Jeremiah 15

1 And the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my soul would not be toward this people. Cast them away from my face, and let them depart!

Then Yahweh said to me, “Even if Moses or Samuel were standing in front of me, I would still not be in favor of this people. Send them out from before me, for them to go away.

2 And if they say to you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: Those who go to death, shall go to death. And those who go to the sword, shall go to the sword, and those go to famine, shall go to famine, and those who go to captivity, shall go to captivity.

It will happen that they will say to you, 'Where should we go?' Then you must say to them, 'Yahweh says this: Those who are for death should go to death; those who are for the sword should go to the sword. Those who are for famine should go to famine; and those who are for captivity should go to captivity.'

3 And I will visit against them in four ways, says the Lord: by the sword, to kill; and by dogs, to tear apart; and by the birds of the air and by the beasts of the earth, to devour and to scatter.

For I will assign them to four groups—this is Yahweh's declaration—the sword to slaughter some, the dogs to drag some away, the birds of the skies and the beast of the earth to consume and destroy some.

4 And I will give them over to the fervor of all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, because of all that he did in Jerusalem.

I will make of them a horrifying thing to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

5 For who will take pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who will feel sorrow for you? Or who will go to prayer for the sake of your peace?

For who will have compassion for you, Jerusalem? Who will grieve for you?

6 You have abandoned me, says the Lord. You have gone backwards. And so, I will extend my hand over you, and I will destroy you. I have labored to plead with you.

You have forsaken me—this is Yahweh's declaration—you have gone back from me. So I will strike you with my hand and destroy you. I am tired of having mercy on you.

7 And I will scatter them with a winnowing fan at the gates of the land. I have killed and dispersed my people, and yet they have not turned back from their ways.

So I will winnow them with a pitchfork at the gates of the land. I will bereave them. I will destroy my people since they will not turn from their ways.

8 Their widows have been multiplied by me, more so than the sand of the sea. I have led them against the mother of a youth like an attacker at midday. I have sent a terror suddenly against the cities.

I will make their widows number more than the sands of the seashore. Against the mothers of young men I will send the destroyer at noonday. I will make shock and horror suddenly fall on them.

9 She who gave birth to seven has become weak. Her life has faded away. Her sun has set while it was still daytime. She has been confounded and shamed. And the remainder of them I will give over to the sword in the sight of their enemies, says the Lord.”

The mother who has borne seven children will waste away. She will gasp. Her sun will set while it is still day. She will be ashamed and embarrassed, for I will give those who remain to the sword in the presence of their enemies —this is Yahweh's declaration.”

10 “O my mother, woe to me! Why did you conceive me, a man of strife, a man of discord to all the earth? I have not lent money at interest, nor has anyone lent money at interest to me. Yet everyone is cursing me.”

Woe to me, my mother! For you have borne me, I who am a man of controversy and argument through all the land. I have not lent, nor has anyone lent to me, but they all curse me.

11 The Lord says: “Certainly, it will be well with your remnant. Certainly, I will run to meet you, in the time of affliction and in the time of tribulation, against the enemy.

Yahweh said: “Will I not rescue you for good? I will certainly make your enemies beg for help in the time of calamity and distress.

12 But how can iron be joined with the iron from the north or with brass?

Can one smash iron? Especially iron from the north that is mixed with bronze?

13 Your riches and your treasures I will give over to be freely despoiled, because of all your sins, even throughout all your borders.

I will give to your enemies your wealth and treasures as free plunder. I will do this because of all your sins committed within all your borders.

14 And I will lead in your enemies from a land that you do not know. For a fire has been kindled in my fury; it will burn upon you.”

Then I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for a fire will ignite, kindled in my wrath against you.”

15 “You know me, O Lord. Remember me, and visit me, and watch over me, because of those who persecute me. In your patience, do not choose to let me endure. You know I have suffered reproach because of you.

Yahweh, you know! Remember me and help me. Bring vengeance for me against those who persecute me. You are patient, but do not allow them to take me away; know that I suffer reproach for your sake.

16 I discovered your words and I consumed them. And your word became to me as the gladness and joy of my heart. For your name has been invoked over me, O Lord, the God of hosts.

Your words have been found, and I consumed them. Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I bear your name, Yahweh, God of hosts.

17 I did not sit in the company of mockers, nor did I glorify myself before the presence of your hand. I sat alone, because you filled me with threats.

I did not sit in the circle of those who celebrated or rejoiced. I sat in solitude because of your powerful hand, for you filled me with indignation.

18 Why has my sorrow become never-ending, and why has my wound become so dire that it refuses to be cured? It has become for me like the deception of untrustworthy waters.”

Why is my pain ongoing and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be like deceitful waters to me, waters that dry up?

19 Because of this, thus says the Lord: “If you will be converted, I will convert you. And you will stand before my face. And you will separate what is precious from what is vile. You will be my mouthpiece. They will be converted to you, but you will not be converted to them.

Therefore Yahweh said this, “If you repent, Jeremiah, then I will restore you, and you will stand before me and serve me. For if you separate the foolish things from the precious things, you will be like my mouth. The people will come back to you, but you yourself must not go back to them.

20 And I will present you to this people as a strong wall of brass. And they will fight against you, and they will not prevail. For I am with you, so as to save you and to rescue you, says the Lord.

I will make you like an impenetrable bronze wall to this people, and they will wage war against you. But they will not defeat you, for I am with you to save and rescue you—this is Yahweh's declaration—

21 And I will free you from hand of those who are most wicked, and I will redeem you from the hand of the powerful.”

for I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked and redeem you from the hand of the tyrant.”