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Yahweh Appoints Four Kinds of Doom

¹ Then Yahweh said to me, "Even ^(C1)though ^(C2)Moses and ^(C3)Samuel were to ^(C4)stand before Me, My soul would not be ^(F1)with this people; ^(C5)send them away from My presence and let them go!² "And it will be that when they say to you, 'Where should we go?' then you are to tell them, 'Thus says Yahweh:

"Those destined ^(C1)for death, to death;
And those destined for the sword, to the sword;
And those destined for famine, to famine;
And those destined for captivity, to captivity."'

⁵ "Indeed, who will ^(C1)spare you, O Jerusalem,
Or who will ^(C2)console you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your well-being?

⁶ "You who have ^(C1)abandoned Me," declares Yahweh,
"You keep ^(C2)going backward.
So I will ^(C3)stretch out My hand against you and bring you to ruin;
I am ^(C4)tired of ^(F1)relenting!

⁷ "And I will ^(C1)winnow them with a winnowing fork
At the gates of the land;
I will ^(C2)bereave them of children; I will make My people perish;
^(C3)They did not ^(F1)repent of their ways.

⁸ "Their ^(C1)widows will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a choice man,
A ^(C2)destroyer at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Anguish and terror.

⁹ "She who ^(C1)bore seven sons languishes;
^(F1)Her breathing is labored.
Her ^(C2)sun has set while it was yet day;
She has been ^(C3)shamed and humiliated.
So I will ^(C4)give over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies," declares Yahweh.

Jeremiah Pleads for Vengeance

^10 (C1)Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me
As a ^(C2)man of strife and a man of contention to all the land!
I have not ^(C3)lent, nor have men lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.

¹¹ Yahweh said, "Surely I will ^(C1)set you free for purposes of good;
Surely I will cause the ^(C2)enemy to intercede with you
In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

¹² "Can anyone smash iron,
^(C1)Iron from the north, or bronze?

¹³ "Your ^(C1)wealth and your treasures
I will give for plunder ^(C2)without cost,
Even for all your sins
And within all your borders.

¹⁴ "Then I will cause your enemies to pass ^(F1)it over
Into a ^(C1)land you do not know,
For a ^(C2)fire has been kindled in My anger;
It will burn upon you."

^15 (C1)You who know, O Yahweh,
Remember me, take notice of me,
And ^(C2)take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that ^(C3)for Your sake I endure reproach.

¹⁶ Your words were found, and I ^(C1)ate them,
And Your ^(C2)words became for me joy and gladness in my heart,
For I have been ^(C3)called by Your name,
O Yahweh God of hosts.

¹⁷ I ^(C1)did not sit in the circle of merrymakers,
Nor did I exult.
Because of Your hand upon me I sat ^(C2)alone,
For You ^(C3)filled me with indignation.

¹⁸ Why has my pain been perpetual
And my ^(C1)wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You indeed be to me ^(C2)like a deceptive stream
With water that is unreliable?

Yahweh's Answer

¹⁹ Therefore thus says Yahweh,

"^(C1)If you return, then I will cause you to return—
^(C2)Before Me you will stand;
And ^(C3)if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become ^(F1)My mouthpiece.
They for their part may turn to you,
But as for you, you must not turn to them.

²⁰ "Then I will ^(C1)make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And they will fight against you,
But they will not prevail against you,
For ^(C2)I am with you to save you
And deliver you," declares Yahweh.

²¹ "So I will ^(C1)deliver you from the hand of the evil ones,
And I will ^(C2)redeem you from the ^(F1)grasp of the ruthless ones."