Jeremiah 15:5-18

¶“For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, Or who will mourn for you, Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare? “You have abandoned (rejected) Me,” says the LORD. “You keep going backward. Therefore I shall stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am tired of delaying [your punishment]! “I will winnow (sort, separate) them with a winnowing fork At the gates of the land; I will deprive them of children, I will destroy My people; They did not repent and turn from their [evil] ways. “I will make their widows more numerous before Me Than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of the young men, A destroyer at noonday; I will suddenly cause anguish and terror To fall on her. “She who has borne seven [sons] languishes; She has breathed out her soul. Her sun has set while it was still day; She has been shamed and humiliated. So I will hand over [the rest of] the survivors to the sword Before their enemies,” says the LORD. ¶Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to me To be a man of strife and a man of contention to all the earth! I have not loaned, nor have men lent money to me, Yet everyone curses me. [Jer 1:18, 19] The LORD said, “Surely [it will go well for Judah’s obedient remnant for] I will set you free for good purposes; Surely [Jeremiah] I will [intercede for you with the enemy and I will] cause the enemy to plead with you [for help] In a time of disaster and a time of distress. [Jer 21:1, 2; 37:3; 42:2; Rom 8:28] ¶“Can anyone crush iron, The iron from the north, or bronze? “Your [nation’s] riches and your treasures I will give as plunder without price [to the Babylonians], Because of all your sins And within all your territories. “Then I will make your enemies bring [you along with] your possessions Into a land which you do not know [for there you will serve your conquerors]; For a fire has been kindled in My anger, Which will burn upon you.” ¶O LORD, You know and understand; Remember me [thoughtfully], take notice of me, take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away; Know that for Your sake I endure [continual] rebuke and dishonor. Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit with the group of those who celebrate, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because Your [powerful] hand was upon me, For You had filled me with indignation [at their sin]. Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you indeed be to me like a deceptive brook With water that is unreliable?