Jeremiah 15

Judgment Must Come

1Then the Lord said to me, “Even 1if 2Moses and 3Samuel were to 4stand before Me, My 5heart would not be 6with this people. 7Send them away from My presence and have them go! 2And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Those destined 8for death, to death; And those destined for the sword, to the sword; And those destined for famine, to famine; And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’ 3And I will 9appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the Lord: “the sword to kill, the 10dogs to drag away, and the 11birds of the sky and the animals of the earth to devour and destroy. 4I will 12make them an object of terror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of 13Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

5“Indeed, who will have 14pity on you, Jerusalem, Or who will 15mourn for you, Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?6You who have 16forsaken Me,” declares the Lord, “You keep 17going backward. So I will 18stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am 19tired of relenting!7I will 20winnow them with a winnowing fork At the gates of the land; I will 21bereave them of children, I will destroy My people; 22They did not 23repent of their ways.8Their 24widows will be more numerous before Me Than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man, A 25destroyer at noon; I will suddenly bring down on her Shock and horror.9She who 26gave birth to seven sons withers away; 27Her breathing is labored. Her 28sun has set while it was still day; She has been 29shamed and humiliated. So I will 30turn over their survivors to the sword Before their enemies,” declares the Lord.

1031Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to me As a 32man of strife and a man of contention to all the land! I have not 33lent, nor have people lent money to me, Yet everyone curses me.11The Lord said, “I will certainly 34set you free for purposes of good; I will certainly make the 35enemy plead with you In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

12“Can anyone smash iron, 36Iron from the north, or bronze?13I will give your 37wealth and your treasures As plunder 38without cost, For all your sins And within all your borders.14Then I will make your enemies bring your possessions Into a 39land that you do not know; For a 40fire has been kindled in My anger, And it will burn upon you.”

Jeremiah’s Prayer and God’s Answer

1541You know, Lord; Remember me, take notice of me, And 42take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away; Know that 43for Your sake I endure reproach.16Your words were found and I 44ate them, And Your 45words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart; For I have been 46called by Your name, Lord God of armies.17I 47did not sit in a circle of revelers and celebrate. Because of Your hand upon me I sat 48alone, For You 49filled me with indignation.18Why has my pain been endless And my 50wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me 51like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable?

19Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “52If you return, then I will restore you-- 53You will stand before Me; And 54if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become 55My spokesman. They, for their part, may turn to you, But as for you, you are not to turn to them.20Then I will 56make you to this people A fortified wall of bronze; And though they fight against you, They will not prevail over you; For 57I am with you to save you And rescue you,” declares the Lord.21“So I will 58rescue you from the hand of the wicked, And I will 59redeem you from the 60grasp of the violent.”