Jeremiah 15
15
Judah’s Inevitable Doom
1Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight! 2And if they say to you, ‘But where can we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘Those who are destined for death, to death;
those who are destined for war, to war;
those who are destined for famine, to famine;
those who are destined for captivity, to captivity.’
3“I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” says the Lord. “I will send the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, the vultures to devour, and the wild animals to finish up what is left. 4Because of the wicked things Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will make my people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
5“Who will feel sorry for you, Jerusalem?
Who will weep for you?
Who will even bother to ask how you are?
6You have abandoned me
and turned your back on me,”
says the Lord.
“Therefore, I will raise my fist to destroy you.
I am tired of always giving you another chance.
7I will winnow you like grain at the gates of your cities
and take away the children you hold dear.
I will destroy my own people,
because they refuse to change their evil ways.
8There will be more widows
than the grains of sand on the seashore.
At noontime I will bring a destroyer
against the mothers of young men.
I will cause anguish and terror
to come upon them suddenly.
9The mother of seven grows faint and gasps for breath;
her sun has gone down while it is still day.
She sits childless now,
disgraced and humiliated.
And I will hand over those who are left
to be killed by the enemy.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
10Then I said,
“What sorrow is mine, my mother.
Oh, that I had died at birth!
I am hated everywhere I go.
I am neither a lender who threatens to foreclose
nor a borrower who refuses to pay—
yet they all curse me.”
11The Lord replied,
“I will take care of you, Jeremiah.
Your enemies will ask you to plead on their behalf
in times of trouble and distress.
12Can a man break a bar of iron from the north,
or a bar of bronze?
13At no cost to them,
I will hand over your wealth and treasures
as plunder to your enemies,
for sin runs rampant in your land.
14I will tell your enemies to take you
as captives to a foreign land.
For my anger blazes like a fire
that will burn forever.#15:14 As in some Hebrew manuscripts (see also 17:4); most Hebrew manuscripts read will burn against you.”
15Then I said,
“Lord, you know what’s happening to me.
Please step in and help me. Punish my persecutors!
Please give me time; don’t let me die young.
It’s for your sake that I am suffering.
16When I discovered your words, I devoured them.
They are my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
17I never joined the people in their merry feasts.
I sat alone because your hand was on me.
I was filled with indignation at their sins.
18Why then does my suffering continue?
Why is my wound so incurable?
Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook,
like a spring that has gone dry.”
19This is how the Lord responds:
“If you return to me, I will restore you
so you can continue to serve me.
If you speak good words rather than worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.
You must influence them;
do not let them influence you!
20They will fight against you like an attacking army,
but I will make you as secure as a fortified wall of bronze.
They will not conquer you,
for I am with you to protect and rescue you.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
21Yes, I will certainly keep you safe from these wicked men.
I will rescue you from their cruel hands.”
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 15: NLT
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT:
Jeremiah 15
15
The Lord Will Not Relent
1Then the Lord said to me, #Ps. 99:6; Ezek. 14:14“Even if #Ex. 32:11–14; Num. 14:13–20; Ps. 99:6Moses and #1 Sam. 7:9Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. 2And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
#Jer. 43:11; Ezek. 5:2, 12; Zech. 11:9; (Rev. 13:10)“Such as are for death, to death;
And such as are for the sword, to the sword;
And such as are for the famine, to the famine;
And such as are for the #Jer. 9:16; 16:13captivity, to the captivity.” ’
3“And I will #Lev. 26:16, 21, 25; Jer. 12:3; Ezek. 14:21appoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the Lord: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, #Jer. 7:33the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4I will hand them over to #Deut. 28:25trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of #2 Kin. 24:3, 4Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what 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 how you are doing?
6#Jer. 2:13You have forsaken Me,” says the Lord,
“You have #Is. 1:4; Jer. 7:24gone backward.
Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
#Jer. 20:16; Zech. 8:14I am weary of relenting!
7And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;
I will #Jer. 18:21; Hos. 9:12–16bereave them of children;
I will destroy My people,
Since they #Is. 9:13; Jer. 5:3; Amos 4:10, 11do not return from their ways.
8Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them,
Against the mother of the young men,
A plunderer at noonday;
I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them #Is. 29:5suddenly.
9“She#1 Sam. 2:5; Is. 47:9 languishes who has borne seven;
She has breathed her last;
#Jer. 6:4; Amos 8:9Her sun has gone down
While it was yet day;
She has been ashamed and confounded.
And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword
Before their enemies,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Dejection
10#Job 3:1; Jer. 20:14Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.
11The Lord said:
“Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause #Jer. 40:4, 5the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
12Can anyone break iron,
The northern iron and the bronze?
13Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as #Ps. 44:12; Is. 52:3plunder without price,
Because of all your sins,
Throughout your territories.
14And I will make you cross over with your enemies
#Deut. 28:36, 64; Jer. 16:13Into a land which you do not know;
For a #Deut. 32:22; Ps. 21:9; Jer. 17:4fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you.”
15O Lord, #Jer. 12:3You know;
Remember me and visit me,
And #Jer. 20:12take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that #Ps. 69:7–9; Jer. 20:8for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16Your words were found, and I #Ezek. 3:1, 3; Rev. 10:9ate them,
And #(Job 23:12; Ps. 119:72)Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.
17#Ps. 26:4, 5I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation.
18Why is my #Job 34:6; Jer. 10:19; 30:15; Mic. 1:9pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me #Job 6:15like an unreliable stream,
As waters that fail?
The Lord Reassures Jeremiah
19Therefore thus says the Lord:
#Jer. 4:1; Zech. 3:7“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall #1 Kin. 17:1; Jer. 15:1stand before Me;
If you #Jer. 6:29; Ezek. 22:26; 44:23take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
20And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze #Jer. 1:18; 6:27; Ezek. 3:9wall;
And they will fight against you,
But #Ps. 46:7; Is. 41:10; Jer. 1:8, 19; 20:11; 37:21; 38:13; 39:11, 12they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the Lord.
21“I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.