Jeremiah 15

Legacy Standard Bible

Yahweh Appoints Four Kinds of Doom

15 Then Yahweh said to me, “Even ^(A)though ^(B)Moses and ^(C)Samuel were to ^(D)stand before Me, My soul would not be ^[a]with this people; ^(E)send them away from My presence and let them go! ²And it will be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says Yahweh:

“Those destined ^(F)for 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.”’

³I will ^(G)appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares Yahweh: “the sword to kill, the ^(H)dogs to drag off, and the ^(I)birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and bring to ruin. ⁴I will ^(J)give them over to be an example of terror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of ^(K)Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

⁵“Indeed, who will ^(L)spare you, O Jerusalem,
Or who will ^(M)console you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your well-being?
⁶You who have ^(N)abandoned Me,” declares Yahweh,
“You keep ^(O)going backward.
So I will ^(P)stretch out My hand against you and bring you to ruin;
I am ^(Q)tired of ^[b]relenting!
⁷And I will ^(R)winnow them with a winnowing fork
At the gates of the land;
I will ^(S)bereave them of children; I will make My people perish;
^(T)They did not ^[c]repent of their ways.
⁸Their ^(U)widows will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a choice man,
A ^(V)destroyer at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Anguish and terror.
⁹She who ^(W)bore seven sons languishes;
^[d]Her breathing is labored.
Her ^(X)sun has set while it was yet day;
She has been ^(Y)shamed and humiliated.
So I will ^(Z)give over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies,” declares Yahweh.

Jeremiah Pleads for Vengeance

¹⁰^(AA)Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me
As a ^(AB)man of strife and a man of contention to all the land!
I have not ^(AC)lent, nor have men lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.
¹¹Yahweh said, “Surely I will ^(AD)set you free for purposes of good;
Surely I will cause the ^(AE)enemy to intercede with you
In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

¹²“Can anyone smash iron,
^(AF)Iron from the north, or bronze?
¹³Your ^(AG)wealth and your treasures
I will give for plunder ^(AH)without cost,
Even for all your sins
And within all your borders.
¹⁴Then I will cause your enemies to pass ^[e]it over
Into a ^(AI)land you do not know,
For a ^(AJ)fire has been kindled in My anger;
It will burn upon you.”

¹⁵^(AK)You who know, O Yahweh,
Remember me, take notice of me,
And ^(AL)take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that ^(AM)for Your sake I endure reproach.
¹⁶Your words were found, and I ^(AN)ate them,
And Your ^(AO)words became for me joy and gladness in my heart,
For I have been ^(AP)called by Your name,
O Yahweh God of hosts.
¹⁷I ^(AQ)did not sit in the circle of merrymakers,
Nor did I exult.
Because of Your hand upon me I sat ^(AR)alone,
For You ^(AS)filled me with indignation.
¹⁸Why has my pain been perpetual
And my ^(AT)wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You indeed be to me ^(AU)like a deceptive stream
With water that is unreliable?

Yahweh’s Answer

¹⁹Therefore thus says Yahweh,

“^(AV)If you return, then I will cause you to return—
^(AW)Before Me you will stand;
And ^(AX)if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become ^[f]My mouthpiece.
They for their part may turn to you,
But as for you, you must not turn to them.
²⁰Then I will ^(AY)make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And they will fight against you,
But they will not prevail against you,
For ^(AZ)I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” declares Yahweh.
²¹“So I will ^(BA)deliver you from the hand of the evil ones,
And I will ^(BB)redeem you from the ^[g]grasp of the ruthless ones.”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 15:1 Lit toward
Jeremiah 15:6 Or regretting
Jeremiah 15:7 Lit turn back from
Jeremiah 15:9 Or She has breathed out her soul
Jeremiah 15:14 Your possessions
Jeremiah 15:19 Lit as My mouth
Jeremiah 15:21 Lit palm

Jeremiah 15

Modern English Version

The Lord Will Not Relent

15 Then the Lord said to me: Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, yet My heart would not be with this people. Cast them out of My sight and let them go! ²It shall come to pass if they say to you, “Where should we go?” then you shall tell them: Thus says the Lord:

Those destined for death, to death;
and those destined for the sword, to the sword;
and those destined for the famine, to the famine;
and those destined for the captivity, to the captivity.

³I will appoint over them four kinds of disaster, says the Lord: the sword to slay, the dogs to tear, the birds of the heaven, the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. ⁴I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.

⁵For who shall have pity on you, O Jerusalem?
    Or who shall bemoan you?
    Or who shall go aside to ask how you are doing?
⁶You who have forsaken Me, says the Lord,
    you keep going backward.
Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you.
    I am weary of relenting!
⁷I will winnow them with a winnowing fork
    in the gates of the land;
I will bereave them of children. I will destroy My people,
    since they did not repent from their ways.
⁸Their widows will increase before Me
    more than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,
    a destroyer at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
    sorrow and terrors.
⁹She who has borne seven sons languishes;
    she has given up the spirit;
her sun has gone down while it was yet day;
    she has been ashamed and humiliated.
And the rest of them I will deliver to the sword
    before their enemies,
    says the Lord.

Jeremiah’s Sorrow

¹⁰Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me
as a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have not lent with usury, nor have men lent to me on usury,
yet every one of them curses me!

¹¹The Lord said:

Truly I will set you free for good purposes.
Truly I will cause the enemy to entreat you
in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.

¹²Can anyone break the northern iron
or the bronze?

¹³Your wealth and your treasures
    I will give to the destroyer without price,
and that for all your sins,
    even within all your borders.
¹⁴I will make you to pass with your enemies
    into a land which you do not know;
for a fire is kindled in My anger,
    which shall burn upon you.

¹⁵O Lord, You who know, remember me,
    and take notice of me,
    and take vengeance on my persecutors.
Because of your longsuffering, do not take me away.
    Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
¹⁶Your words were found and I ate them.
    And Your word became to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart,
for I am called by Your name,
    O Lord God of Hosts.
¹⁷I did not sit in the assembly of mockers,
    nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
    for You have filled me with indignation.
¹⁸Why is my pain perpetual
    and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed?
Shall You be altogether to me as a deceptive stream
    and as waters that fail?

The Lord Reassures Jeremiah

¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord:

If you return, then I will bring you back,
    and you shall stand before Me;
and if you take out the precious from the worthless,
    you will be My spokesman.
Let them return to you,
    but do not return to them.
²⁰I will make you to this people
    a fortified bronze wall;
and they shall fight against you,
    but they shall not prevail against you;
for I am with you
    to save you and to deliver you,
    says the Lord.
²¹I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
    and I will redeem you out of the hand of the violent.

Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

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Modern English Version (MEV)

Jeremiah 15 Legacy Standard Bible