Deliverance from Captivity Promised
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘aWrite all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3 For behold, adays are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will brestore the fortunes of My people cIsrael and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also dbring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.’”
4 Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah:
5 “For thus says the Lord,
‘I have heard a sound of aterror,
Of dread, and there is no peace.
6 ‘Ask now, and see
If a male can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his loins, aas a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?
7 ‘Alas! for that aday is great,
There is bnone like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s cdistress,
But he will be dsaved from it.
8 ‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will abreak his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bbonds; and strangers will no longer cmake them their slaves. 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and aDavid their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 ‘aFear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,
‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you bfrom afar
And your offspring from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob will return and will be cquiet and at ease,
And dno one will make him afraid.
11 ‘For aI am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;
For I will bdestroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will cnot destroy you completely.
But I will dchasten you justly
And will by no means leave you unpunished.’
12 “For thus says the Lord,
‘Your wound is incurable
And your ainjury is serious.
13 ‘There is no one to plead your cause;
No healing for your sore,
aNo recovery for you.
14 ‘All your alovers have forgotten you,
They do not seek you;
For I have bwounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the cpunishment of a dcruel one,
Because your einiquity is great
And your fsins are numerous.
15 ‘Why do you cry out over your injury?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your iniquity is great
And your sins are numerous,
I have done these things to you.
16 ‘Therefore all who adevour you will be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, bwill go into captivity;
And those who plunder you will be for plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will give for prey.
17 ‘For I will restore you to ahealth
And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord,
‘Because they have called you an boutcast, saying:
“It is Zion; no one cares for her.”’
Restoration of Jacob
18 “Thus says the Lord,
‘Behold, I will arestore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And bhave compassion on his dwelling places;
And the ccity will be rebuilt on its ruin,
And the dpalace will stand on its rightful place.
19 ‘From them will proceed athanksgiving
And the voice of those who bcelebrate;
And I will cmultiply them and they will not be diminished;
I will also dhonor them and they will not be insignificant.
20 ‘Their children also will be as formerly,
And their congregation shall be aestablished before Me;
And I will punish all their oppressors.
21 ‘Their aleader shall be one of them,
And their ruler shall come forth from their midst;
And I will bbring him near and he shall approach Me;
For who would dare to risk his life to capproach Me?’ declares the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be aMy people,
And I will be your God.’”
23 Behold, the atempest of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
A sweeping tempest;
It will burst on the head of the wicked.
24 The afierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has performed and until He has accomplished
The intent of His heart;
In the blatter days you will understand this.
Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy
“At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the aGod of all the bfamilies of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
2 Thus says the Lord,
“The people who survived the sword
aFound grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to bfind its rest.”
3 The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have aloved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with blovingkindness.
4 “aAgain I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
Again you will take up your btambourines,
And go forth to the dances of the cmerrymakers.
5 “Again you will aplant vineyards
On the hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will enjoy them.
6 “For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
‘Arise, and alet us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’”
7 For thus says the Lord,
“aSing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the bchief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise and say,
‘O Lord, csave Your people,
The dremnant of Israel.’
8 “Behold, I am abringing them from the north country,
And I will bgather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them the cblind and the dlame,
The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;
A great company, they will return here.
9 “aWith weeping they will come,
And by supplication I will lead them;
I will make them walk by bstreams of waters,
On a straight path in which they will cnot stumble;
For I am a dfather to Israel,
And Ephraim is eMy firstborn.”
10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare in the acoastlands afar off,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will bgather him
And keep him as a cshepherd keeps his flock.”
11 For the Lord has aransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was bstronger than he.
12 “They will acome and shout for joy on the bheight of Zion,
And they will be cradiant over the bounty of the Lord—
Over the dgrain and the new wine and the oil,
And over the young of the eflock and the herd;
And their life will be like a fwatered garden,
And they will gnever languish again.
13 “Then the virgin will rejoice in the adance,
And the young men and the old, together,
For I will bturn their mourning into joy
And will comfort them and give them cjoy for their sorrow.
14 “I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people will be asatisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.
15 Thus says the Lord,
“aA voice is heard in bRamah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She crefuses to be comforted for her children,
Because dthey are no more.”
16 Thus says the Lord,
“aRestrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your bwork will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
“And they will creturn from the land of the enemy.
17 “There is ahope for your future,” declares the Lord,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
18 “I have surely heard Ephraim agrieving,
‘You have bchastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained ccalf;
dBring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 ‘For after I turned back, I arepented;
And after I was instructed, I bsmote on my thigh;
I was cashamed and also humiliated
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 “Is aEphraim My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My bheart yearns for him;
I will surely chave mercy on him,” declares the Lord.
21 “Set up for yourself roadmarks,
Place for yourself guideposts;
aDirect your mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
bReturn, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
22 “How long will you go here and there,
O afaithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman will encompass a man.”
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I arestore their fortunes,
‘The Lord bless you, O babode of righteousness,
O choly hill!’
24 Judah and all its cities will adwell together in it, the farmer and they who go about with flocks. 25 aFor I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes.” 26 At this I aawoke and looked, and my bsleep was pleasant to me.
A New Covenant
27 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will asow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 28 As I have awatched over them to bpluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will watch over them to cbuild and to plant,” declares the Lord.
29 “In those days they will not say again,
‘aThe fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 But aeveryone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.
31 “aBehold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a bnew covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the acovenant which I made with their fathers in the day I btook them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My ccovenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “But athis is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “bI will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and cI will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will anot teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all bknow Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will cforgive their iniquity, and their dsin I will remember no more.”
35 Thus says the Lord,
Who agives the sun for light by day
And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who bstirs up the sea so that its waves roar;
cThe Lord of hosts is His name:
36 “aIf this fixed order departs
From before Me,” declares the Lord,
“Then the offspring of Israel also will bcease
From being a nation before Me forever.”
37 Thus says the Lord,
“aIf the heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also bcast off all the offspring of Israel
For all that they have done,” declares the Lord.
38 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the acity will be rebuilt for the Lord from the bTower of Hananel to the cCorner Gate. 39 The ameasuring line will go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40 And athe whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook bKidron, to the corner of the cHorse Gate toward the east, shall be dholy to the Lord; it will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”
Jeremiah Imprisoned
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the atenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the acourt of the guard, which was in the house of the king of Judah, 3 because Zedekiah king of Judah had ashut him up, saying, “Why do you bprophesy, saying, ‘cThus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to dgive this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it; 4 and Zedekiah king of Judah will anot escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will bspeak with him face to face and see him eye to eye; 5 and he will atake Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” declares the Lord. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will bnot succeed”’?”
6 And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 7 ‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, “Buy for yourself my field which is at aAnathoth, for you have the bright of redemption to buy it.”’ 8 Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the acourt of the guard according to the word of the Lord and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at bAnathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the cword of the Lord.
9 “I bought the field which was at Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I aweighed out the silver for him, seventeen bshekels of silver. 10 I asigned and bsealed the deed, and ccalled in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the aterms and conditions and the open copy; 12 and I gave the deed of purchase to aBaruch the son of bNeriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle’s son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, before all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13 And I commanded Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, that they may last a long time.” 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “aHouses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”’
Jeremiah Prays and God Explains
16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, then I aprayed to the Lord, saying, 17 ‘aAh Lord God! Behold, You have bmade the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! cNothing is too difficult for You, 18 who ashows lovingkindness to thousands, but brepays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O cgreat and dmighty God. The eLord of hosts is His name; 19 agreat in counsel and mighty in deed, whose beyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, cgiving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; 20 who has aset signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have bmade a name for Yourself, as at this day. 21 You abrought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror; 22 and gave them this land, which You aswore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 They acame in and took possession of it, but they bdid not obey Your voice or cwalk in Your law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made dall this calamity come upon them. 24 Behold, the asiege ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city is bgiven into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the csword, the famine and the pestilence; and what You have spoken has dcome to pass; and behold, You see it. 25 You have said to me, O Lord God, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”—although the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’”
26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the aGod of all flesh; is anything btoo difficult for Me?” 28 Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to agive this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and aset this city on fire and burn it, with the bhouses where people have offered incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger. 30 Indeed the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only aevil in My sight from their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only bprovoking Me to anger by the work of their hands,” declares the Lord. 31 “Indeed this city has been to Me a aprovocation of My anger and My wrath from the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be bremoved from before My face, 32 because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their akings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, ateaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction. 34 But they aput their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 35 They built the ahigh places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to bMolech, which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
36 “Now therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is agiven into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine and by pestilence.’ 37 Behold, I will agather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and bmake them dwell in safety. 38 They shall be aMy people, and I will be their God; 39 and I will agive them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own bgood and for the good of their children after them. 40 I will make an aeverlasting covenant with them that I will bnot turn away from them, to do them good; and I will cput the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. 41 I will arejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully bplant them in this land with call My heart and with all My soul. 42 For thus says the Lord, ‘aJust as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bbring on them all the good that I am promising them. 43 aFields will be bought in this land of which you say, “bIt is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” 44 Men will buy fields for money, asign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the bland of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland and in the cities of the Negev; for I will crestore their fortunes,’ declares the Lord.”
Restoration Promised
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still aconfined in the court of the guard, saying, 2 “Thus says athe Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it, the bLord is His name, 3 ‘aCall to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you bgreat and mighty things, cwhich you do not know.’ 4 For thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the ahouses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which are broken down to make a defense against the bsiege ramps and against the sword, 5 ‘While they are coming to afight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath, and I have bhidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness: 6 Behold, I will bring to it ahealth and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an babundance of peace and truth. 7 I will arestore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will brebuild them as they were at first. 8 I will acleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. 9 It will be to Me a aname of joy, praise and glory before ball the nations of the earth which will hear of all the cgood that I do for them, and they will dfear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’
10 “Thus says the Lord, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a awaste, without man and without beast,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are bdesolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11 the voice of ajoy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,
“bGive thanks to the Lord of hosts,
For the Lord is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting”;
and of those who bring a cthank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.
12 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, awithout man or beast, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds who rest their bflocks. 13 In the acities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again bpass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the Lord.
The Davidic Kingdom
14 ‘Behold, adays are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bfulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a arighteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute bjustice and righteousness on the earth. 16 In those days aJudah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the bLord is our righteousness.’ 17 For thus says the Lord, ‘David shall anever lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 and the aLevitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to bprepare sacrifices continually.’”
19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 “Thus says the Lord, ‘If you can abreak My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, 21 then aMy covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. 22 As the ahost of heaven cannot be counted and the bsand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will cmultiply the descendants of David My servant and the dLevites who minister to Me.’”
23 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The atwo families which the Lord chose, He has brejected them’? Thus they cdespise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight. 25 Thus says the Lord, ‘If My acovenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have bnot established, 26 then I would areject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants brulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will crestore their fortunes and will have dmercy on them.’”