1Then the Lord said to me, “Suppose Moses and Samuel were standing in front of me. Even then my heart would not feel sorry for these people. Send them away from me! Let them go! 2Suppose these people ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ Then tell them, ‘The Lord says,
“ ‘ “Those I have appointed to die will die.
Those I have appointed to be killed by swords
will be killed by swords.
Those I have appointed to die of hunger
will die of hunger.
Those I have appointed to be taken away as prisoners
will be taken away.” ’
3“I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” announces the Lord. “Swords will kill them. Dogs will drag them away. Birds will eat them up. And wild animals will destroy them. 4I will make all the kingdoms on earth hate them. That will happen because of what Manasseh did in Jerusalem. He was king of Judah and the son of Hezekiah.
5“Jerusalem, who will have pity on you?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will stop to ask how you are doing?
6You have said no to me,”
announces the Lord.
“You keep on turning away from me.
So I will reach out and destroy you.
I am tired of showing you pity.
7I will stand at the city gates of the land.
I will separate the straw from the grain.
I will destroy my people. I will bring great sorrow on them.
They have not changed their ways.
8I will increase the number of their widows.
There will be more of them than the grains of sand on the seashore.
At noon I will bring a destroyer
against the mothers of the young men among my people.
All at once I will bring down on them
great suffering and terror.
9Mothers who have many children will grow weak.
They will take their last breath.
The sun will set on them while it is still day.
They will be dishonored and put to shame.
All those who are left alive I will kill by swords.
I will have their enemies do this,”
announces the Lord.
10My mother, I wish I had never been born!
The whole land opposes me.
They fight against me.
I haven’t made loans to anyone.
And I haven’t borrowed anything.
But everyone curses me anyway.
11The Lord said,
“Jeremiah, I will keep you safe for a good purpose.
I will make your enemies ask you to pray for them.
They will make their appeal to you
when they are in great trouble.
12“People of Judah, the armies of Babylon
will come from the north.
They are as strong as iron and bronze.
Can anyone break their power?
13I will give away your wealth and your treasures.
Your enemies will carry off everything.
And they will not pay anything for it.
That will happen because you have sinned so much.
You have done it throughout your country.
14I will make you slaves to your enemies.
You will serve them in a land
you have not known about before.
My anger will start a fire
that will burn you up.”
15Lord, you understand how much I’m suffering.
Show concern for me. Take care of me.
Pay back those who are trying to harm me.
You are patient. Don’t take my life away from me.
Think about how much shame I suffer because of you.
16When I received your words, I ate them.
They filled me with joy.
My heart took delight in them.
Lord God who rules over all,
I belong to you.
17I never sat around with those who go to wild parties.
I never had a good time with them.
I sat alone because you had put your powerful hand on me.
Your anger against sin was burning inside me.
18Why does my pain never end?
Why is my wound so deep?
Why can’t I ever get well?
To me you are like a stream that runs dry.
You are like a spring that doesn’t have any water.
19So the Lord says to Jeremiah,
“If you turn away from your sins, I will heal you.
And then you will be able to serve me.
Speak words that are worthy, not worthless.
Then you will be speaking for me.
Let these people turn to you.
But you must not turn to them.
20I will make you like a wall to them.
I will make you like a strong bronze wall.
The people will fight against you.
But they will not overcome you.
I am with you.
I will save you,”
announces the Lord.
21“I will save you from the hands of evil people.
I will set you free from those who treat you badly.”
犹大的厄运
1耶和华对我说：“就算摩西和撒母耳站在我面前求情，我也不会怜悯这些百姓。你把他们从我面前赶走吧！ 2如果他们问你，‘我们该去哪里，’你就告诉他们，耶和华这样说，
“‘该死的死，
该被杀的被杀，
该遭饥荒的遭饥荒，
该被掳的被掳。’
3“我要让他们遭受四种祸患——刀杀、狗撕、鸟啄、兽吞。这是耶和华说的。 4因为犹大王希西迦的儿子玛拿西在耶路撒冷的所作所为，我要使他们的遭遇令天下万国惊惧。
5“耶路撒冷啊，谁会同情你？
谁会为你悲哀？
谁会驻足向你问安？
6你背弃我，远离我，
因此我要伸手攻击你，毁灭你，
不再怜悯你。
这是耶和华说的。
7我要在这片土地上的各城门口用簸箕簸散我的子民，
使他们丧掉儿女；
我要灭绝他们，
因为他们不思悔改。
8我要使他们的寡妇比海沙还多，
使毁灭者在午间突然夺取青年的性命，
以致母亲们陷入痛苦、惊恐中。
9生过七个孩子的母亲心力枯竭，奄奄一息。
她羞愧难当，
她的希望突然破灭，
犹如白昼突然变成黑夜。
我必使其余的人丧身在敌人刀下。
这是耶和华说的。”
耶利米诉苦
10母亲啊，我真不幸，因为你生了我这个跟全犹大争论、激辩的人。我没有向人借贷，也没有借贷给人，然而人人都咒骂我。 11耶和华说：“我必拯救你，我必使仇敌在灾祸、困难来临时哀求你。 12谁能折断来自北方之敌的铁拳铜臂呢？ 13因为你们境内罪恶泛滥，我要使敌人任意抢掠你们的财宝， 14把你们掳到陌生的地方。我的怒火要烧灭你们。”
15耶和华啊，你知道我的遭遇。
求你顾念我，眷顾我，
报应迫害我的人。
求你不要取我的性命，
因为你不轻易发怒，
你知道我为了你忍受辱骂。
16万军之上帝耶和华啊，
我把你的话视为甘饴，
它们是我心中的快乐和喜悦，
因为我属于你的名下。
17我没有与作乐的人为伍，
没有与他们同乐。
你要我独坐一处，
他们的罪恶使我怒气填胸。
18为什么我的痛楚无休无止？
为什么我的创伤无法医治？
难道你要像一条时断时流的小溪让我无法依靠吗？
19耶和华对我说：
“如果你回心转意，
我就让你重新事奉我。
如果你说有益的话，
不说无益的话，
就可以做我的发言人，
百姓便会归向你，
但你不可受他们的影响。
20我要使你成为坚固的铜墙，
他们要攻击你，却不能胜过你，
因为我与你同在，我会保护你，
拯救你。
这是耶和华说的。
21我要把你从恶人手中救出，
从残暴之徒的权势下赎回。”
