Jeremiah 15:19-21
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh’s Answer
19 Therefore thus says Yahweh,
“(A)If you return, then I will cause you to return—
(B)Before Me you will stand;
And (C)if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become [a]My mouthpiece.
They for their part may turn to you,
But as for you, you must not turn to them.
20 Then I will (D)make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And they will fight against you,
But they will not prevail against you,
For (E)I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” declares Yahweh.
21 “So I will (F)deliver you from the hand of the evil ones,
And I will (G)redeem you from the [b]grasp of the ruthless ones.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 15:19 Lit as My mouth
- Jeremiah 15:21 Lit palm
Jeremiah 15:19-21
New English Translation
19 Because of this, the Lord said,[a]
“You must repent of such words and thoughts!
If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me.[b]
If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,
I will again allow you to be my spokesman.[c]
They must become as you have been.
You must not become like them.[d]
20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,
a fortified wall of bronze.
They will attack you,
but they will not be able to overcome you.
For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,”[e]
says the Lord.
21 “I will deliver you from the power of the wicked.
I will free you from the clutches of violent people.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 15:19 tn Heb “So the Lord said thus.”
- Jeremiah 15:19 tn Heb “If you return [ = repent], I will restore [more literally, “cause you to return”] that you may stand before me.” For the idiom of “standing before” in the sense of serving, see BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.e and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 10:8; 12:8; 17:1; Deut 10:8.
- Jeremiah 15:19 tn Heb “you shall be as my mouth.”sn For the classic statement of the prophet as God’s “mouth/mouthpiece,” = “spokesman,” see Exod 4:15-16; 7:1-2.
- Jeremiah 15:19 tn Heb “They must turn/return to you and you must not turn/return to them.”sn Once again the root “return” (שׁוּב, shuv) is being played on as in 3:1-4:4. See the threefold call to repentance in 3:12, 14, 22. The verb is used here four times: “repent,” “restore,” and “become” twice. He is to serve as a model of repentance, not an imitator of their apostasy. In accusing God of being unreliable he was coming dangerously close to their kind of behavior.
- Jeremiah 15:20 sn See 1:18. The Lord renews his promise of protection and reiterates his call to Jeremiah.
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