Jeremiah 15
King James Version
15 Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; 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 captivity, to the captivity.
3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.
4 And I 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.
5 For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?
6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.
7 And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people since they return not from their ways.
8 Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.
9 She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.
10 Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.
11 The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
12 Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?
13 Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.
14 And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
15 O Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.
17 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
20 And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
21 And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
Jeremiah 15
English Standard Version
The Lord Will Not Relent
15 Then the Lord said to me, (A)“Though (B)Moses (C)and Samuel (D)stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! 2 And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
(E)“‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,
and those who are for the sword, to the sword;
those who are for famine, to famine,
and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’
3 (F)I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the Lord: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and (G)the birds of the air (H)and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 (I)And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what (J)Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.
5 (K)“Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,
(L)or who will grieve for you?
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
6 (M)You have rejected me, declares the Lord;
(N)you keep going backward,
so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—
(O)I am weary of relenting.
7 (P)I have winnowed them with (Q)a winnowing fork
in the gates of the land;
I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;
(R)they did not turn from their ways.
8 I have made their widows more in number
than (S)the sand of the seas;
I have brought against the mothers of young men
a destroyer at noonday;
I have made anguish and terror
fall upon them suddenly.
9 (T)She who bore seven has grown feeble;
(U)she has fainted away;
(V)her sun went down while it was yet day;
she has been shamed and disgraced.
And the rest of them I will give to the sword
before their enemies,
declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah's Complaint
10 (W)Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! (X)I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me. 11 The Lord said, “Have I not[a] set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress? 12 Can one break iron, iron (Y)from the north, and bronze?
13 (Z)“Your wealth and your treasures I will give as (AA)spoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory. 14 I will make you serve your enemies (AB)in a land that you do not know, (AC)for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”
15 (AD)O Lord, you know;
(AE)remember me and visit me,
(AF)(AG)and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance take me not away;
(AH)know that (AI)for your sake I bear reproach.
16 Your words were found, (AJ)and I ate them,
and (AK)your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
(AL)for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
17 (AM)I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
(AN)I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unceasing,
(AO)my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me (AP)like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail?
19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(AQ)“If you return, I will restore you,
and you shall (AR)stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
but you shall not turn to them.
20 (AS)And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
(AT)but they shall not prevail over you,
(AU)for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,
declares the Lord.
21 (AV)I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of (AW)the ruthless.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 15:11 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Jeremiah 15
Expanded Bible
15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel ·prayed for them [L stood before me], ·I [L my soul] would not ·feel sorry for the people of Judah [L turn toward this people; C Moses and Samuel interceded on behalf of their sinful generations; Ex. 32:11–14, 30–34; Num. 14:13–19; 1 Sam. 7:5–11; 12:17–23]. Send them away from me! Tell them to go! 2 When they ask you, ‘Where will we go?’ tell them: ‘This is what the Lord says:
Those who are ·meant to die [L for death]
·will die [L to death].
Those who are meant ·to die in war [L for the sword]
·will die in war [L to the sword].
Those who are meant ·to die from hunger [L for famine]
·will die from hunger [L to famine].
Those who are meant ·to be taken captive [L for exile]
·will be taken captive [L to exile].’
3 “I will ·send [appoint] four kinds of destroyers against them,” says the Lord. “I will send ·war [L the sword] to kill, dogs to drag the bodies away, and the birds of the ·air [sky; heavens] and ·wild animals [L beasts of the land] to eat and destroy the bodies. 4 I will make them [C the people of Judah] ·hated by [a horror to] everyone on earth because of what Manasseh did in Jerusalem. (Manasseh son of Hezekiah was king of the nation of Judah [C from 698–642 bc; he was a particularly wicked king; 2 Kin. 21:1–18; 23:26–27].)
5 “Who will ·feel sorry for [have pity on] you, Jerusalem?
Who will ·be sad and cry [grieve] for you?
Who will go out of his way to ask how you are [Nah. 3:7]?
6 You [C Jerusalem] have ·left me [cast me off],” says the Lord.
“You keep going ·farther and farther away [backward],
so I have ·taken hold of you [L stretched out my hand] and destroyed you.
I was tired of ·holding back my anger [relenting].
7 I have ·separated [winnowed] them [C the people of Judah] with my ·pitchfork [winnowing fork] in the gates of the land.
My people haven’t changed their ways.
So I have destroyed ·them [L my people]
and ·taken away their children [bereaved them].
8 There are more widows than grains of sand in the sea [C an ironic reference to Gen. 22:17; 32:12; 41:49].
I brought a destroyer at noontime
against the mothers of the young men of Judah.
I suddenly ·brought pain and fear
on the people of Judah [L made anguish and fear fall on them].
9 A woman with seven sons ·felt faint [languishes; C because they would all die].
She ·became weak and unable to breathe [L swoons].
Her ·bright day became dark from sadness [L sun went down while it was still day].
She felt ·shame [humiliation] and disgrace.
And ·everyone else left alive in Judah [L the rest of them]
I will hand over to the sword of their enemies, too!” says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Second Complaint
10 Mother, ·I am sorry [woe to me] that you gave birth to me
·since I must accuse and criticize [L a man of strife and contention to] the whole land.
I have not loaned or borrowed anything,
but everyone curses me.
11 The Lord said,
“·I have [L Have I not…?] ·saved [or intervened for] you for a good reason.
·I have made your enemies beg you [or Will I not bring the enemy against you…?]
in times of ·disaster [harm; evil] and ·trouble [distress].
12 ·No one can smash a piece of iron or bronze
that comes from the north [L Can iron break the iron of the north and the bronze?; C the iron is Babylon (1:13–15; 4:6) and the bronze is Jeremiah (15:20)].
13 Your wealth and treasures
I will give ·to others free of charge [L as plunder without price/charge],
because of all your [C the people of Judah] sins
throughout the country.
14 I will make you ·slaves to [serve] your enemies
in a land you have never known.
My anger ·is [L kindles] like a hot fire,
and it will burn against you.”
15 Lord, you ·understand [L know].
Remember me and take care of me.
·Punish for me [Avenge me on] those who are ·hurting [persecuting; pursuing] me.
Don’t ·destroy [snatch] me while you remain patient with them.
Think about the ·shame [reproaches] I ·suffer [endure] for you.
16 Your words ·came to me [L were found], and I ·listened carefully to [L ate] them.
Your words made me very happy
and were the delight of my heart,
because I am called by your name,
Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
17 I never sat with the ·crowd
as they laughed [L crowd of merrymakers/revelers] and ·had fun [L I did not rejoice].
I sat by ·myself [alone], ·because you were there [L from before your hand/power],
and you filled me with anger [C at the evil people around him].
18 ·I don’t understand why my pain has [L Why does my pain have…?] no end.
·I don’t understand why my injury is not cured or healed [L My wound is uncurable and refuses to be healed].
Will you be like a ·brook that goes dry [L deceitful brook]?
Will you be like a ·spring that stops flowing [L unreliable spring]?
19 So this is what the Lord says:
“If you ·change your heart and return to me [L return/repent], I will ·take you back [L return to you].
Then you may ·serve me [L stand before me].
And if you [C Jeremiah] speak things that ·have worth [are precious],
not useless words,
then you may ·speak for me [L be like my mouth].
Let them [C the people of Judah] turn to you,
but you must not ·change and be like them [L turn to them].
20 I will make you as strong as a wall to this people,
·as strong [fortified] as a wall of bronze [v. 12].
They will fight against you,
but they will not ·defeat [prevail over] you,
because I am with you.
I will ·save [have victory for] you and ·rescue [protect] you,” says the Lord.
21 “I will ·rescue [protect] you from ·these wicked people [L the hand/control of evil people]
and redeem you from ·these cruel people [L the hand of the violent].”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.