| 1 | Then the Lord said to me, Though Moses and Samuel stood [interceding for them] before Me, yet My mind could not be turned with favor toward this people [Judah]. Send them out of My sight and let them go! |
| 2 | And if they say to you, Where shall we go? then tell them, Thus says the Lord: Such as are [destined] for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for famine, to famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity. |
| 3 | And I will appoint over them four kinds [of destroyers], says the Lord: the sword to slay, the dogs to tear
and
drag away, and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and to destroy. |
| 4 | And I will cause them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth
and
to be made a horror to all nations because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for [the horrible wickedness] which he did in Jerusalem. |
| 5 | For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who will bemoan you? Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare? |
| 6 | You have rejected
and
forsaken Me, says the Lord. You keep going in reverse. Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am weary of relenting [concerning your punishment]. |
| 7 | I will winnow them with a fan
and
a winnowing fork in the gates of the land; I will bereave them [of children], I will destroy My people; from their [evil] ways they did not return. |
| 8 | I will increase the number of their widows more than the sand of the seas. I will bring upon them, [both] against the mother of young men
and
the young men [themselves], a destroyer at noonday. I will cause anguish and terrors to fall upon her [Jerusalem] suddenly. |
| 9 | She who has borne seven languishes; she has expired. Her sun has gone down while it was yet day; she has been put to shame, confounded,
and
disgraced. And the rest of them I will deliver to the sword before their enemies, says the Lord. |
| 10 | Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me to be a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither loaned, nor have men loaned to me, yet everyone curses me. |
| 11 | The Lord said, Truly your release, affliction,
and
strengthening will be for good [purposes]; surely [Jeremiah] I will intercede for you with the enemy
and
I will cause the enemy to ask for your aid in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. |
| 12 | Can iron break the iron from the north and the bronze? |
| 13 | Your [nation’s] substance and your treasures will I give as spoil, without price, and that for all your sins, even in all your territory. |
| 14 | And I will make [your possessions] to pass with your enemies into a land which you do not know
and
I will make you to serve [your conquerors] there, for a fire is kindled in My anger which will burn upon you [Israel]. |
| 15 | [Jeremiah said] O Lord, You know
and
understand; [earnestly] remember me and visit me and avenge me on my persecutors. Take me not away [from joy or from life itself] in Your long-suffering [to my enemies]; know that for Your sake I suffer
and
bear reproach. |
| 16 | Your words were found, and I ate them; and Your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts. |
| 17 | I sat not in the assembly of those who make merry, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because Your [powerful] hand was upon me, for You had filled me with indignation. |
| 18 | Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you indeed be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail
and
are uncertain? |
| 19 | Therefore thus says the Lord [to Jeremiah]: If you return [and give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair], then I will give you again a settled place of quiet
and
safety, and you will be My minister; and if you separate the precious from the vile [cleansing your own heart from unworthy and unwarranted suspicions concerning God’s faithfulness], you shall be My mouthpiece. [But do not yield to them.] Let them return to you—not you to [the people]. |
| 20 | And I will make you to this people a fortified, bronze wall; they will fight against you, but they will not prevail over you, for I am with you to save
and
deliver you, says the Lord. |
| 21 | And I will deliver you out of the hands of the wicked, and I will redeem you out of the palms of the terrible
and
ruthless tyrants. |
Cross references:
-
Jeremiah 15:4 : II Kings 21:3-7.
-
Jeremiah 15:10 : Jer. 1:18, 19.
-
Jeremiah 15:11 : Jer. 21:1, 2; 37:3; 42:2; Rom. 8:28.
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