before their enemies,
declares the Lord."

Jeremiah's Complaint

10 Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me.11 The Lord said, "Have I nott set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress?12 Can one break iron, iron from the north, and bronze?

13 "Your wealth and your treasures I will give as spoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory.14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever."

15  O Lord, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance take me not away;
know that for your sake I bear reproach.
16  Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
17  I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.
18  Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail?

19  Therefore thus says the Lord:
"If you return, I will restore you,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
but you shall not turn to them.
20  And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,
declares the Lord.
21  I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless."

Jeremiah 15

1 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading forts these people, I would not feel pity for them!t Get them away from me! Tell them to go away!t

2 If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this:
“Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease.
Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war.
Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation.
Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.”t
3 “I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them. I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies. I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses.t

4 I will make all the people in all the kingdoms of the world horrified at what has happened to them because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.”ts

5 The Lord cried out,t
“Who in the worldt will have pity on you, Jerusalem?
Who will grieve over you?
Who will stop long enought
to inquire about how you are doing?t

6 I, the Lord, say:t ‘You people have deserted me!
You keep turning your back on me.’t
So I have unleashed my power against yout and have begun to destroy you.t
I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!”s

7 The Lord continued,t
“In every town in the land I will purge them
like straw blown away by the wind.ts
I will destroy my people.
I will kill off their children.
I will do so because they did not change their behavior.t

8 Their widows will become in my sight more numeroust
than the grains of sand on the seashores.
At noontime I will bring a destroyer
against the mothers of their young men.t
I will cause anguisht and terror
to fall suddenly upon them.t

9 The mother who had seven childrents will grow faint.
All the breath will go out of her.t
Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life.
It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day.ts
She will suffer shame and humiliation.s
I will cause any of them who are still left alive
to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,”t
says the Lord.

Jeremiah Complains about His Lot and The Lord Responds

10 I said,t
“Oh, mother, how I regrett that you ever gave birth to me!
I am always starting arguments and quarrels with the people of this land.t
I have not lent money to anyone and I have not borrowed from anyone.
Yet all of these people are treating me with contempt.”s

11 The Lord said,
“Jerusalem,ts I will surely send you away for your own good.
I will surelyt bring the enemy upon you in a time of trouble and distress.

12 Can you people who are like iron and bronze
break that iron fist from the north?ts

13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder.
I will give it away free of charge for the sins you have committed throughout your land.

14 I will make you serve your enemiess in a land that you know nothing about.
For my anger is like a fire that will burn against you.”

15 I said,t
“Lord, you know how I suffer.t
Take thought of me and care for me.
Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me.
Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me.
Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.

16 As your words came to me I drank them in,s
and they filled my heart with joy and happiness
because I belong to you.ts

17 I did not spend my time in the company of other people,
laughing and having a good time.
I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to yout
and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.

18 Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish?
Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound?
Will you let me down when I need you
like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?”ts

19 Because of this, the Lord said,t
“You must repent of such words and thoughts!
If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me.t
If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,
I will again allow you to be my spokesman.ts
They must become as you have been.
You must not become like them.ts

20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,
a fortified wall of bronze.
They will attack you,
but they will not be able to overcome you.
For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,”s
says the Lord.

21 “I will deliver you from the power of the wicked.
I will free you from the clutches of violent people.”