1 THEN said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; 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 captivity, to the captivity.
3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.
4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.
5 For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?
6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.
7 And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways.
8 Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.
9 She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.
10 Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.
11 The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
12 Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?
13 Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.
14 And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
15 O Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.
17 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
20 And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall 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 And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

1Then said the Lord vnto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my minde could not be toward this people, cast them out of my sight, and let them goe foorth.

2And it shall come to passe if they say vnto thee, Whither shall wee goe foorth? then thou shalt tell them; Thus saith the Lord, 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 captiuitie, to the captiuitie.

3And I will appoint ouer them foure kindes, saith the Lord, the sword to slay, and the dogs to teare, and the foules of the heauen, and the beasts of the earth to deuoure and destroy.

4And I will cause them to be remoued into all kingdomes of the earth, because of Manasseh the sonne of Hezekiah king of Iudah, for that which hee did in Ierusalem.

5For who shall haue pitie vpon thee, O Ierusalem? or who shall bemoane thee? or who shall goe aside to aske how thou doest?

6Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee, I am wearie with repenting.

7And I will fanne them with a fanne in the gates of the land: I will bereaue them of children, I wil destroy my people, sith they returne not from their waies.

8Their widowes are increased to me aboue the sand of the seas: I haue brought vpon them against the mother of the yongmen, a spoiler at noone day: I haue caused him to fall vpon it suddenly, and terrors vpon the citie.

9She that hath borne seuen, languisheth: she hath giuen vp the ghost: her sunne is gone down while it was yet day: shee hath bene ashamed and confounded, and the residue of them will I deliuer to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.

10 Woe is mee, my mother, that that thou hast borne me a man of strife, and a man of contention to the whole earth: I haue neither lent on vsurie, nor men haue lent to me on vsurie, yet euery one of them doeth curse me.

11The Lord said, Uerely it shall be well with thy remnant, verely I will cause the enemie to intreat thee well in the time of euill, and in the time of affliction.

12Shall yron breake the Northren yron, and the steele?

13Thy substance and thy treasures will I giue to the spoile without price, and that for all thy sinnes, euen in all thy borders.

14And I will make thee to passe with thine enemies, into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burne vpon you.

15 O Lord, thou knowest, remember me, and visit me, and reuenge me of my persecutors, take mee not away in thy long suffering: know that for thy sake I haue suffered rebuke.

16Thy wordes were found, and I did eate them, and thy word was vnto mee, the ioy and reioycing of mine heart: for I am called by thy Name, O Lord God of hostes.

17I sate not in the assembly of the mockers, nor reioyced: I sate alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.

18Why is my paine perpetuall? and my wound incurable which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether vnto me as a lyar, and as waters that faile?

19 Therfore thus saith the Lord; If thou returne, then will I bring thee againe, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them returne vnto thee, but returne not thou vnto them.

20And I will make thee vnto this people a fenced brasen wall, and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not preuaile against thee: for I am with thee to saue thee, and to deliuer thee, sayth the Lord.

21And I will deliuer thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeeme thee out of the hand of the terrible.

II == Jer 43:11 ; Ezek 5:2 , 12 ; Zech 11:9

III == Lev 26:16 ; Deut 28:26 ; Deut 28:26 ; Jer 7:33

IV == Deut 28:25 ; 2nd Kings 21:11 ; 23:26 ; 24:3-4 ; Jer 24:9 ; Ezek 23:46

V == Isa 51:19

VI == Jer 2:13 ; 7:24 ; Hos 13:14

VII == Isa 9:13 ; Jer 5:3 ; Amos 4:10-11

IX == 1st Sam 2:5 ; Amos 8:9

X == Job 3:1 ; Jer 20:14

XI == Jer 39:11-12 ; 4:4-5

XIII == Ps 44:12 ; Jer 17:3

XIV == Deut 32:22 ; Jer 16:13 ; 17:4

XV == Ps 69:7 ; Jer 11:20 ; 12:3 ; 20:12 0

XVI == Job 23:12 ; Ps 119:12 ; Ps 119:72 , 111 ; Ezek 3:1 , 3 ; Rev 10:9-10

XVII == Ps 1:1 ; 26:4-5

XVIII == Job 6:15 ; Jer 1:18-19 ; 30:15

XIX == Jer 15:1 ; Ezek 22:26 ; 44:23 ; Zech 3:7

XX == Ps 79:2 ; 83:10 ; Jer 1:18 ; 6:27 ; 7:33 ; 8:2 ; 9:22 ; 15:2 ; 20:11-12 ; 22:18-19 ; 25:33 ; 34:20

1 The LORD said to me: Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them away from me.

2 If they ask you where they should go, tell them, Thus says the LORD: Whoever is marked for death, to death; whoever is marked for the sword, to the sword; whoever is marked for famine, to famine; whoever is marked for captivity, to captivity.

3 Four kinds of scourge I have decreed against them, says the LORD: the sword to slay them; dogs to drag them about; the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy them.

4 And I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

5 Who will pity you, Jerusalem, who will console you? Who will stop to ask about your welfare?

6 You have disowned me, says the LORD, turned your back upon me; And so I stretched out my hand to destroy you, I was weary of sparing you.

7 I winnowed them with the fan in every city gate. I destroyed my people through bereavement; they returned not from their evil ways.

8 Their widows were more numerous before me than the sands of the sea. I brought against the mother of youths the spoiler at midday; Suddenly I struck her with anguish and terror.

9 The mother of seven swoons away, gasping out her life; Her sun sets in full day, she is disgraced, despairing. Their survivors I will give to the sword before their enemies, says the LORD.

10 Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth! a man of strife and contention to all the land! I neither borrow nor lend, yet all curse me.

11 Tell me, LORD, have I not served you for their good? Have I not interceded with you in the time of misfortune and anguish?

12 . 13 , 14

15 You know I have. Remember me, LORD, visit me, and avenge me on my persecutors. Because of your long-suffering banish me not; know that for you I have borne insult.

16 When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart, Because I bore your name, O LORD, God of hosts.

17 I did not sit celebrating in the circle of merrymakers; Under the weight of your hand I sat alone because you filled me with indignation.

18 Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook, whose waters do not abide!

19 Thus the LORD answered me: If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand; If you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be my mouthpiece. Then it shall be they who turn to you, and you shall not turn to them;

20 And I will make you toward this people a solid wall of brass. Though they fight against you, they shall not prevail, For I am with you, to deliver and rescue you, says the LORD.

21 I will free you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.

12-13-and 14 versers were not used in THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE, DUE TO OTHER MANASCRIPTS USED/

v 1-4. The last verses of chapter 14 indicated that judgment was inevitable, and this is an extension of that point. Moses and Samuel had both interceded for people in their time, but now it was too late even for them. People would die from plague, sword, famine and the rest taken captive. Birds and beasts would eat the the dead carcasses. Josiah’s reforms only delayed the doom sealed by Manasseh’s wickedness.

v 5-7. Since they rejected On who cared, they would be thoroughly destroyed.

v 8,9. Many would be widowed, but many mothers slain as well as their sons.

v 10,11. Jeremiah had behaved properly, yet all seemed to be against him. Those opposing him would eventually ask help, but a remnant would remain true to God and remain separated from those who mock at the Word.
Babylon’s attack could not be broken, but would plunder and enslave.

[12-14] These verses are omitted in the text becauseJeremiah 15:12 in the Hebrew is a dittography of Jeremiah 17:1. Jeremiah 15:13-14 are a dittography of Jeremiah 17:3f.

v 15-18. Jeremiah asks God for speedy vindication over his enemies. He had suffered in the name of the Lord and was also indignant at their rebellion. It seemed God had prolonged his suffering, and he begged not to be deceived like a dry brook.

v 19-21. God told him to repent of that attitude and not to yield to the people but let them come to him. God will rescue Jeremiah from those who try to kill him.