Jeremiah 15

1 Then said Yahweh unto me, Though Moses and Samuel should stand before me, My soul could not be toward this people, —Send them away from before me And let them go forth.

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.

2 And it shall come to pass when they say unto thee Whither shall we go? Then shalt, thou say unto them, Thus saith Yahweh—Such as are for death, to death, and Such as are for the sword, to the sword, and Such as are for famine, to the famine, and Such as are for captivity, to captivity.

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.

3 And I will set in charge over them—four species Declareth Yahweh, The sword to slay, and The dogs to trail along, —and The bird of the heavens and The beast of the earth to devour and to destroy.

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.

4 And I will make them a terror, to all the kingdoms of the earth, —On account of Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah, For what he did in Jerusalem.

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.

5 For who shall have pity upon thee O Jerusalem? And who shall lament for thee? And who shall turn aside, to ask for thy welfare?

Who will be sorry for you, Jerusalem? Who will mourn for you? Who will stop to ask you how you are?

6 Thou, hast abandoned, me, Declareth Yahweh, Backward, thou wilt go, Therefore have I stretched forth my hand against thee and laid thee waste, —I am weary of having compassion.

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.

7 Therefore have I winnowed them with a winnowing shovel in the gates of the land, —I have bereaved—I have destroyed my people, From their own ways, have they not returned.

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.

8 Their widows have become multiplied to me, beyond the sand of the seas, I have brought against them—upon the mother of young men—the spoiler in the broad noon, —I have let fall upon her suddenly, excitement and terrors.

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.

9 Languisheth! she who had given birth to seven, She hath breathed out her life Her sun hath gone in, while yet it was day, She hath turned pale and hath turned red, —And the remnant of them, to the sword, will I deliver before their enemies, Declareth Yahweh.

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.

10 Woe to me! my mother, That thou didst bear me, A man of litigation and a man of contention to all the land, —I have not lent on interest Nor have they lent on interest to me, Every one, hath treated me with contempt.

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.

11 Said Yahweh, —Verily, I will loose thee, for good! Verily, I will intercede for thee In the time of calamity, and In the time of distress with the enemy!

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.

12 Shall iron crush the iron from the North and the bronze?

Can anyone break iron, iron from the north, or bronze?

13 Thy substance and thy treasures—for a prey, will I give, without price, —Even for all thy sins and in all thy bounds:

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.

14 Therefore will I make thee pass, with thine enemies into a land thou knowest not, —For, a fire, hath been kindled in mine anger Upon you, shall it burn.

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.

15 Thou knowest—O Yahweh Remember me and visit me and avenge me upon my persecutors, Do not of thy longsuffering, take me away, —Know—I have borne for thy sake, reproach.

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.

16 Thy words, were found, and I did eat them, Then became thy words unto me the joy and gladness of my heart, —For thy Name hath been called upon me, O Yahweh God of hosts!

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!

17 I sat not in the circle of mockers, Nor became I uproarious, —Because of thy hand, by myself did I sit, For with indignation, hadst thou filled me.

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.

18 Wherefore hath my pain become perpetual? And my wound, incurable? Refuseth to be healed? Wilt thou, indeed be, to me [As a brook] that disappointeth, Waters that cannot be trusted?

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.

19 Wherefore Thus, saith Yahweh—If thou wouldst return, I will cause thee to return Before me, shalt thou stand, Yea if thou wilt bring out the precious from among the vile, As mine own mouth shalt thou be, —Let them return unto thee, But thou, shalt not return unto them;

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.

20 So will I make thee to this people a wall of bronze, fortified, When they fight against thee, they shall not prevail against thee, —For with thee, am, I, to save thee and to deliver thee, Declareth Yahweh;

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.

21 Thus will I deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, —And redeem thee out of the grasp of the tyrants.

I will liberate you from the power of the wicked, and free you from clutches of the cruel.