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.
Jeremiah 15:19-21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
If you turn back, I will take you back,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious and not what is worthless,
you shall serve as my mouth.
It is they who will turn to you,
not you who will turn to them.(A)
20 And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,
says the Lord.(B)
21 I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked
and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.(C)
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