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Jeremiah 15-17
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 15-17
New Living Translation
Judah’s Inevitable Doom
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight! 2 And if they say to you, ‘But where can we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘Those who are destined for death, to death;
those who are destined for war, to war;
those who are destined for famine, to famine;
those who are destined for captivity, to captivity.’
3 “I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” says the Lord. “I will send the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, the vultures to devour, and the wild animals to finish up what is left. 4 Because of the wicked things Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will make my people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
5 “Who will feel sorry for you, Jerusalem?
Who will weep for you?
Who will even bother to ask how you are?
6 You have abandoned me
and turned your back on me,”
says the Lord.
“Therefore, I will raise my fist to destroy you.
I am tired of always giving you another chance.
7 I will winnow you like grain at the gates of your cities
and take away the children you hold dear.
I will destroy my own people,
because they refuse to change their evil ways.
8 There will be more widows
than the grains of sand on the seashore.
At noontime I will bring a destroyer
against the mothers of young men.
I will cause anguish and terror
to come upon them suddenly.
9 The mother of seven grows faint and gasps for breath;
her sun has gone down while it is still day.
She sits childless now,
disgraced and humiliated.
And I will hand over those who are left
to be killed by the enemy.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
10 Then I said,
“What sorrow is mine, my mother.
Oh, that I had died at birth!
I am hated everywhere I go.
I am neither a lender who threatens to foreclose
nor a borrower who refuses to pay—
yet they all curse me.”
11 The Lord replied,
“I will take care of you, Jeremiah.
Your enemies will ask you to plead on their behalf
in times of trouble and distress.
12 Can a man break a bar of iron from the north,
or a bar of bronze?
13 At no cost to them,
I will hand over your wealth and treasures
as plunder to your enemies,
for sin runs rampant in your land.
14 I will tell your enemies to take you
as captives to a foreign land.
For my anger blazes like a fire
that will burn forever.[a]”
15 Then I said,
“Lord, you know what’s happening to me.
Please step in and help me. Punish my persecutors!
Please give me time; don’t let me die young.
It’s for your sake that I am suffering.
16 When I discovered your words, I devoured them.
They are my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
17 I never joined the people in their merry feasts.
I sat alone because your hand was on me.
I was filled with indignation at their sins.
18 Why then does my suffering continue?
Why is my wound so incurable?
Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook,
like a spring that has gone dry.”
19 This is how the Lord responds:
“If you return to me, I will restore you
so you can continue to serve me.
If you speak good words rather than worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.
You must influence them;
do not let them influence you!
20 They will fight against you like an attacking army,
but I will make you as secure as a fortified wall of bronze.
They will not conquer you,
for I am with you to protect and rescue you.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
21 Yes, I will certainly keep you safe from these wicked men.
I will rescue you from their cruel hands.”
Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry
16 The Lord gave me another message. He said, 2 “Do not get married or have children in this place. 3 For this is what the Lord says about the children born here in this city and about their mothers and fathers: 4 They will die from terrible diseases. No one will mourn for them or bury them, and they will lie scattered on the ground like manure. They will die from war and famine, and their bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals.”
Judah’s Coming Punishment
5 This is what the Lord says: “Do not go to funerals to mourn and show sympathy for these people, for I have removed my protection and peace from them. I have taken away my unfailing love and my mercy. 6 Both the great and the lowly will die in this land. No one will bury them or mourn for them. Their friends will not cut themselves in sorrow or shave their heads in sadness. 7 No one will offer a meal to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even at the death of a mother or father. No one will send a cup of wine to console them.
8 “And do not go to their feasts and parties. Do not eat and drink with them at all. 9 For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: In your own lifetime, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in this land. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard.
10 “When you tell the people all these things, they will ask, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such terrible things against us? What have we done to deserve such treatment? What is our sin against the Lord our God?’
11 “Then you will give them the Lord’s reply: ‘It is because your ancestors were unfaithful to me. They worshiped other gods and served them. They abandoned me and did not obey my word. 12 And you are even worse than your ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil desires and refuse to listen to me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land and send you into a foreign land where you and your ancestors have never been. There you can worship idols day and night—and I will grant you no favors!’
Hope despite the Disaster
14 “But the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when people who are taking an oath will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ 15 Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ For I will bring them back to this land that I gave their ancestors.
16 “But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them,” says the Lord. “I am sending for hunters who will hunt them down in the mountains, hills, and caves. 17 I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me. 18 I will double their punishment for all their sins, because they have defiled my land with lifeless images of their detestable gods and have filled my territory with their evil deeds.”
Jeremiah’s Prayer of Confidence
19 Lord, you are my strength and fortress,
my refuge in the day of trouble!
Nations from around the world
will come to you and say,
“Our ancestors left us a foolish heritage,
for they worshiped worthless idols.
20 Can people make their own gods?
These are not real gods at all!”
21 The Lord says,
“Now I will show them my power;
now I will show them my might.
At last they will know and understand
that I am the Lord.
Judah’s Sin and Punishment
17 “The sin of Judah
is inscribed with an iron chisel—
engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts
and on the corners of their altars.
2 Even their children go to worship
at their pagan altars and Asherah poles,
beneath every green tree
and on every high hill.
3 So I will hand over my holy mountain—
along with all your wealth and treasures
and your pagan shrines—
as plunder to your enemies,
for sin runs rampant in your land.
4 The wonderful possession I have reserved for you
will slip from your hands.
I will tell your enemies to take you
as captives to a foreign land.
For my anger blazes like a fire
that will burn forever.”
Wisdom from the Lord
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”
Jeremiah’s Trust in the Lord
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs she has not laid,
so are those who get their wealth by unjust means.
At midlife they will lose their riches;
in the end, they will become poor old fools.
12 But we worship at your throne—
eternal, high, and glorious!
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who turn away from you will be disgraced.
They will be buried in the dust of the earth,
for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.
14 O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed;
if you save me, I will be truly saved.
My praises are for you alone!
15 People scoff at me and say,
“What is this ‘message from the Lord’ you talk about?
Why don’t your predictions come true?”
16 Lord, I have not abandoned my job
as a shepherd for your people.
I have not urged you to send disaster.
You have heard everything I’ve said.
17 Lord, don’t terrorize me!
You alone are my hope in the day of disaster.
18 Bring shame and dismay on all who persecute me,
but don’t let me experience shame and dismay.
Bring a day of terror on them.
Yes, bring double destruction upon them!
Observing the Sabbath
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand in the gates of Jerusalem, first in the gate where the king goes in and out, and then in each of the other gates. 20 Say to all the people, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and all you people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem. 21 This is what the Lord says: Listen to my warning! Stop carrying on your trade at Jerusalem’s gates on the Sabbath day. 22 Do not do your work on the Sabbath, but make it a holy day. I gave this command to your ancestors, 23 but they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or accept my discipline.
24 “‘But if you obey me, says the Lord, and do not carry on your trade at the gates or work on the Sabbath day, and if you keep it holy, 25 then kings and their officials will go in and out of these gates forever. There will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. Kings and their officials will always ride in and out among the people of Judah in chariots and on horses, and this city will remain forever. 26 And from all around Jerusalem, from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, from the western foothills[b] and the hill country and the Negev, the people will come with their burnt offerings and sacrifices. They will bring their grain offerings, frankincense, and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s Temple.
27 “‘But if you do not listen to me and refuse to keep the Sabbath holy, and if on the Sabbath day you bring loads of merchandise through the gates of Jerusalem just as on other days, then I will set fire to these gates. The fire will spread to the palaces, and no one will be able to put out the roaring flames.’”
Jeremiah 15-17
New International Version
Jeremiah 15-17
New International Version
15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses(A) and Samuel(B) were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.(C) Send them away from my presence!(D) Let them go! 2 And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;(E)
those for starvation, to starvation;(F)
those for captivity, to captivity.’(G)
3 “I will send four kinds of destroyers(H) against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword(I) to kill and the dogs(J) to drag away and the birds(K) and the wild animals to devour and destroy.(L) 4 I will make them abhorrent(M) to all the kingdoms of the earth(N) because of what Manasseh(O) son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
5 “Who will have pity(P) on you, Jerusalem?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will stop to ask how you are?
6 You have rejected(Q) me,” declares the Lord.
“You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out(R) and destroy you;
I am tired of holding back.(S)
7 I will winnow(T) them with a winnowing fork
at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement(U) and destruction on my people,(V)
for they have not changed their ways.(W)
8 I will make their widows(X) more numerous
than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer(Y)
against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
anguish and terror.(Z)
9 The mother of seven will grow faint(AA)
and breathe her last.(AB)
Her sun will set while it is still day;
she will be disgraced(AC) and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword(AD)
before their enemies,”(AE)
declares the Lord.
10 Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth,(AF)
a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!(AG)
I have neither lent(AH) nor borrowed,
yet everyone curses(AI) me.
11 The Lord said,
“Surely I will deliver you(AJ) for a good purpose;
surely I will make your enemies plead(AK) with you
in times of disaster and times of distress.
12 “Can a man break iron—
iron from the north(AL)—or bronze?
13 “Your wealth(AM) and your treasures
I will give as plunder,(AN) without charge,(AO)
because of all your sins
throughout your country.(AP)
14 I will enslave you to your enemies
in[a] a land you do not know,(AQ)
for my anger will kindle a fire(AR)
that will burn against you.”
15 Lord, you understand;
remember me and care for me.
Avenge me on my persecutors.(AS)
You are long-suffering(AT)—do not take me away;
think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.(AU)
16 When your words came, I ate(AV) them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,(AW)
for I bear your name,(AX)
Lord God Almighty.
17 I never sat(AY) in the company of revelers,
never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand(AZ) was on me
and you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending
and my wound grievous and incurable?(BA)
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails.(BB)
19 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“If you repent, I will restore you
that you may serve(BC) me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be my spokesman.(BD)
Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you a wall(BE) to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
but will not overcome(BF) you,
for I am with you
to rescue and save you,”(BG)
declares the Lord.
21 “I will save(BH) you from the hands of the wicked(BI)
and deliver(BJ) you from the grasp of the cruel.”(BK)
Day of Disaster
16 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “You must not marry(BL) and have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers:(BM) 4 “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried(BN) but will be like dung lying on the ground.(BO) They will perish by sword and famine,(BP) and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”(BQ)
5 For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity(BR) from this people,” declares the Lord. 6 “Both high and low will die in this land.(BS) They will not be buried or mourned,(BT) and no one will cut(BU) themselves or shave(BV) their head for the dead. 7 No one will offer food(BW) to comfort those who mourn(BX) for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console(BY) them.
8 “And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.(BZ) 9 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds(CA) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride(CB) and bridegroom in this place.(CC)
10 “When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’(CD) 11 then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped(CE) them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.(CF) 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors.(CG) See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts(CH) instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land(CI) into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known,(CJ) and there you will serve other gods(CK) day and night, for I will show you no favor.’(CL)
14 “However, the days are coming,”(CM) declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(CN) 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north(CO) and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’(CP) For I will restore(CQ) them to the land I gave their ancestors.(CR)
16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(CS) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(CT) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(CU) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(CV) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(CW) 18 I will repay(CX) them double(CY) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(CZ) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(DA) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(DB)”(DC)
19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
my refuge(DD) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(DE)
from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(DF)
worthless idols(DG) that did them no good.(DH)
20 Do people make their own gods?
Yes, but they are not gods!”(DI)
21 “Therefore I will teach them—
this time I will teach them
my power and might.
Then they will know
that my name(DJ) is the Lord.
17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(DK)
inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(DL)
and on the horns(DM) of their altars.
2 Even their children remember
their altars and Asherah poles[b](DN)
beside the spreading trees
and on the high hills.(DO)
3 My mountain in the land
and your[c] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(DP)
together with your high places,(DQ)
because of sin throughout your country.(DR)
4 Through your own fault you will lose
the inheritance(DS) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(DT)
in a land(DU) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
and it will burn(DV) forever.”
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(DW)
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(DX)
6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places(DY) of the desert,
in a salt(DZ) land where no one lives.
7 “But blessed(EA) is the one who trusts(EB) in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.(EC)
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(ED)
and never fails to bear fruit.”(EE)
9 The heart(EF) is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart(EG)
and examine the mind,(EH)
to reward(EI) each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”(EJ)
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
and in the end they will prove to be fools.(EK)
12 A glorious throne,(EL) exalted from the beginning,
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(EM) of Israel;
all who forsake(EN) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(EO)
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the spring of living water.(EP)
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(EQ)
save(ER) me and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise.(ES)
15 They keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it now be fulfilled!”(ET)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
you know I have not desired the day of despair.
What passes my lips(EU) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(EV) to me;
you are my refuge(EW) in the day of disaster.(EX)
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction.(EY)
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[d] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(EZ) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(FA) who come through these gates.(FB) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(FC) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(FD) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(FE) they were stiff-necked(FF) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(FG) 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy(FH) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(FI) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.(FJ) 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,(FK) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey(FL) me to keep the Sabbath(FM) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire(FN) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(FO)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 15:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 17:4); most Hebrew manuscripts I will cause your enemies to bring you / into
- Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / 3 and the mountains of the land. / Your
- Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.