Jeremiah 15:10-21

Jeremiah 15:10-21. The prophet bewails his lot. God's reply

The passage as a whole is one of the most eloquent and pathetic in the Book. The date cannot be determined with confidence. The latter part of Jehoiakim's reign is a fitting one to suggest. Jeremiah 15:13 are almost certainly to be rejected, while 11 and 12 need either drastic emendation or omission. Gi. considers that 11 14 have been inserted here from another context. They are also unrhythmical. We may subdivide as follows.

(i) Jeremiah 15:10. Alas, that I was ever born to be assailed by all men. I am subjected to revilings, as though I were a usurer or a defaulting debtor. Jehovah indeed promised me support in evil times, and that my foes should seek my aid when trouble came. Can what is strong as northern iron or bronze be broken? [Thy valued possessions throughout the land shall be plundered by thy foes because of thy misdeeds. They shall lead thee into captivity, by reason of thy sins.]

(ii) Jeremiah 15:15. O Lord, Thou knowest that my sufferings are on Thy behalf. Spare Thou my foes no longer. Thy words have been my stay and sustenance, yea, my joy, in my loneliness. Thy wrath at the wickedness of the nation has been mine as well. Shall my pain be ever as now? Shall my trust in Thee be brought toconfusion?

(iii) Jeremiah 15:19. The Lord's reply. If thou wilt return wholeheartedly to My service, and reject from within thee every unworthy thought, I will accept thee again, and the people, unsolicited, shall seek My words at thy mouth. Through My support thou shalt be impregnable against all attacks of the strongest of thy enemies.