Jeremiah 15
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 15
1 The Lord then said to me: Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, my heart would not have pity on this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go! 2 And if they should ask you where they should go, say to them: Thus says the Lord:
Those destined for the plague, to plague;
those destined for the sword, to the sword;
those destined for famine, to famine;
those destined for captivity, to captivity.
3 Furthermore, four kinds of destroyers I will send against them, says the Lord: the sword to kill, dogs to drag away, birds of the sky and beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what King Manasseh of Judah, the son of Hezekiah, did in Jerusalem.
5 [a]Who will there be to pity you, O Jerusalem?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will have the slightest concern
to inquire how you are?
6 You have rejected me, says the Lord,
and you have turned your back on me.
Therefore, I have stretched out my hand over you
in order to destroy you;
I am weary of having compassion for you.
7 I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork
at every city gate in the land.
I have brought bereavement and destruction on my people
because they would not abandon their evil ways.
8 I have made their widows more numerous
than the sands of the sea.
I brought a destroyer at noonday
against the mothers of young men.
Without warning, I afflicted them
with anguish and terror.
9 The mother of seven sons will grow faint
and gasp for breath.
Her sun went down while it was still day;
she has been shamed and disgraced.
As for the rest, I will give them to the sword
to perish at the hands of assassins, says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Call Renewed[b]
10 “O my mother, how I wish
that you had never given birth to me,
a man of strife and contention for the entire land.
I have never borrowed from anyone,
nor have I lent to anyone,
yet everyone curses me.
11 Have I not truly done my best
to serve you, O Lord?
Have I not interceded with you
in times of disaster and times of distress?
12 “Can iron and bronze
break iron from the north?
13 Your wealth and your treasures
I will hand over as plunder, without repayment,
because of all your sins
throughout your territory.
14 I will force you to serve your enemies
in a land you do not know,
for my anger will kindle a fire
that will blaze against you.
15 O Lord, you know me well.
Remember me and visit me
and avenge me on my persecutors.
Continue to be patient with me
and do not cast me aside;
remember the insults I suffer for your sake.
16 “When I discovered your words, I devoured them;
they became a source of joy to me
and the delight of my heart,
because I bore your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
17 “I have never associated with revelers
or rejoiced in their company;
I sat alone because I felt your hand on me,
and you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why then is my suffering continuous
and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook
whose waters cannot be relied upon.”
19 In reply the Lord said to me:
If you repent, I will restore you,
and you will stand in my presence.
If you utter precious words
and not what is worthless,
you will be my spokesman.
This people may turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you appear in the eyes of this people
to be a fortified wall of bronze.
They will fight against you
but they will not prevail,
for I am with you
to save and deliver you, says the Lord.
21 I will rescue you from the clutches of the wicked
and redeem you from the grasp of the violent.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 15:5 This oracle may date from a little after the events of 598 B.C.
- Jeremiah 15:10 The prophet has spent himself without reservation to maintain the covenant and be a witness of the Lord. He has gotten in return only misunderstanding, hostility, and isolation. The words he speaks in the depths of his suffering sound blasphemous. For this reason, the Lord has not given him even a single word of approval. The prophet has departed from the right way: he must return to it! Verses 12-14 were very clumsily inserted into this passage by a copyist.
Jeremiah 15
Complete Jewish Bible
15 Then Adonai said to me, “Even if Moshe and Sh’mu’el were standing in front of me, my heart would not turn toward this people! Drive them out of my sight, get them out of here! 2 And when they ask you where they should go, tell them that this is what Adonai says:
‘Those destined for death — to death!
Those destined for the sword — to the sword!
Those destined for famine — to famine!
Those destined for captivity — to captivity!’
3 “I will assign them four kinds [of scourges],” says Adonai, “the sword to kill, dogs to drag away, birds in the air and wild animals to devour and destroy. 4 I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of M’nasheh the son of Hizkiyahu king of Y’hudah, because of what he did in Yerushalayim.
5 “Who will take pity on you, Yerushalayim?
Who will grieve for you?
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
6 You have rejected me,” says Adonai.
“You are heading backward.
So I am stretching out my hand against you;
tired of sparing you, I am destroying you.
7 With a winnowing fork I am scattering them
to the wind at the gates of the land;
I am bereaving them, destroying my people,
because they will not return from their ways.
8 Their widows increase in number
more than the sand of the seas;
At midday I am bringing the destroyer
on the mothers of young men,
causing anguish and terror
suddenly to fall upon her.
9 The mother of seven sons grows faint,
panting in despair;
her sun has gone down while it’s still daytime;
she is left disgraced and bewildered.
And the rest of them I will give to the sword,
to their enemies,” says Adonai.
10 Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth,
a man who is the object of strife
and controversy throughout the land!
I neither lend nor borrow,
yet all of them curse me.
11 Adonai said, “I promise to release you for good, I promise to make your enemies appeal to you when calamity and trouble come.
12 “Can iron break iron and bronze from the north? 13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder, and you will not be paid for them, because of all your sins throughout your territory; 14 and I will make you pass together with your enemies into a land you do not know. For my anger has become a blazing fire, and it will flare up against you.”
15 Adonai, you know. Remember me, think of me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Because you are patient, don’t banish me;
know that for your sake I suffer insults.
16 When I found your words, I devoured them;
your words made me glad, they gave me joy;
because, Adonai-Tzva’ot,
you had me bear your name.
17 I have never kept company with merrymakers,
I could not celebrate;
with your hand on me I sat by myself,
for you filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will you be for me like a deceptive vadi,
which is only sometimes filled with water?
19 This is Adonai’s answer:
“If you return — if I bring you back —
you will stand before me.
If you separate the precious from the base,
you will be my spokesman.
It will then be they who turn to you,
not you who turn to them.
20 Toward this people I will make you
a fortified wall of bronze —
they will fight against you
but not prevail against you;
for I am with you to save you
and rescue you,” says Adonai.
21 “I will free you from the grasp of the wicked
and redeem you from the clutches of the ruthless.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.