Jeremiah 15

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Yahweh said to me, 'Even if Moses and Samuel pleaded before me, I could not sympathise with thispeople! Drive them out of my sight; away with them!	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.
2 And if they ask you, "Where shal we go?" tel them this, "Yahweh says this: Those for the plague, to the plague; those for the sword, to the sword; those for famine, to famine; those for captivity, to captivity!	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.
3 "I shal consign them to four kinds of thing, Yahweh declares: the sword to kil , the dogs to drag away,the birds of heaven and wild animals of earth to devour and to destroy.	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.
4 I shal make them an object of horror to al the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh son ofHezekiah, king of Judah, and what he did in Jerusalem." '	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.
5 Who is there to pity you, Jerusalem, who to grieve for you, who to go out of his way and ask how youare?	5 Who will pity you, Jerusalem, who will console you? Who will stop to ask about your welfare?
6 'You yourself have rejected me, Yahweh declares, you have turned your back on me; so I havestretched my hand over you and destroyed you. Tired of relenting,	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.
7 I have winnowed them with a winnow at the country's gates. They have been bereft, I have destroyedmy people, but they refuse to leave their ways.	7 I winnowed them with the fan in every city gate. I destroyed my people through bereavement; they returned not from their evil ways.
8 I have made their widows outnumber the sand of the sea. On the mother of young warriors I bring thedestroyer in broad daylight. Suddenly I bring anguish and terror down on her.	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.
9 The mother of seven sons grows faint and gasps for breath. It is stil day, but already her sun has set,she is dismayed and distracted; and the rest of them I shal consign to the sword, to their enemies, Yahwehdeclares.'	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.
10 A disaster for me, mother, that you bore me to be a man of strife and dissension for the wholecountry. I neither lend nor borrow, yet all of them curse me.	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.
11 Have I not genuinely done my best to serve you, Yahweh? Have I not interceded with you in time ofdisaster and distress!	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?
12 'Can iron break the iron of the north and the bronze?	12
13 Your wealth and your treasures I shal hand over to plunder, without repayment, because of all yoursins, throughout your territory.
14 I shal enslave you to your enemies in a country which you do not know, for my anger has kindled afire that wil burn you up.'
15 Yahweh, you know! Remember me, take care of me, and avenge me on my persecutors. Howeverlong your anger endures, do not snatch me away. Realise that I suffer insult for your sake.	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.
16 When your words came, I devoured them: your word was my delight and the joy of my heart; for I wascal ed by your Name, Yahweh, God Sabaoth.	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.
17 I never sat in the company of scoffers amusing myself; with your hands on me I held myself aloof,since you had fil ed me with indignation.	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.
18 Why is my suffering continual, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Truly, for me you are adeceptive stream with uncertain waters!	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!
19 To which Yahweh replied, 'If you repent, I shal restore you to plead before me. If you distinguishbetween the precious and the base, you shal be as my own mouth. They will come back to you, but you mustnot go back to them.	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;
20 As far as these people are concerned, I shal make you a fortified wall of bronze. They will fightagainst you but will not overcome you, because I am with you to save you and rescue you, Yahweh declares.	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.
21 I shal rescue you from the clutches of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the violent.'	21 I will free you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.