Judgment to Continue

1And YHWH said to me: “Though Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My soul is not toward this people. Cast them before My face, and let them go away! 2And it will come to pass, if they say to you ‘Where should we go?’ That you shall say to them, thus says YHWH:

‘Those unto death—unto death,

and those unto the sword—unto the sword,†

and those unto the famine—unto the famine,

and those unto captivity—unto captivity!’

3And I will appoint over them four kinds, says YHWH: The sword to slay, and the dogs to drag, and the bird of the heavens and the beast of the earth to devour and to destroy. 4And I will set them as a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah—for that which he did in Jerusalem!

5For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem?

Or who will mourn for you?

Or who will turn aside

to ask about your well-being?

6You have forsaken Me, a declaration of YHWH;

You have gone backward;

and I have stretched out My hand against you,

and will destroy you;

I am weary of showing compassion.

7And I will scatter them with a pitchfork

at the gates of the land;

I will bereave and destroy My people,

who have not turned from their ways.

8Its widows will be more numerous to Me

than the sand of the seas;

I will bring upon them—against the mother of the young man—

a destroyer at noonday,

and I will make fall on them suddenly

anguish and terror.

9She languishes who has borne seven;

she has breathed her last,

her sun has gone down while yet day;

she has been ashamed and disgraved.

And the remnant of them I will give to the sword,

before the face of their enemies,

a declaration of YHWH.

Jeremiah’s Woe

10Woe to me, my mother,

for you gave birth to me,

a man of strife and a man of contention

in all the land!

I have not lent, and not have they lent on usury to me—

all of them curse me.

11YHWH said

“Truly: With your remnant it will be well,

truly have I not interceded with the enemy for you

in the time of adversity

and in the time of distress?

12Can one break iron—

iron from the north—and bronze?

13Your wealth and your treasures

I will give as plunder without price,

even for all your sins,

even in all your borders.

14And I will make you pass over with your enemies

into a land† that you do not know;

for a fire is kindled

in My anger that will burn against you⁺.”

15You—You have known, O YHWH;

remember me and attend to me,

and take vengeance for me on my pursuers!

In Your long-suffering do not take me away;

know I have suffered rebuke for Your sake.

16Your words were found, and I consumed them,

and Your word to me was the joy

and the gladness of my heart;

for I am called by Your name,

O YHWH God of Hosts.

17I did not sit in the counsel of the mockers

no rejoice;

I sat alone because of Your hand,

for You have filled me with indignation.

18Why is my pain perpetual,

and my wound incurable,

refusing to be healed?

You will surely be to me like a liar,

waters that fail?

Yahweh’s Promise

19Therefore, thus says YHWH:

“If you turn back, then I will restore you;

you will stand before My face;

and if you bring out the precious things from the vile,

you will be as My mouth.

Let them turn back to you,

and you shall not return to them.

20And I will make you to this people as a wall

of fortified bronze;

and they shall make war against you,

and they shall not prevail against you,

for I am with you to save you and to deliver you!

A declaration of YHWH.

21And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked ones,

and I will ransom you from the grip of the terrible.”