Jeremiah 15
1 The Lord told me: Even if Moses and Samuel were standing before me pleading with me on behalf of these people, I wouldn't feel sorry for them. Send them away from me. Have them leave.
And the Lord said unto me, If Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my favor would [still] not be toward this people: send them away out of my sight, that they may go forth.
2 If they ask you, “Where shall we go?” tell them that this is what the Lord says: Those to be killed by the plague, to the plague; those to be killed by the sword, to the sword; those to be killed by famine, to famine; and those to be killed in captivity, to captivity.
And it shall come to pass, if they should say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth, that thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, Such as are destined to death, to death; and such as are destined to the sword, to the sword; and such as are destined to famine, to famine; and such as are destined to captivity, to captivity.
3 I will put four kinds of destroyers in charge of them, declares the Lord: swords to kill, dogs to drag their bodies away, and the birds of prey and wild animals to eat them and destroy them.
And I will appoint over them four species, saith the Lord: The sword to slay, and the dogs to drag away, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy.
4 I will make all the kingdoms of the world horrified by them, because of the evil things Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
And I will cause them to become a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth, on account of Menasseh the son of Hezekiah the king of Judah, because of what he did in Jerusalem.
5 Who will be sorry for you, Jerusalem? Who will mourn for you? Who will stop to ask you how you are?
For who will have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who will condole with thee? or who will go aside to ask after thy welfare?
6 You have deserted me, declares the Lord. You have turned your back on me. So I will take action against you and destroy you; I am tired of showing you mercy.
Thou hast indeed forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward; therefore do I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee: I am weary with repenting.
7 I will scatter you with a winnowing fork from every town in the country. I will destroy my people and take away their children because they refuse to give up their evil ways.
And I winnow them with a fan in the gates of the land: I make childless, I annihilate my people, [since] from their ways they have not turned away.
8 There will be more widows than the sand of the sea. I will bring a destroyer at noon and mothers will lose their young sons. They will suddenly experience agony and shock.
Their widows are more numerous before me than the sand of the seas: I bring unto them, over the mothers of the young men, a waster at noonday; I cause to fall upon her suddenly the enemy with [his] terrors.
9 A mother of seven children will collapse; she will gasp for breath. Her sun will set while it's still daytime; she will be ashamed and humiliated. I will let the enemies kill the rest of them, declares the Lord.
She that had born seven children fadeth away; she breatheth out her soul, her sun is set while it is yet day; she is made ashamed and put to the blush: —and their residue will I give up to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.
10 How sad I am, my mother, that you gave birth to me! I'm a victim of argument and conflict wherever I go in the country. I have never lent anyone anything, or borrowed anything, but still everyone curses me.
Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast born me, a man of contention and a man of strife to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have men lent to me: [yet] every one of them curseth me.
11 But the Lord told me: Don't worry, I'm going to take away your problems so you can do good. I will make your enemies plead with you whenever they're in trouble or suffering.
The Lord said, Truly I will release thee for [thy] good; truly I will cause the enemy to meet thee in the time of distress and in the time of affliction.
12 Can anyone break iron, iron from the north, or bronze?
Can iron break in pieces the northern iron and copper?
13 I will give away your wealth and valuable possessions for free. They will become plunder for your enemies because of all the sins you committed throughout your country.
Thy wealth and thy treasures will I give up as spoil without price, and this for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.
14 Then I will have your enemies make you their slaves in an unfamiliar country, because I will so angry it will be like lighting a fire that will burn you up.
And I will cause them to pass over with thy enemies into a land which thou knowest not; for a fire is kindled in my anger, over you shall it burn.
15 You know what's happening to me, Lord. Please remember me and look after me. Punish my persecutors! Please be patient—don't let me die! You know I put up with criticism because I want to honor you.
Thou well knowest it, O Lord! remember me and think of me, and avenge me on my persecutors; not according to thy long-suffering act thou for me: know, that for thy sake I have borne shame.
16 When I received your messages, I ate them up! What you said made me really happy—I was delighted. I belong to you, Lord God Almighty!
When thy words were made manifest to me, then I greedily received them; and thy word became unto me the gladness and joy of my heart; for thy name is called upon me, O Lord of hosts.
17 I didn't join in with a bunch of jokers as they had fun. I stayed by myself because you have called me, and you have filled me with outrage.
I sat not in the assembly of the mirthful, and was rejoiced; because of thy inspiration I sat solitary; for thou hadst filled me with indignation.
18 Why doesn't my pain ever stop? Why is my wound incurable? Why can't it be healed? You've really become like a seasonal stream to me, an unreliable source of water.
Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable? it refuseth to be healed; it is truly become unto me as a deceptive spring, as waters that are not reliable.
19 So this is what the Lord says: If you come back to me, I will take you back and you will serve me again. If what you talk about are worthwhile subjects and not nonsense, you will be my spokesman, Jeremiah. They must be the ones who follow you; you must not follow them.
Therefore thus hath said the Lord, If thou return, and I bring thee back again, then shalt thou stand before me; and if thou bring forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: these shall return unto thee; but thou shalt not return unto them.
20 Then I will make you a wall to these people, a strong wall of bronze. They will fight against you but they won't defeat you. I am with you to save you and rescue you, declares the Lord.
And I will make thee unto this people as a fortified brazen wall; and they will 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 I will liberate you from the power of the wicked, and free you from clutches of the cruel.
And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the grasp of the tyrants.
