Jeremiah 15

“Some of you will die of disease,

and the enemies will kill some of you.

Some of you will die because

there will be no food to eat,

and the enemies will catch

some of you and take you away.

₃I will punish you in 4 ways:

The enemies will kill some of you with swords,

the dogs will eat your dead bodies,

the birds will eat your flesh

and the wild animals will eat you.

₄All the nations of the world will be afraid

when they see what happens to you.

I will do it because of what Manasseh,

son of Hezekiah, king_of_Judah, did.

₅People of Jerusalem,

no one will feel sorry for you,

no one will worry about you,

and no one will go out of his way

to ask you how you are.

₆You have turned away from Me

and you have left Me.

That is why I put out my hand

and destroyed you.

I won't feel sorry for you.

₇I have made the wind blow my people away

like chaff on a threshing-floor

at the gates of the cities.

I have taken away the children

of my people and caused them to die.

But my people did not change their lives.

₈I have made more widows

than the sand of the sea,

I have sent people to attack the mothers

of young men at noon,

and I have made them afraid and

the fear came suddenly.

₉Mothers who had 7 children

became pale and could not breathe.

Their sun went down

while it was still day for them,

and they died before they became old.

They lost all their children

and they did not know what to do.

I will bring enemies

to kill everyone who is still_alive.” ’

₁₀I, Jeremiah, said: ‘Mother,

I am sorry that you gave birth to me.

I, your child, have to accuse

all the people in the land

and tell them that they have done wrong.

I have not lent money to anyone,

or borrowed money from anyone,

but everyone wants me to die.’

₁₁The Lord said to me: ‘That is true,

but I have made you stubborn

and that is good for you.

What you say is true,

but I protected you

from your enemies

when you had trouble and when you suffered.’

₁₂The Lord said to the people of Judah:

‘You are like iron,

but the enemies from the north

are like iron and bronze.

You can not break or defeat them.

₁₃All of you in your land have sinned.

That is why I give your treasures

and expensive things away.

Your enemies can come and take them.

₁₄Your enemies will take you away

to a land that you do not know.

I will do it because I am angry with you

and I want to punish you.

I am so angry that I will be

like a fire that burns you.’

₁₅I, Jeremiah, said to the Lord:

‘You know how people humiliate me

because I belong to You.

Think of me and protect me

and punish the people

who want to catch and kill me.

Don't be angry with me,

and please don't cause me to die.

₁₆When You spoke to me,

your words were like food that I could eat.

I was happy because the Lord,

the God who rules over all,

said I belong to Him.

₁₇But I could not sit down with other people

and talk and laugh with them and enjoy it.

I had to sit alone because I belong to You.

You were angry and You also made me angry.

₁₈Why must I suffer and have pain all the time?

Why don't things change for me?

It does not help me at all

that I belong to You.

You are like a river

where I want to drink water,

but when I get there, it is dry.’

₁₉Then the Lord said to me:

‘If you stop talking like that,

then you can come back to Me

and you can be my servant.

You must say what you have to say

but don't answer Me by saying

things that are wrong.

Then you may be my prophet again.

Those people who sit and laugh

will become like you.

You will not become like them.

₂₀I will make you as strong

as a wall, a wall made of bronze.

They will fight against you,

but they will not defeat you,

because I am with you

and I will save and free you.

₂₁I will save you from the bad people

who want to hurt you.’