Jeremiah's Confession Poem by Justin Reamer

You have seduced me, Yahweh,
And I have let myself be seduced;
You have overpowered me:
You were the stronger.
I am a daily laughingstock,
Everybody's butt.
Every time I speak the Word,
I have to howl and proclaim:
'Violence and ruin! '
The Word of Yahweh has meant for me
Insult, derision, all day long.
I used to say,
'I will not think about Him,
I will not speak in His name anymore.'
Then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart,
Imprisoned in my bones.
The effort to restrain it wearied me,
I could not bear it.

I hear so many disparaging me,
''Terror from every side! '
Denounce him! Let us denounce him! '
All those who used to be my friends
Watched for my downfall,
'Perhaps he will be seduced into error.
Then we will master him
And take our revenge! '
But Yahweh is at my side, a mighty Hero;
My opponents will stumble, mastered,
Confounded by their failure;
Everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.
But You, Yahweh Sabaoth,
You who probe with Justice,
Who scrutinise the loins and heart,
Let me see the vengeance You will take on them,
For I have committed my cause to YOu.
Sing to Yahweh,
Praise Yahweh,
For He has delivered the soul of the needy
From the hands of evil men.

A curse on the day when I was born,
No blessing on the day my mother bore me!
A curse on the man who brought my father the news,
'A son, a boy has been born to you! '
Making him overjoyed.
May this man be like the towns
That Yahweh overthrew without mercy;
May he hear alarms in the morning,
The war cry in broad daylight,
Since he did not kill me in the womb;
My mother would have been my tomb
While her womb was swollen with me.
Why ever did I come out of the womb
To live in toil and sorrow
And to end my days in shame!