Jeremiah 15
15
1-2Then God said to me: “Jeremiah, even if Moses and Samuel stood here and made their case, I wouldn’t feel a thing for this people. Get them out of here. Tell them to get lost! And if they ask you, ‘So where do we go?’ tell them God says,
“‘If you’re assigned to die, go and die;
if assigned to war, go and get killed;
If assigned to starve, go starve;
if assigned to exile, off to exile you go!’
3-4“I’ve arranged for four kinds of punishment: death in battle, the corpses dropped off by killer dogs, the rest picked clean by vultures, the bones gnawed by hyenas. They’ll be a sight to see, a sight to shock the whole world—and all because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah and all he did in Jerusalem.
5“Who do you think will feel sorry for you, Jerusalem?
Who do you think will waste tears on you?
Who will bother to take the time to ask,
‘So, how are things going?’
6-9“You left me, remember?” God’s Decree.
“You turned your back and walked out.
So I will grab you and hit you hard.
I’m tired of letting you off the hook.
I threw you to the four winds
and let the winds scatter you like leaves.
I made sure you’ll lose everything,
since nothing makes you change.
I created more widows among you
than grains of sand on the ocean beaches.
At noon mothers will get the news
of their sons killed in action.
Sudden anguish for the mothers—
all those terrible deaths.
A mother of seven falls to the ground,
gasping for breath,
Robbed of her children in their prime.
Her sun sets at high noon!
Then I’ll round up any of you that are left alive
and see that you’re killed by your enemies.”
God’s Decree.
Giving Everything Away for Nothing
10-11Unlucky mother—that you had me as a son,
given the unhappy job of indicting the whole country!
I’ve never hurt or harmed a soul,
and yet everyone is out to get me.
But, God knows, I’ve done everything I could to help them,
prayed for them and against their enemies.
I’ve always been on their side, trying to stave off disaster.
God knows how I’ve tried!
* * *
12-14“O Israel, O Judah, what are your chances
against the iron juggernaut from the north?
In punishment for your sins, I’m giving away
everything you’ve got, giving it away for nothing.
I’ll make you slaves to your enemies
in a strange and far-off land.
My anger is blazing and fierce,
burning in hot judgment against you.”
* * *
15-18You know where I am, God! Remember what I’m doing here!
Take my side against my detractors.
Don’t stand back while they ruin me.
Just look at the abuse I’m taking!
When your words showed up, I ate them—
swallowed them whole. What a feast!
What delight I took in being yours,
O God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
I never joined the party crowd
in their laughter and their fun.
Led by you, I went off by myself.
You’d filled me with indignation. Their sin had me seething.
But why, why this chronic pain,
this ever worsening wound and no healing in sight?
You’re nothing, God, but a mirage,
a lovely oasis in the distance—and then nothing!
* * *
19-21This is how God answered me:
“Take back those words, and I’ll take you back.
Then you’ll stand tall before me.
Use words truly and well. Don’t stoop to cheap whining.
Then, but only then, you’ll speak for me.
Let your words change them.
Don’t change your words to suit them.
I’ll turn you into a steel wall,
a thick steel wall, impregnable.
They’ll attack you but won’t put a dent in you
because I’m at your side, defending and delivering.”
God’s Decree.
“I’ll deliver you from the grip of the wicked.
I’ll get you out of the clutch of the ruthless.”
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Jeremiah 15: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 15
15
1And יהוה said to me, “Even if Mosheh and Shemu’ĕl were to stand before Me, My being is not toward this people. Send them away from My presence, let them go.
2“And it shall be, when they say to you, ‘Where do we go?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Thus said יהוה, “Those for death, to death. And those for the sword, to the sword. And those for scarcity of food, to scarcity of food. And those for captivity, to captivity.” ’
3“And I shall appoint over them four kinds,” declares יהוה, “the sword to kill, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.
4“And I shall make them for a horror to all the reigns of the earth, on account of Menashsheh son of Ḥizqiyahu, sovereign of Yehuḏah, because of what he did in Yerushalayim.
5“For who has compassion on you, O Yerushalayim? And who mourns for you? And who turns aside to ask how you are doing?
6“You who have forsaken Me,” declares יהוה, “you have gone backward. Therefore I shall stretch out My hand against you and destroy you. I have been weary of relenting!
7“And I shall winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land. I shall bereave, I shall destroy My people. They would not turn back from their ways.
8“Their widows shall be more numerous than the sand of the seas. I shall bring against them, against the mother of the young men, a ravager at noon. I shall cause agitation and sudden alarm to fall on her, suddenly.
9“She who has borne seven shall pine away. She shall breathe her last. Her sun shall go down while it is yet day. She shall be put to shame and be humiliated. And their remnant I give up to the sword before their enemies,” declares יהוה.
10Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife and a man of contention to all the earth! I have neither lent for interest, nor have men lent to me for interest. All of them are reviling me.
11יהוה said, “Did I not direct you for your good? Did I not intercede for you in a time of evil and in a time of distress against the enemy?
12“Does one break iron, iron or bronze from the north?
13“Your wealth and your treasures I give as plunder, not for price, because of all your sins, even in all your borders.
14“And I shall cause them to pass over with your enemies into a land which you did not know, for a fire is kindled in My displeasure, which burns upon you.”
15You Yourself know, O יהוה. Remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on these who persecute me. In Your patience, do not take me away. Know that for You I have suffered reproach.
16Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. For Your Name is called on me, O יהוה Elohim of hosts.
17I have not sat in the company of the mockers, nor do I exult. I have sat alone because of Your hand, for You have filled me with displeasure.
18Why is my pain without end and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? Are You to me like a failing stream, as waters not steadfast?
19Therefore thus said יהוה, “If you turn back, then I shall bring you back. Before Me you shall stand. And if you take out the precious from the worthless, you shall become as My mouth. Let them return to you, but do not return to them.
20“And I shall make you to this people a strong bronze wall. And they shall fight against you, but not overcome you. For I am with you to save you and deliver you,” declares יהוה.
21“And I shall deliver you from the hand of evil-doers, and I shall ransom you from the grip of the ruthless.”
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