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.

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.

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.

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.

For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?

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.

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.

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.

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.

16 The word of the Lord came also unto me, saying,

Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.

For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land;

They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

For thus saith the Lord, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord, even lovingkindness and mercies.

Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:

Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.

Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.

For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?

11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:

13 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.

14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

15 But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.

18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.

19 O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?

21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord.

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! 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.’

(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. (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.

(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?
(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.
(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.
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.
(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.”

Famine, Sword, and Death

16 The word of the Lord came to me: “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land: (AX)They shall die of deadly diseases. (AY)They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. (AZ)They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. (BA)They shall perish by the sword and by famine, (BB)and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.

“For thus says the Lord: (BC)Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament or grieve for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people, my steadfast love and mercy, declares the Lord. Both great and small shall die in this land. (BD)They shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them or (BE)cut himself (BF)or make himself bald for them. No one shall (BG)break bread for the mourner, to comfort him for the dead, nor shall anyone give him the cup of consolation to drink for his father or his mother. You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (BH)Behold, I will silence in this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

10 “And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, (BI)‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 then you shall say to them: (BJ)‘Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord, and (BK)have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, 12 and because (BL)you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, (BM)every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me. 13 Therefore (BN)I will hurl you out of this land into (BO)a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, (BP)and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’

The Lord Will Restore Israel

14 (BQ)“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, (BR)‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but (BS)‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel (BT)out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For (BU)I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.

16 “Behold, (BV)I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out (BW)of the clefts of the rocks. 17 For (BX)my eyes are on all their ways. (BY)They are not hidden from me, (BZ)nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. 18 But first (CA)I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and (CB)have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”

19 (CC)O Lord, my strength and my stronghold,
    (CD)my refuge in the day of trouble,
(CE)to you shall the nations come
    from the ends of the earth and say:
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,
    (CF)worthless things in which there is no profit.
20 Can man make for himself (CG)gods?
    Such are not gods!”

21 “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that (CH)my name is the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 15:11 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain