Jer 15 | NASB1995 | STEP | Then the Lord said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people ; send them away from My presence and let them go !

Jeremiah 15

Judgment Must Come

1 Then the Lord said to me, “Even ^athough ^bMoses and ^cSamuel were to ^dstand before Me, My ^{▼▼ Lit soul}heart would not be ^{▼▼ Lit toward}with this people; ^gsend them away from My presence and let them go! 2 “And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Those destined ^hfor death, to death;
And those destined for the sword, to the sword;
And those destined for famine, to famine;
And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’

3 “I will ⁱappoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the Lord: “the sword to slay, the ^jdogs to drag off, and the ^kbirds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 “I will ^lmake them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of ^mManasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem. 5 “Indeed, who will have ⁿpity on you, O Jerusalem,
Or who will ^omourn for you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?
6 “You who have ^pforsaken Me,” declares the Lord,
“You keep ^qgoing backward.
So I will ^rstretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
I am ^stired of relenting!
7 “I will ^twinnow them with a winnowing fork
At the gates of the land;
I will ^ubereave them of children, I will destroy My people;
^vThey did not ^{▼▼ Lit turn back from}repent of their ways.
8 “Their ^xwidows will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,
A ^ydestroyer at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Anguish and dismay.
9 “She who ^zbore seven sons pines away;
^{▼▼ Or She has breathed out her soul}Her breathing is labored.
Her ^absun has set while it was yet day;
She has been ^acshamed and humiliated.
So I will ^adgive over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies,” declares the Lord.

10 ^aeWoe to me, my mother, that you have borne me
As a ^afman of strife and a man of contention to all the land!
I have not ^aglent, nor have men lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.
11 The Lord said, “Surely I will ^ahset you free for purposes of good;
Surely I will cause the ^aienemy to make supplication to you
In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

12 “Can anyone smash iron,
^ajIron from the north, or bronze?
13 “Your ^akwealth and your treasures
I will give for booty ^alwithout cost,
Even for all your sins
And within all your borders.
14 “Then I will cause your enemies to bring ^{▼▼ I.e. your possessions} it
Into a ^anland you do not know;
For a ^aofire has been kindled in My anger,
It will burn upon you.”

Jeremiah’s Prayer and God’s Answer

15 ^apYou who know, O Lord,
Remember me, take notice of me,
And ^aqtake vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that ^arfor Your sake I endure reproach.
16 Your words were found and I ^asate them,
And Your ^atwords became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been ^aucalled by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.
17 I ^avdid not sit in the circle of merrymakers,
Nor did I exult.
Because of Your hand upon me I sat ^awalone,
For You ^axfilled me with indignation.
18 Why has my pain been perpetual
And my ^aywound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You indeed be to me ^azlike a deceptive stream
With water that is unreliable?

19 Therefore, thus says the Lord,
^ba“If you return, then I will restore you—
^bbBefore Me you will stand;
And ^bcif you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become ^{▼▼ Lit as My mouth}My spokesman.
They for their part may turn to you,
But as for you, you must not turn to them.
20 “Then I will ^bemake you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And though they fight against you,
They will not prevail over you;
For ^bfI am with you to save you
And deliver you,” declares the Lord.
21 “So I will ^bgdeliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will ^bhredeem you from the ^{▼▼ Lit palm}grasp of the violent.”