Jeremiah 15:3-13

3 "I will ¹appoint over them four kinds of doom," declares the LORD: "the sword to slay, the ²dogs to drag off, and the ³birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.

4 "I will ⁴make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of ⁵Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

5 "Indeed, who will have ⁶pity on you, O Jerusalem, Or who will ⁷mourn for you, Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?

6 "You who have ⁸forsaken Me," declares the LORD, "You keep ⁹going backward. So I will ¹⁰stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am ¹¹tired of relenting!

7 "I will ¹²winnow them with a winnowing fork At the gates of the land; I will ¹³bereave them of children, I will destroy My people; ¹⁴They did not repent of their ways.

8 "Their ¹⁵widows will be more numerous before Me Than the sand of the seas; I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man, A ¹⁶destroyer at noonday; I will suddenly bring down on her Anguish and dismay.

9 "She who ¹⁷bore seven sons pines away; Her breathing is labored. Her ¹⁸sun has set while it was yet day; She has been ¹⁹shamed and humiliated. So I will ²⁰give over their survivors to the sword Before their enemies," declares the LORD.

10 ²¹Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me As a ²²man of strife and a man of contention to all the land! I have not ²³lent, nor have men lent money to me, Yet everyone curses me.

11 The LORD said, "Surely * I will ²⁴set you free for purposes of good; Surely * I will cause the ²⁵enemy to make supplication to you In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

12 "Can anyone smash iron, ²⁶Iron from the north, or bronze?

13 "Your ²⁷wealth and your treasures I will give for booty ²⁸without cost, Even for all your sins And within all your borders.

Jeremiah 15:3-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 15

This chapter contains the Lord's answer to the prophet's prayers, in which he declares himself inexorable, and had resolved on the ruin of the Jewish nation for their sins; the prophet's complaint of the hardships he endured, notwithstanding his sincerity and integrity; and the Lord's promise of protection and deliverance, in case of his continuance in the faithful discharge of his office. The Lord denies the request of the prophet, by observing, that if even Moses and Samuel had been the intercessors for the people, he would not have regarded them, being determined upon casting them out, and sending them away captive, Jer 15:1, their punishment is declared, which was resolved on; some for death, or the pestilence; others for the sword; others for famine; and others for captivity; and others to be devoured by dogs, and fowls, and wild beasts, Jer 15:2,3, the cause of which were their sins, particularly their idolatry in the times of Manasseh, Jer 15:4, wherefore they should have no pity from men, nor would the Lord any more repent of the evil threatened, of which he was weary, because of their many backslidings, Jer 15:5,6, which destruction, being determined, is illustrated by a description of the instrument of it; by the multitude of widows, and the distress of mothers bereaved of their children, Jer 15:7-9 on which the prophet takes up a complaint of his being born for strife and contention, and of his being cursed by the people, though no usurer, Jer 15:10, when he is comforted with a promise of being used well by the enemy, both he and his remnant, Jer 15:11, but as for the people of the Jews in general, they would never be able to withstand the northern forces, the army of the Chaldeans; their riches and substance would be delivered into their hands, and their persons also be carried captive into a strange land, and the prophet along with them, because of their sins, and the wrath of God for them, Jer 15:12-14, upon which the prophet prays to the Lord, who knew him, that he would remember and visit him, and avenge him of his persecutors, and not take him away in his longsuffering; he urges, that he had suffered rebuke and reproach for his sake; that he was called by him to his office, which he had cheerfully entered on; he had his mission, commission, and message, from him, which he received with the greatest pleasure, signified by eating his words with joy; and that he had not associated himself with mockers and scoffers at religion and the word of God; and therefore expostulates why he should be put to so much pain, and be used as he was, Jer 15:15-18, wherefore the Lord promises that, upon condition of doing his work faithfully, he should be preserved, protected, and delivered, Jer 15:19-21.

Cross References

• 1. Lev 26:16, 22, 25; Ezekiel 14:21
• 2. 1 Kings 21:23, 24
• 3. Deuteronomy 28:26; Isaiah 18:6; Jeremiah 7:33
• 4. Leviticus 26:33; Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 29:18; Ezekiel 23:46
• 5. 2 Kings 21:1-18; 2 Kings 23:26, 27; 2 Kings 24:3, 4; 2 Chronicles 33:1-9
• 6. Psalms 69:20; Isaiah 51:19; Jeremiah 13:14; Jeremiah 21:7
• 7. Nahum 3:7
• 8. Jeremiah 6:19; Jeremiah 8:9
• 9. Isaiah 1:4; Jeremiah 7:24
• 10. Jeremiah 6:12; Zephaniah 1:4
• 11. Jeremiah 6:11; Jeremiah 7:16
• 12. Psalms 1:4; Jeremiah 51:2
• 13. Jeremiah 18:21; Hosea 9:12-16
• 14. Isaiah 9:13
• 15. Isaiah 3:25, 26; Isaiah 4:1
• 16. Jeremiah 22:7
• 17. 1 Samuel 2:5; Isaiah 47:9
• 18. Jeremiah 6:4; Amos 8:9
• 19. Jeremiah 50:12
• 20. Jeremiah 21:7
• 21. Job 3:1, 3; Jeremiah 20:14
• 22. Jeremiah 1:18, 19; Jeremiah 15:20; Jeremiah 20:7, 8
• 23. Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36, 37; Deuteronomy 23:19
• 24. Psalms 138:3; Isaiah 41:10
• 25. Jeremiah 21:2; Jeremiah 37:3; Jeremiah 38:14; Jeremiah 42:2
• 26. Jeremiah 28:14
• 27. Jeremiah 17:3; Jeremiah 20:5
• 28. Psalms 44:12; Isaiah 52:3

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "turn back from"
• [b] Or "She has breathed out her soul"