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Judgment Must Come

Then the LORD said to me, “Even aif bMoses and cSamuel were to dstand before Me, My 1heart would not be 2with this people. eSend them away from My presence and have them go! 2 And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘This is what the LORD says:“Those destined afor 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.”’ 3 And I will aappoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the LORD: “the sword to kill, the bdogs to drag away, and the cbirds of the sky and the animals of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will amake them an object of terror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of bManasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

5 “Indeed, who will have apity on you, Jerusalem,Or who will bmourn for you,Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?6 “You who have aforsaken Me,” declares the LORD,“You keep bgoing backward.So I will cstretch out My hand against you and destroy you;I am dtired of relenting!7 “I will awinnow them with a winnowing forkAt the gates of the land;I will bbereave them of children, I will destroy My people;cThey did not 1repent of their ways.8 “Their awidows will be more numerous before MeThan the sand of the seas;I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,A bdestroyer at noon;I will suddenly bring down on herShock and horror.9 “She who agave birth to seven sons withers away;1Her breathing is labored.Her bsun has set while it was still day;She has been cshamed and humiliated.So I will dturn over their survivors to the swordBefore their enemies,” declares the LORD.
10 aWoe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to meAs a bman of strife and a man of contention to all the land!I have not clent, nor have people lent money to me,Yet everyone curses me.11 The LORD said, “I will certainly aset you free for purposes of good;I will certainly make the benemy plead with youIn a time of disaster and a time of distress.
12 “Can anyone smash iron,aIron from the north, or bronze?13 “I will give your awealth and your treasuresAs plunder bwithout cost,For all your sinsAnd within all your borders.14 “Then I will make your enemies bring your possessionsInto a aland that you do not know;For a bfire has been kindled in My anger,And it will burn upon you.”
Jeremiah’s Prayer and God’s Answer
15 aYou know, LORD;Remember me, take notice of me,And btake vengeance for me on my persecutors.Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;Know that cfor Your sake I endure reproach.16 Your words were found and I aate them,And Your bwords became a joy to me and the delight of my heart;For I have been ccalled by Your name,LORD God of armies.17 I adid not sit in a circle of revelers and celebrate.Because of Your hand upon me I sat balone,For You cfilled me with indignation.18 Why has my pain been endlessAnd my awound incurable, refusing to be healed?Will You indeed be to me blike a deceptive streamWith water that is unreliable?
19 Therefore, this is what the LORD says:“aIf you return, then I will restore you—bYou will stand before Me;And cif you extract the precious from the worthless,You will become 1My spokesman.They, for their part, may turn to you,But as for you, you are not to turn to them.20 “Then I will amake you to this peopleA fortified wall of bronze;And though they fight against you,They will not prevail over you;For bI am with you to save youAnd rescue you,” declares the LORD.21 “So I will arescue you from the hand of the wicked,And I will bredeem you from the 1grasp of the violent.”
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