15:15 I said, 1
“Lord, you know how I suffer. 2
Take thought of me and care for me.
Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me.
Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me.
Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.
15:16 As your words came to me I drank them in, 3
and they filled my heart with joy and happiness
because I belong to you. 4
15:17 I did not spend my time in the company of other people,
laughing and having a good time.
I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you 5
and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.
15:18 Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish?
Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound?
Will you let me down when I need you
like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?” 6
1 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to mark the shift from the
2 tn The words “how I suffer” are not in the text but are implicit from the continuation. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. Jeremiah is not saying “you are all knowing.”
3 sn Heb “Your words were found and I ate them.” This along with Ezek 2:8–3:3 is a poetic picture of inspiration. The prophet accepted them, assimilated them, and made them such a part of himself that he spoke with complete assurance what he knew were God’s words.
4 tn Heb “Your name is called upon me.”
5 tn Heb “because of your hand.”
6 tn Heb “Will you be to me like a deceptive (brook), like waters which do not last [or are not reliable].”