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.”
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Jeremiah 15: NLT
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Jeremiah 15
15
Four Types of Calamity
1Then Yahweh said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me,#Literally “to the face of me” my heart would not be to this people. Send them away from my sight,#Literally “face” and let them go out. 2And then#Literally “And it will happen” if they say to you, ‘Where shall we go?’ Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh,
“Those who are destined for the plague, to the plague,
and those who are destined for the sword, to the sword,
and those who are destined for the famine, to the famine,
and those who are destined for the captivity, to the captivity.” ’
3“And I will summon#Or “appoint” over them four types of calamity,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “the sword to kill, and the dogs to drag away, and the birds#Hebrew “bird” of the air and the wild animals#Hebrew “wild animal” of the earth to devour and to destroy. 4And I will make them a terror to all of the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, because of what he did in Jerusalem.
5“For who will have compassion on you, O Jerusalem,
or who will show sympathy to you,
or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?#Literally “to ask to the welfare of you”
6You have forsaken me,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
“You go backward, so I have stretched my hand against you,
and I have destroyed you.
I am tired of becoming remorseful.
7And I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land.
I am bereaved.
I have destroyed my people.
They did not turn back from their ways.
8Their widows#Hebrew “widow” will be more numerous before me than the sand of the seas.
I have brought to them, against the mothers#Hebrew “mother” of young men,#Hebrew “man”
a destroyer at noon.
I will suddenly drop on her anguish and horror.#Hebrew “horrors”
9She who gave birth to seven has withered away.
She gasps her breath.
Her sun set#Literally “came” while still day.
She has been put to shame and disgraced.
And the remainder of them I will give to the sword
before#Literally “to the face of” their enemies,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
Jeremiah’s Lament and Yahweh’s Response
10Woe to me, O my mother, that you gave birth to me,
a man of contention and quarreling to the whole land.#Literally “to all of the land”
I have not lent out and I have not borrowed.#Literally “not they have lent out for me”
All of them are cursing me.
11Yahweh said,
“Surely#Literally “If not” I will set you free to be good#Literally “for good” for you,
surely#Literally “if not” I will cause the enemy to intercede with you
in a time of trouble,
and in a time of distress.
12Can anyone break iron,
iron from the north, or bronze?
13I will give your wealth and your treasures
as plunder without price,
even because of all your sins,
and throughout all your territories.
14And I will make you serve your enemies
in a land that you do not know,
for a fire will kindle in my anger.
Upon you it will be kindled.”
15You who know, O Yahweh, remember me, and attend to me,
and take revenge for me against my persecutors in your forbearance.#Literally “in the length of your nose”
You must take me away.
Know that I am carrying disgrace because of you.
16Your words were found and I ate them,
and your words became to me as jubilation,
even as the joy of my heart,
for your name is called on me, O Yahweh God of hosts.
17I sat not in the assembly of jokers,
nor did I exult.
Because of the presence#Literally “face” of your hand I sat alone,
for you filled me with indignation.
18Why is my pain endless, and my wound incurable?
It refuses to become healed.
Truly you are to me like a deceitful brook,
waters that are not trustworthy.
19Therefore thus says Yahweh,
“If you turn back, then I will take you back.
You will stand before me.#Literally “to the face of me”
And if you utter what is precious and not what is worthless,
you will be as my mouth.
They will turn back to you,
and you will not turn back to them.
20And I will make you to this people
a wall of fortified bronze,
and they will fight against you,
but they will not prevail over you,
for I am with you, to save you,
and to deliver you,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
21“And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
and I will redeem you from the hand of the tyrant.”
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