A prayer that the Lord would save his people

19 ‘Lord, have you completely turned away from the people of Judah?

Do you really hate the people of Zion?

You have knocked us down

so that we will never get better.

We hoped to live in peace,

but nothing good happened to us.

We hoped to have rest from our troubles,

but instead we live in fear.

20 Lord, we agree that we are wicked people.

Our ancestors also did bad things.

We have turned against you.

21 But please do not refuse to help us.

Show that you are a faithful God.

Jerusalem is the place where you have your beautiful throne.

So do not go away and leave us.

Remember the covenant that you made with us.

Please do what you promised to do for us.

22 The idols of other nations are useless.

None of them can cause rain to fall.

And the sky itself does not make rain.

No, it is you, Lord, our God, who sends rain.

You alone do all these things,

so we trust you to help us.’

Jeremiah 15

Trouble will come to the people of Judah

1 The Lord said to me, ‘Even if Moses and Samuel asked me not to punish these people, I would not agree. I still would not help them. Send them away! I do not want to see them again! 2 They may ask you, “Where should we go?” Then tell them, “This is what the Lord says:

Those who should become ill and die will die.

Those who should die in war will die in war.

Those who should die from famine will die from famine.

Those who should go away as prisoners will go away as prisoners.” 

3 I will send four kinds of punishments to hurt them. Soldiers will kill them in war. Dogs will carry away their dead bodies. Birds and wild animals will eat them and destroy them. 4 I will cause the people of all nations to think that the people of Judah are disgusting. That will be because of the evil things that the king of Judah, Hezekiah's son, Manasseh, did in Jerusalem.’

5 The Lord said,

‘People of Jerusalem, nobody will feel sorry for you.

Nobody will weep for you.

Nobody will stop to ask how you are.

6 I tell you this:

You have turned away from me.

You continue to go further away from me.

So I will prepare to use my power to destroy you.

I can no longer be kind to you.

7 I will punish the people of every town in the land.

I will blow them away,

like wind blows away straw.

My people have refused to change the way that they live.

So I will destroy them and their children too.

8 There will be more widows in Judah,

than there is sand on the shore of the sea.

At midday I will send an enemy to destroy the young men.

Their mothers will weep for them.

It will happen very suddenly.

Fear and terror will come!

9 A mother will feel very weak,

because all her seven children have died.

It is difficult for her even to breathe.

She has lost the children that made her happy,

while they were still young.

She will be ashamed and without honour.

I will send your enemies to kill

any of your people who are still alive.’

That is what the Lord says.