Jeremiah 15

Common English Bible

Lamenting Jerusalem’s dire circumstances

15 The Lord said to me: Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, I wouldn’t change my mind about these people. Send them away from me. Let them go! ²And if they say, “Go where?” tell them, This is what the Lord proclaims:

Those marked for death—to death,
those marked for war—to war,
those marked for famine—to famine, and those marked for exile—to exile.

³I will appoint over them four agents^[a] of death, declares the Lord: soldiers to kill, dogs to drag off, and vultures and wild animals to devour and destroy. ⁴Because of what Judah’s King Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son, has done in Jerusalem, I will make them an object of horror to all nations on earth.

⁵Who will pity you, Jerusalem?
    Who will shed tears over you?
    Who will stop and ask how you’re doing?
⁶You have deserted me,
        declares the Lord.
    You have turned your back on me.
    So I will turn my hand against you
        and destroy you.
I’m tired of holding back.
⁷    I will winnow them with a winnowing fork
        at the gates of their country.
I will bereave and destroy my people
    because they haven’t changed their ways.
⁸Their widows will outnumber
    the sand on the shore.
I will bring a destroyer in broad daylight
    against the mothers of young men.^[b]
Suddenly I will bring distress
    and terror upon them.
⁹The mother of seven
    will grow weak and gasp for air;
        her sun will set while it is yet day;
        she will be ashamed and disgraced.
    I will deliver the survivors to the sword,
    to the power of their enemies,
        declares the Lord.

¹⁰I wish I had never been born! I have become a source of conflict and dissension in my own country. Even though I haven’t lent or borrowed, still everyone curses me.

¹¹The Lord said:
Haven’t I taken care of you?
    Haven’t I helped you with your enemies
        in time of trouble and distress?^[c]
¹²Can a person shatter iron,
    iron from the north, or bronze?
¹³Your wealth and belongings
    I will deliver as plunder,
        without a fee,
        because of all your sins
        throughout your territory.
¹⁴I will make you serve your enemies
    in a land you don’t know,
        for my anger blazes like a fire
        that won’t go out.

¹⁵You understand, Lord!
    Remember me and act on my behalf.
Bring judgment on those who torment me.
    In your mercy, spare my life.^[d]
    Consider how I’m insulted on your account.
¹⁶When your words turned up, I feasted on them;
    and they became my joy, the delight of my heart,
        because I belong to you,
        Lord God of heavenly forces.
¹⁷I didn’t join the festive occasions;
    I took no delight in them.
    I sat alone
        because your hand was upon me
        and you had filled me with curses.
¹⁸Why am I always in pain?
    Why is my wound incurable,
        so far beyond healing?
You have become for me as unreliable
    as a spring gone dry!

¹⁹Therefore, the Lord proclaims:
If you return to me, I will take you back
    and let you stand before me.
If you utter what is worthwhile,
        not what is worthless,
    you will be my spokesman.
They will turn to you,
    not you to them!
²⁰I will make you a sturdy bronze wall
    against these people.
They will attack you,
        but they won’t triumph,
    because I am with you
        to protect and rescue you,
            declares the Lord.
²¹I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked;
    I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.