Jeremiah 15

The Lord Will Not Relent

15Then the Lord said to me, ^a“Even if ^bMoses and ^cSamuel stood before Me, My ¹mind 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:

^d“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 ^ecaptivity, to the captivity.” ’

³“And I will ^fappoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the Lord: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, ^gthe birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. ⁴I will hand them over to ^htrouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of ⁱManasseh 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?

^6jYou have forsaken Me,” says the Lord,

“You have ^kgone backward.

Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;

^lI am ²weary of relenting!

⁷And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;

I will ^mbereave them of children;

I will destroy My people,

Since they ⁿdo 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 ^osuddenly.

⁹“She ^planguishes who has borne seven;

She has breathed her last;

^qHer 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

^10rWoe is me, my mother,

That you have borne me,

A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole ³earth!

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 ^sthe 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 ^tplunder without price,

Because of all your sins,

Throughout your territories.

¹⁴And I will ⁴make you cross over with your enemies

^uInto a land which you do not know;

For a ^vfire is kindled in My anger,

Which shall burn upon you.”

¹⁵O Lord, ^wYou know;

Remember me and ⁵visit me,

And ^xtake vengeance for me on my persecutors.

In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.

Know that ^yfor Your sake I have suffered rebuke.

¹⁶Your words were found, and I ^zate them,

And ^aYour word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;

For I am called by Your name,

O Lord God of hosts.

^17bI 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 ^cpain perpetual

And my wound incurable,

Which refuses to be healed?

Will You surely be to me ^dlike an unreliable stream,

As waters that ⁶fail?

The Lord Reassures Jeremiah

¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord:

^e“If you return,

Then I will bring you back;

You shall ^fstand before Me;

If you ^gtake 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 ^hwall;

And they will fight against you,

But ⁱthey 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.”