Jeremiah 15

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The LORD said to me: Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them away from me.	1 And the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my soul would not be toward this people. Cast them away from my face, and let them depart!
2 If they ask you where they should go, tell them, Thus says the LORD: Whoever is marked for death, to death; whoever is marked for the sword, to the sword; whoever is marked for famine, to famine; whoever is marked for captivity, to captivity.	2 And if they say to you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: Those who go to death, shall go to death. And those who go to the sword, shall go to the sword, and those go to famine, shall go to famine, and those who go to captivity, shall go to captivity.
3 Four kinds of scourge I have decreed against them, says the LORD: the sword to slay them; dogs to drag them about; the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy them.	3 And I will visit against them in four ways, says the Lord: by the sword, to kill; and by dogs, to tear apart; and by the birds of the air and by the beasts of the earth, to devour and to scatter.
4 And I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.	4 And I will give them over to the fervor of all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, because of all that he did in Jerusalem.
5 Who will pity you, Jerusalem, who will console you? Who will stop to ask about your welfare?	5 For who will take pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who will feel sorrow for you? Or who will go to prayer for the sake of your peace?
6 You have disowned me, says the LORD, turned your back upon me; And so I stretched out my hand to destroy you, I was weary of sparing you.	6 You have abandoned me, says the Lord. You have gone backwards. And so, I will extend my hand over you, and I will destroy you. I have labored to plead with you.
7 I winnowed them with the fan in every city gate. I destroyed my people through bereavement; they returned not from their evil ways.	7 And I will scatter them with a winnowing fan at the gates of the land. I have killed and dispersed my people, and yet they have not turned back from their ways.
8 Their widows were more numerous before me than the sands of the sea. I brought against the mother of youths the spoiler at midday; Suddenly I struck her with anguish and terror.	8 Their widows have been multiplied by me, more so than the sand of the sea. I have led them against the mother of a youth like an attacker at midday. I have sent a terror suddenly against the cities.
9 The mother of seven swoons away, gasping out her life; Her sun sets in full day, she is disgraced, despairing. Their survivors I will give to the sword before their enemies, says the LORD.	9 She who gave birth to seven has become weak. Her life has faded away. Her sun has set while it was still daytime. She has been confounded and shamed. And the remainder of them I will give over to the sword in the sight of their enemies, says the Lord.”
10 Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth! a man of strife and contention to all the land! I neither borrow nor lend, yet all curse me.	10 “O my mother, woe to me! Why did you conceive me, a man of strife, a man of discord to all the earth? I have not lent money at interest, nor has anyone lent money at interest to me. Yet everyone is cursing me.”
11 Tell me, LORD, have I not served you for their good? Have I not interceded with you in the time of misfortune and anguish?	11 The Lord says: “Certainly, it will be well with your remnant. Certainly, I will run to meet you, in the time of affliction and in the time of tribulation, against the enemy.
12	12 But how can iron be joined with the iron from the north or with brass?
	13 Your riches and your treasures I will give over to be freely despoiled, because of all your sins, even throughout all your borders.
	14 And I will lead in your enemies from a land that you do not know. For a fire has been kindled in my fury; it will burn upon you.”
15 You know I have. Remember me, LORD, visit me, and avenge me on my persecutors. Because of your long-suffering banish me not; know that for you I have borne insult.	15 “You know me, O Lord. Remember me, and visit me, and watch over me, because of those who persecute me. In your patience, do not choose to let me endure. You know I have suffered reproach because of you.
16 When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart, Because I bore your name, O LORD, God of hosts.	16 I discovered your words and I consumed them. And your word became to me as the gladness and joy of my heart. For your name has been invoked over me, O Lord, the God of hosts.
17 I did not sit celebrating in the circle of merrymakers; Under the weight of your hand I sat alone because you filled me with indignation.	17 I did not sit in the company of mockers, nor did I glorify myself before the presence of your hand. I sat alone, because you filled me with threats.
18 Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook, whose waters do not abide!	18 Why has my sorrow become never-ending, and why has my wound become so dire that it refuses to be cured? It has become for me like the deception of untrustworthy waters.”
19 Thus the LORD answered me: If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand; If you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be my mouthpiece. Then it shall be they who turn to you, and you shall not turn to them;	19 Because of this, thus says the Lord: “If you will be converted, I will convert you. And you will stand before my face. And you will separate what is precious from what is vile. You will be my mouthpiece. They will be converted to you, but you will not be converted to them.
20 And I will make you toward this people a solid wall of brass. Though they fight against you, they shall not prevail, For I am with you, to deliver and rescue you, says the LORD.	20 And I will present you to this people as a strong wall of brass. And they will fight against you, and they will not prevail. For I am with you, so as to save you and to rescue you, says the Lord.
21 I will free you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.	21 And I will free you from hand of those who are most wicked, and I will redeem you from the hand of the powerful.”