= Jeremiah 15 * Please see [[nsv:license|License]] for Copyright notice and Licensing information. * [ [[Jeremiah_14|Previous]] | [[Jeremiah_16|Next]] ] == Jeremiah 15 1 Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. 2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. 3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. 4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. 5 For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest? 6 You have rejected me, declares the Lord! You keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you; (for) I am weary of relenting. 7 And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people since they return not from their ways. 8 Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city. 9 She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord. 10 Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. 11 The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. 12 Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel? 13 Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders. 14 And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you. 15 O Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke. 16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. 17 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. 20 And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 21 And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible. == Notes == Cross Reference == Commentary == Rashi ==== Verse 1 Moses and Samuel Both were needed to beg mercy for Israel, but first they induced them to repent, and afterwards they prayed on their behalf, but they had no idea of turning away My wrath until they had induced them to repent. Moses said (Exodus 32:27), “Let each man put his sword...” (v. 20) “and he scattered it on the surface of the water, etc.” And afterwards (v. 30), “I will ascend to the Lord, perhaps I will atone.” Samuel in Mizpah (I Samuel 7:4,5) “And the children of Israel removed the Baalim,” and afterwards, “‘Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I shall pray to the Lord on your behalf (sic).’” But you cannot bring them back to Me, therefore do not pray for them. desire Heb. נַפְֹשִי lit., My soul. ==== Verse 2 Such as are for death, to death Each calamity mentioned later in this verse is harsher than the one preceding it. The sword is harsher than death. Death by the sword is defacing, whereas death in bed is not defacing. And so he says (Psalms 116:15): “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His Saints.” Famine is harsher than the sword, for this one is agonizing whereas the other is not agonizing. And so Scripture states (Lam. 4:9): “Better are those who die from the sword than those who die from famine.” Captivity - all sorts of death are in it. ==== Verse 3 And I will appoint an expression of appointment and designation. to drag to drag. Cf. (infra. 49: 20) “If the young of the sheep do not drag them (יִסְחָבוּם).” ==== Verse 4 a horror from the same root as (Esther 5:9), “And he neither rose nor quaked (זָע).” Similarly, גַּאֲוָה pride, from the root (Isa. 16:6) “Have become very proud (גֵּא).” to all the kingdoms of the earth Anyone who hears the evil that has befallen you will shudder. ==== Verse 5 will lament Heb. יָנוּד. and who will turn aside to you, to turn aside from his road to you, to ask of your welfare? ==== Verse 6 I am weary of repenting Many times I planned to destroy but repented of the evil. Now I am weary of repenting. הִנָחֵם (Dporpnser in O.F.) ==== Verse 7 with a sieve A sieve called (van in French), like one who winnows barley, so that they should not all be exiled to one place. ==== Verse 8 are to Me more numerous His widows are more to Me. upon a mother Upon Jerusalem, which is a city and a mother in Israel. at midday Everything will be exposed before him, all their hidden treasures. I have cast upon her suddenly a city I caused the troops of a city and many terrors to rest upon her. Some interpret עִיר as ‘an enemy.’ Cf. (I Sam. 28:16), “And has become [the supporter of] your adversary (עָרֶךָ)” (see also Dan. 4:16). ==== Verse 9 She who bore seven Samaria and the nation of the Ten Tribes, from whom rose seven dynasties of wicked kings, has already been cut off and exiled. and their remnant These are Judah and part of Benjamin, who remained in Israel. I shall deliver them to the sword. These are the seven dynasties: Jeroboam son of Nebat and his dynasty, Baasha and his dynasty, Omri and his dynasty, Jehu and his dynasty, Menahem and his dynasty, Pekah and his dynasty, Hoshea and his dynasty. her soul grieves an expression of ‘her soul grieves.’ We translate (Deut. 28:65) “And grieving of the soul (וְדַאֲבוֹן נֶפֶֹש)” as וּמַפְּחַן נְפָֹש. when it is still day Before its time, they hastened to fall. In this manner it is expounded in Tractate Gittin. [See Gittin 88a]. And in the Midrash of Rabbi Tanhuma (Tanhuma Buber, Vayetze p. 153) it is expounded as referring to Jerusalem, and he counts seven wicked men: Jehoram, Jehoash, Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah. But there are yet to count Rehoboam, Abijah, Amaziah, and Ahaziah. and confounded an expression of shame. ==== Verse 10 Woe is to me, my mother Jeremiah was complaining about himself, that his townsmen hated him because of his castigations. and a man of contention a man of quarrel, Cf. (Gen. 6:3) “Let My spirit not contend (יָדוֹן).” I have not lent Cf. (Exodus 22:24) “You shall not be to him as a creditor (כְּנֹֹֹשֶה) .” they curse me I do not quarrel with them concerning matters of money that I claim from them, neither have they made any claim on me, yet all the people curse me. ==== Verse 11 1 leave you over I leave you over, an expression of a remnant. In this manner, Menahem (Machbereth p. 181) interpreted it, but Dunash (Teshuvoth Dunash p. 36) interpreted it as an expression of release. And שֵרִיתִיךָ is like (Dan. 5:12) “And untying (וּמְֹשָרֵא) knots,” and the interpretation of שֵרִיתִיךָ is so, as it is stated (below 40:4): “Behold I have released you from the chains that are on your hand.” That is to say, on that day that the Lord fulfilled His word, it was said to him, “And now, behold I have released you today from the chains that are on your hand, if it pleases you to come with me to Babylon.” And also, Israel begged him to pray for them, as it was said to him (below 42:4): “Pray on our behalf to the Lord our Cod, for we remain few from many.” Verily I will lit., if not, an expression of an oath. I will cause [them] to beg you in time of evil with the enemy. When evil befalls them, they will beg you to supplicate God for mercy upon them, for example, Zedekiah said to him, (below 21:2) “Beseech God now on our behalf, etc.” Another explanation. Nebuzaradan will beg you (below 40:4), “If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon.” ==== Verse 12 Will iron break iron from the north I say that iron that comes from the north is harder than other iron, and this is its interpretation: They were compared to iron (above 6:28), “Going tale bearing like copper and iron.” And concerning Jeremiah it is stated (above 1:18): “I have made you... into an iron pillar and into copper walls,” and his is stronger than theirs, for Nebuchadnezzar will come upon them according to his words. Will…break Will their iron break yours? Another explanation: Will Pharaoh who comes in your aid, who is as hard as iron, break Nebuchadnezzar, who is iron that comes from the north and copper? Targum Jonathan is inclined toward this direction. ==== Verse 13 Your wealth An expression of money. and your treasures He is addressing Israel. and for all your sins And because of all your sins, this will befall you. and throughout all your boundaries For you erected idols in all of them. ==== Verse 15 Take me not to Your long suffering Jonathan renders. Do not grant a reprieve for my humiliation. Do not take my cause to leave it for Your long suffering, but hasten and avenge me. I bore like סָבַלְתִּי bore. for Your sake for You. ==== Verse 16 Your words were found and I ate them eagerly at the beginning, and they were a joy for me, for I thought that now they would listen to me. ==== Verse 17 because of Your hand Because of the prophecy that came to me from You. I sat alone and bewildered by mourning, for You filled me with a prophecy of fury concerning the destruction of Your House. ==== Verse 18 grievous sick. Comp. (II Sam. 12:15) “And he became mortally ill (וַיֵּאָנַֹש).” mentioned concerning Bath-sheba’s son. You are to me Heb. הָיוֹ תִהְיֶה. as a failing spring Like a man whose trust has been cut off from him, for you allow me to suffer at their hands. אַכְזָב is a spring that stops (faylayne in O. F:), failing. water that is not faithful to rely upon it. ==== Verse 19 Therefore Because I suffer from these troubles. so said the Lord to me. If you return You, Israel, through me, and I will return you to Him, He said to Me, “You will stand before Me.” and if you take precious out of the vile If you take a pious man from a wicked man, i.e., if you bring him to repentance. You shall be as my mouth For I make a decree and you annul it. Let them return to you, but you shall not return to them Let them return to your word, but you shall not return to stray after them.