Jeremiah 15:10-21

New American Standard Bible

¹⁰^(A)Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to me
As a ^(B)man of strife and a man of contention to all the land!
I have not ^(C)lent, nor have people lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.
¹¹The Lord said, “I will certainly ^(D)set you free for purposes of good;
I will certainly make the ^(E)enemy plead with you
In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

¹²“Can anyone smash iron,
^(F)Iron from the north, or bronze?
¹³I will give your ^(G)wealth and your treasures
As plunder ^(H)without cost,
For all your sins
And within all your borders.
¹⁴Then I will make your enemies bring your possessions
Into a ^(I)land that you do not know;
For a ^(J)fire has been kindled in My anger,
And it will burn upon you.”

Jeremiah’s Prayer and God’s Answer

¹⁵^(K)You know, Lord;
Remember me, take notice of me,
And ^(L)take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that ^(M)for Your sake I endure reproach.
¹⁶Your words were found and I ^(N)ate them,
And Your ^(O)words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart;
For I have been ^(P)called by Your name,
Lord God of armies.
¹⁷I ^(Q)did not sit in a circle of revelers and celebrate.
Because of Your hand upon me I sat ^(R)alone,
For You ^(S)filled me with indignation.
¹⁸Why has my pain been endless
And my ^(T)wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You indeed be to me ^(U)like a deceptive stream
With water that is unreliable?

¹⁹Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
“^(V)If you return, then I will restore you—
^(W)You will stand before Me;
And ^(X)if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become ^[a]My spokesman.
They, for their part, may turn to you,
But as for you, you are not to turn to them.
²⁰Then I will ^(Y)make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And though they fight against you,
They will not prevail over you;
For ^(Z)I am with you to save you
And rescue you,” declares the Lord.
²¹“So I will ^(AA)rescue you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will ^(AB)redeem you from the ^[b]grasp of the violent.”