Jeremiah's Complaint

Jeremiah 15

10 k Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! l I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me. 11 The Lord said, "Have I not 1 set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress? 12 Can one break iron, iron m from the north, and bronze?

13 n "Your wealth and your treasures I will give as o spoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory. 14 I will make you serve your enemies p in a land that you do not know, q for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever."

15 r O Lord, you know;
s remember me and visit me,
s t and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance take me not away;
u know that v for your sake I bear reproach.
 16 Your words were found, w and I ate them,
and x your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
y for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
 17 z I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
a I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.
 18 Why is my pain unceasing,
b my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me c like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail?

19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
d "If you return, I will restore you,
and you shall e stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
but you shall not turn to them.
 20 f And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
g but they shall not prevail over you,
h for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,
declares the Lord.
 21 g I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of i the ruthless."

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 20:14
    Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!
  2. Cross References
    Exodus 22:25
    If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.
    Psalms 15:5
    Who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.
    Isaiah 24:2
    And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 1:13
    The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.
  4. Cross References
    Jeremiah 17:3
    On the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory.
  5. Cross References
    Psalms 44:12
    You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them.
  6. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:16
    I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.
    Jeremiah 16:13
    Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.
    Jeremiah 17:4
    You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.
    Jeremiah 22:28
    Is this man Coniah a despised, broken pot, a vessel no one cares for? Why are he and his children hurled and cast into a land that they do not know?
  7. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:22
    For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, devours the earth and its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
  8. Cross References
    Jeremiah 12:3
    But you, O Lord, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
  9. Cross References
    Judges 16:28
    Then Samson called to the Lord and said, "O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.
  10. Cross References
    Judges 16:28
    Then Samson called to the Lord and said, "O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.
  11. Cross References
    Jeremiah 11:20
    But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.
    Jeremiah 20:12
    O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 17:16
    I have not run away from being your shepherd, nor have I desired the day of sickness. You know what came out of my lips; it was before your face.
  13. Cross References
    Psalms 69:7
    For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face.
  14. Cross References
    Ezekiel 3:1
    And he said to me, "Son of man, eat whatever you find here. 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 with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it." Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.
    Revelation 10:9 - 10
    So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, "Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.
  15. Cross References
    Psalms 119:111
    Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
    Psalms 119:162
    I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.
  16. Cross References
    Jeremiah 14:9
    Why should you be like a man confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot save? Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not leave us.
  17. Cross References
    Psalms 26:4
    I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites.
  18. Cross References
    Psalms 102:7
    I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
    Lamentations 3:28
    Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him.
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 30:15
    Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you.
    Job 34:6
    In spite of my right I am counted a liar; my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.
  20. Cross References
    Job 6:15
    My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as torrential streams that pass away.
    Isaiah 58:11
    And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
  21. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:14
    Return, O faithless children, declares the Lord ; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
  22. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:1
    Then the Lord said to me, "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!
  23. Cross References
    Jeremiah 1:18
    And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.
    Jeremiah 6:27
    I have made you a tester of metals among my people, that you may know and test their ways.
  24. Cross References
    Jeremiah 1:19
    They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.
    Jeremiah 20:11
    But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 1:8
    Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.
  26. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:20
    And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the Lord.
  27. Cross References
    Isaiah 13:11
    I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
    Isaiah 25:4 - 5
    For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall.
    Isaiah 29:5
    But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. And in an instant, suddenly.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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