Jeremiah 15

“Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast…” Naming Moses and Samuel keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the…” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.

“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 number four makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.

“And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of…” Naming Hezekiah and Jerusalem keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.

“Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD , thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and…” Naming Thou keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“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…” The line’s distinctive content terms include bereave, children, destroy. Its relationship to verses 6 shows what work it does in this passage.

“Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young…” Naming Their keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she…” The number seven makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.

“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…” The number one makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.

“The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.

“Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.

“Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy…” Naming Thy keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.

“O LORD , thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy…” The line’s distinctive content terms include know, knowest, longsuffering. Its relationship to verses 16 shows what work it does in this passage.

“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…” Naming Thy keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.

“I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with…” The line’s distinctive content terms include assembly, filled, hand. Its relationship to verses 16 and 18 shows what work it does in this passage.

“Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a…” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.

“Therefore thus saith the LORD , If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if…” This line supplies a reason, result, or conclusion. It should stay attached to the claim or action that gives it meaning.

“And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.

“And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.” The line’s distinctive content terms include hand, deliver, redeem. Its relationship to verses 20 shows what work it does in this passage.