Jeremiah 15

The Lord Will Not Relent

1 Then the LORD said to me, a "Even if b Moses and c Samuel stood before Me, My 1 mind 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:
d "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 e captivity, to the captivity." '

3 "And I will f appoint over them four forms of destruction," says the LORD: "the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, g the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 "I will hand them over to h trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of i Manasseh 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 j You have forsaken Me," says the LORD,
"You have k gone backward.
Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
l I am 2 weary of relenting!
7 And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;
I will m bereave them of children;
I will destroy My people,
Since they n do 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 o suddenly.
9 "She p languishes who has borne seven;
She has breathed her last;
q Her 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 Complaint

10 r Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole 3 earth!
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 s the 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 t plunder without price,
Because of all your sins,
Throughout your territories.
14 And I will 4 make you cross over with your enemies
u Into a land which you do not know;
For a v fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you."

15 O LORD, w You know;
Remember me and 5 visit me,
And x take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that y for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Your words were found, and I z ate them,
And a Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.
17 b I 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 c pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me d like an unreliable stream,
As waters that 6 fail?

19 Therefore thus says the LORD:
e "If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall f stand before Me;
If you g take 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 h wall;
And they will fight against you,
But i they 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."

  1. Cross References
    Psalms 99:6
    Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the LORD, and He answered them.
    Ezekiel 14:14
    Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness," says the Lord GOD.
  2. Cross References
    Exodus 32:11 - 14
    Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: "LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
    Numbers 14:13 - 20
    And Moses said to the LORD: "Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them.
    Psalms 99:6
    Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called upon His name; They called upon the LORD, and He answered them.
  3. Cross References
    1 Samuel 7:9
    And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. Then Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him.
  4. Cross References
    Jeremiah 43:11
    When he comes, he shall strike the land of Egypt and deliver to death those appointed for death, and to captivity those appointed for captivity, and to the sword those appointed for the sword.
    Ezekiel 5:2
    You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after them.
    Ezekiel 5:12
    One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
    Zechariah 11:9
    Then I said, "I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other's flesh.
    Revelation 13:10
    He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
  5. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:16
    "I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them."
    Jeremiah 16:13
    'Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.'
  6. Cross References
    Leviticus 26:16
    I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
    Leviticus 26:21
    Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins.
    Leviticus 26:25
    And I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant; when you are gathered together within your cities I will send pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
    Jeremiah 12:3
    But You, O LORD, know me; You have seen me, And You have tested my heart toward You. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, And prepare them for the day of slaughter.
    Ezekiel 14:21
    For thus says the Lord GOD: "How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem - the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence - to cut off man and beast from it?
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:33
    The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away.
  8. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:25
    The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth.
  9. Cross References
    2 Kings 24:3
    Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done.
    2 Kings 24:4
    And also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon.
  10. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:13
    For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water.
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:4
    Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.
    Jeremiah 7:24
    Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 20:16
    And let that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew, and did not relent; Let him hear the cry in the morning And the shouting at noon.
    Zechariah 8:14
    For thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Just as I determined to punish you When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,' Says the LORD of hosts, 'And I would not relent.
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 18:21
    Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, And pour out their blood By the force of the sword; Let their wives become widows And bereaved of their children. Let their men be put to death, Their young men be slain By the sword in battle.
    Hosea 9:12 - 16
    Though they bring up their children, Yet I will bereave them to the last man. Yes, woe to them when I depart from them!
  14. Cross References
    Isaiah 9:13
    For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.
    Jeremiah 5:3
    O LORD, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, But they have not grieved; You have consumed them, But they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to return.
    Amos 4:10
    I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; Your young men I killed with a sword, Along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.
    Amos 4:11
    I overthrew some of you, As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.
  15. Cross References
    Isaiah 29:5
    Moreover the multitude of your foes Shall be like fine dust, And the multitude of the terrible ones Like chaff that passes away; Yes, it shall be in an instant, suddenly.
  16. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:5
    Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, And the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, And she who has many children has become feeble.
    Isaiah 47:9
    But these two things shall come to you In a moment, in one day: The loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness Because of the multitude of your sorceries, For the great abundance of your enchantments.
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:4
    Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us, for the day goes away, For the shadows of the evening are lengthening.
    Amos 8:9
    And it shall come to pass in that day," says the Lord GOD, "That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight.
  18. Cross References
    Job 3:1
    After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
    Jeremiah 20:14
    Cursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 40:4
    "And now look, I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there."
    Jeremiah 40:5
    Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan said, "Go back to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go." So the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go.
  20. Cross References
    Psalms 44:12
    You sell Your people for next to nothing, And are not enriched by selling them.
    Isaiah 52:3
    For thus says the LORD: "You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money.
  21. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:36
    The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods - wood and stone.
    Deuteronomy 28:64
    Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known - wood and stone.
    Jeremiah 16:13
    'Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.'
  22. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:22
    For a fire is kindled in My anger, And shall burn to the lowest hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
    Psalms 21:9
    You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, And the fire shall devour them.
    Jeremiah 17:4
    And you, even yourself, Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you; And I will cause you to serve your enemies In the land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.
  23. Cross References
    Jeremiah 12:3
    But You, O LORD, know me; You have seen me, And You have tested my heart toward You. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, And prepare them for the day of slaughter.
  24. Cross References
    Jeremiah 20:12
    But, O LORD of hosts, You who test the righteous, And see the mind and heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them; For I have pleaded my cause before You.
  25. Cross References
    Psalms 69:7 - 9
    Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face.
    Jeremiah 20:8
    For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, "Violence and plunder!" Because the word of the LORD was made to me A reproach and a derision daily.
  26. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:1
    Moreover He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.
    Ezekiel 3:3
    And He said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you." So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.
    Revelation 10:9
    So I went to the angel and said to him, "Give me the little book." And he said to me, "Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.
  27. Cross References
    Job 23:12
    I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.
    Psalms 119:72
    The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.
  28. Cross References
    Psalms 26:4
    I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
    Psalms 26:5
    I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the wicked.
  29. Cross References
    Job 34:6
    Should I lie concerning my right? My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.
    Jeremiah 10:19
    Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is severe. But I say, "Truly this is an infirmity, And I must bear it.
    Jeremiah 30:15
    Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.
    Micah 1:9
    For her wounds are incurable. For it has come to Judah; It has come to the gate of My people - To Jerusalem.
  30. Cross References
    Job 6:15
    My brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook, Like the streams of the brooks that pass away.
  31. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:1
    If you will return, O Israel," says the LORD, "Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved.
    Zechariah 3:7
    Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here.
  32. Cross References
    1 Kings 17:1
    And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, " As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.
    Jeremiah 15:1
    Then the LORD said to me, " Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.
  33. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:29
    The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; The smelter refines in vain, For the wicked are not drawn off.
    Ezekiel 22:26
    Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
    Ezekiel 44:23
    And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
  34. Cross References
    Jeremiah 1:18
    For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land - Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land.
    Jeremiah 6:27
    I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people, That you may know and test their way.
    Ezekiel 3:9
    "Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house."
  35. Cross References
    Psalms 46:7
    The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob ...
    Isaiah 41:10
    Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, f...
    Jeremiah 1:8
    Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with ...
    Jeremiah 1:19
    They will fight against you, But they shall not...
    Jeremiah 20:11
    But the LORD is with me as a mighty, awesome On...
    Jeremiah 37:21
    Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they shou...
    Jeremiah 38:13
    So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifte...
    Jeremiah 39:11
    Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave charge ...
    Jeremiah 39:12
    "Take him and look after him, and do him no har...
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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