The Lord Will Not Relent

Then the Lord said to me, ^a“Even if ^bMoses and ^cSamuel stood before Me, My ¹mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. 2 And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord:

^a“Such as are for death, to death;

And such as are for the sword, to the sword;

And such as are for the famine, to the famine;

And such as are for the ^bcaptivity, to the captivity.” ’

3 “And I will ^aappoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the Lord: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, ^bthe birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will hand them over to ^atrouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of ^bManasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

5

“For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem?

Or who will bemoan you?

Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing?

6

^aYou have forsaken Me,” says the Lord,

“You have ^bgone backward.

Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;

^cI am ¹weary of relenting!

7

And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;

I will ^abereave them of children;

I will destroy My people,

Since they ^bdo not return from their ways.

8

Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas;

I will bring against them,

Against the mother of the young men,

A plunderer at noonday;

I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them ^asuddenly.

9

“She^a languishes who has borne seven;

She has breathed her last;

^bHer sun has gone down

While it was yet day;

She has been ashamed and confounded.

And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword

Before their enemies,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah’s Dejection

10

^aWoe is me, my mother,

That you have borne me,

A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole ¹earth!

I have neither lent for interest,

Nor have men lent to me for interest.

Every one of them curses me.

11 The Lord said:

“Surely it will be well with your remnant;

Surely I will cause ^athe enemy to intercede with you

In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.

12

Can anyone break iron,

The northern iron and the bronze?

13

Your wealth and your treasures

I will give as ^aplunder without price,

Because of all your sins,

Throughout your territories.

14

And I will ¹make you cross over with your enemies

^aInto a land which you do not know;

For a ^bfire is kindled in My anger,

Which shall burn upon you.”

15

O Lord, ^aYou know;

Remember me and ¹visit me,

And ^btake vengeance for me on my persecutors.

In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.

Know that ^cfor Your sake I have suffered rebuke.

16

Your words were found, and I ^aate them,

And ^bYour word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;

For I am called by Your name,

O Lord God of hosts.

17

^aI did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,

Nor did I rejoice;

I sat alone because of Your hand,

For You have filled me with indignation.

18

Why is my ^apain perpetual

And my wound incurable,

Which refuses to be healed?

Will You surely be to me ^blike an unreliable stream,

As waters that ¹fail?

The Lord Reassures Jeremiah

19 Therefore thus says the Lord:

^a“If you return,

Then I will bring you back;

You shall ^bstand before Me;

If you ^ctake out the precious from the vile,

You shall be as My mouth.

Let them return to you,

But you must not return to them.

20

And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze ^awall;

And they will fight against you,

But ^bthey shall not prevail against you;

For I am with you to save you

And deliver you,” says the Lord.

21

“I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,

And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”