Chapter Text
The LORD's Answer
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.
2And 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.
3And 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.
4And 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.
5For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?
6Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.
7And 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.
8Their 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.
9She 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.
10Woe 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.
11The 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.
12Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?
13Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.
14And 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.
15O 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.
16Thy 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.
17I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
18Why 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?
19Therefore 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.
20And 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.
21And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
Summary
Pashhur the priest, chief governor of the temple, hears Jeremiah's prophecy and strikes him, putting him in stocks at the high gate of Benjamin. The next day, when Pashhur releases him, Jeremiah renames him Magor-missabib, meaning "terror on every side."
Jeremiah prophesies that Pashhur and all Judah shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon. Then Jeremiah pours out his heart to God in a deeply personal lament, cursing the day of his birth and expressing the unbearable burden of his prophetic calling.
Meaning
This chapter reveals the enormous personal cost of prophetic faithfulness. Jeremiah faces physical abuse from the very religious establishment he is trying to save. His lament shows that even the greatest servants of God can experience profound anguish.
Jeremiah's complaint that God's word is like a fire shut up in his bones teaches that authentic calling cannot be suppressed even when it brings suffering. The prophet cannot stop speaking, yet speaking brings only persecution. This honest wrestling with God models genuine faith that does not hide its pain.
Background
Pashhur held the office of chief temple administrator, giving him authority to punish those he considered false prophets. The stocks were a device that held the prisoner in a cramped, painful position.
Jeremiah's birth lament echoes Job's similar outburst in Job 3, placing him in a tradition of righteous sufferers who questioned God's purposes while never abandoning faith.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-4Intercession refused, judgment decreed
- vv. 5-9Lament over doomed Jerusalem
- vv. 10-11Jeremiah's cry of isolation
- vv. 12-14Iron judgment and exile foretold
- vv. 15-18The prophet's complaint to God
- vv. 19-21God's recommission and promise
Key Verses
“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.”— 15:16
A beloved verse on the sweetness and sustaining power of Scripture, echoed by Ezekiel and Revelation. It captures the prophet's intimate communion with God's word as spiritual food.
“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.”— 15:19
God's recommissioning of Jeremiah, calling him to discern between precious and vile and to remain unmoved by the crowd. A foundational text on prophetic integrity and pastoral discernment.
“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.”— 15:20
Echoes God's original commission in Jeremiah 1:18-19, reaffirming divine protection amid opposition. A treasured promise for those called to stand alone for truth.
“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.”— 15:1
A solemn declaration that Judah's iniquity has passed the point where even the greatest intercessors could avert judgment. It underscores the limits of intercession when persistent rebellion hardens a people.
People & Places
People
- Moses — Israel's lawgiver and supreme intercessor, invoked as an example of one whose prayers once turned away wrath.
- Samuel — The prophet-judge whose intercession famously delivered Israel, here named alongside Moses as a great mediator.
- Manasseh — Wicked king of Judah whose idolatry and bloodshed in Jerusalem are cited as the cause of coming exile.
- Hezekiah — Righteous king of Judah and father of Manasseh, mentioned only to identify Manasseh's lineage.
- Jeremiah — The weeping prophet, who in this chapter laments his calling and receives God's renewed commission.
Places
- Jerusalem — Capital of Judah, addressed as the object of judgment for the sins committed there under Manasseh.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Verses 2-4 and 13-14 prophesy the coming Babylonian invasion: death, sword, famine, and captivity, with Judah scattered into all kingdoms of the earth. This was fulfilled in 586 BC when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and deported the people. The chapter explicitly traces the cause back to Manasseh's earlier idolatry (cf. 2 Kings 21:11-15), showing how prophetic judgment ripens across generations. Verse 20's promise of Jeremiah as a 'fenced brasen wall' was fulfilled throughout his ministry as he survived imprisonment, the cistern, and the fall of Jerusalem.
Devotional
Jeremiah's anguish in this chapter is startlingly honest. He calls his pain perpetual, his wound incurable, and even accuses God of being like a deceitful brook. Yet in the same breath he confesses that God's words were his joy and the food of his heart. Faith does not require us to suppress sorrow; it requires us to bring it to the One who can answer.
God's reply is not rebuke but recommission: return, discern the precious from the vile, and I will be with you. When ministry or obedience costs you friendships and comfort, remember that the brasen wall is built by God's presence, not by your strength.
Literary Style
Prophetic oracle interwoven with personal lament — one of Jeremiah's celebrated 'confessions.' The chapter alternates divine speech and prophetic prayer, employing vivid metaphor (winnowing fan, brasen wall, failing waters), rhetorical questions, and the dialogical structure characteristic of Hebrew prophetic poetry.