The Verdict Has Been Determined
15 The Lord said to me:
Even if Moses and Samuel were standing in front of me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from me. Let them go! 2 When they ask you, “Where should we go?” tell them that this is what the Lord says:
Those doomed[a] to death, to death,
those doomed to the sword, to the sword,
those doomed to famine, to famine,
those doomed to captivity, to captivity.
3 I will punish them in four ways, declares the Lord: The sword will kill, and dogs will drag them away. The birds in the sky and the wild animals in the land will devour and destroy. 4 I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.
5 Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will turn back to ask how you are?
6 You have rejected me, declares the Lord.
You have turned away from me.
So I will stretch out my hand against you and destroy you.
I am weary of showing compassion.
7 I will scatter them with a winnowing fork at the gates of the land.
I will make them childless.
I will destroy my people,
because they have not changed their ways.
8 I will make their widows more numerous than the sand on the seashore.
At noon I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of their
young men.
I will bring anguish and terror down on them suddenly.
9 The mother of seven will grow faint.
She will breathe her last.
Her sun will set while it is still day,
and she will be ashamed and humiliated.
The survivors I will put to the sword in the presence of their enemies,
declares the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Complaint
10 I am so miserable, my mother, that you gave birth to me.
I am the man with whom the whole land argues and quarrels.
I have not lent or borrowed, but everyone curses me.
The Lord’s Response to Jeremiah
11 The Lord said:
I will surely set you free for your own good.
I will surely make your enemies plead with you
in a time of trouble and in a time of distress.
12 Can anyone break iron—iron from the north—or bronze?
13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder, without cost, because of all your sins throughout all your territory. 14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know, for my anger is kindled in me, and you will burn continuously.
Jeremiah Responds
15 O Lord, you understand.
Remember me and care for me.
Take vengeance for me on those who persecute me.
You are slow to anger.
Do not take me away.
Keep in mind that for your sake I bear disgrace.
16 Your words came to me, and I devoured them.
Your words became my joy,
the delight of my heart,
because I bear your name,
O Lord God of Armies.
17 I did not sit with the band of partygoers,
nor did I celebrate with them.
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me.
You filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending?
Why is my wound incurable, refusing to heal?
Will you be as deceptive as an intermittent stream to me,
like a source of water that a person can’t depend on?
The Lord’s Response
19 Therefore this is what the Lord says.
If you repent, I will take you back,
so that you may stand before me.
If what you say is worthwhile and not worthless,
you will be my spokesman.
They must turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you like a bronze wall to this people.
They will fight against you,
but they will not overcome you,
because I am with you to save you
and to rescue you, declares the Lord.
21 I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked,
and I will deliver you from the grasp of the ruthless.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 15:2 Or destined