33 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah a second time while he was in prison in the yard of the palace. 2 He said, ‘I am the Lord who made the earth. I gave a shape to it and I put it in its place. The Lord is my name. I say this to you: 3 “Call out to me and I will answer you. I will tell you about great things. They are secret things that you do not yet know.” 4 The Lord , Israel's God, has a message about the houses in this city and about the royal palaces of Judah's kings. The people have knocked down the city's buildings. They have used the stones to make the city's walls stronger, 5 to fight against Babylon's army. The Lord says, “The city's houses will be full of dead bodies. I am very angry with the people in the city and I will kill them. I will refuse to help this city because of the wicked things that its people have done.
6 But listen to me! I will bring health again to the people of this city. I will make my people well again. They will live safely in peace. 7 I will bring back the people of Judah and Israel from foreign lands. I will make them a strong nation, as they were before. 8 They have done bad things and they have turned against me. But I will forgive all their sins that they have done against me. 9 Then this city will cause the people of all the nations on the earth to give me honour. They will praise me and make me happy. They will hear about all the good things that I am doing for Jerusalem. They will see that I have caused its people to have health and peace. Because of that, they will respect me and they will shake with fear.”
10 The Lord says, “You say that this place is like a desert, and no people or animals live here. But I tell you that people will return to live here. You will hear the voices of people in the streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah that are now empty. 11 You will hear the sounds of happy people. You will hear the songs of men and women at their weddings. You will hear the voices of people as they bring gifts to the Lord 's temple to thank him. They will say,
‘We thank the Lord Almighty,
because he is good.
His faithful love continues for ever.’
Yes, I will make the land successful again, as it was before.” That is what the Lord says.
12 The Lord Almighty says, “This place will become a heap of stones. No people or animals will live here. But I will put fields of grass around the towns again. There will be places for shepherds to rest with their sheep. 13 Shepherds will count their sheep again, one by one. They will do that in the towns of the hill country, in the low hills in the west and in the Negev region in the south. They will do it in the land that belongs to Benjamin's tribe, in the villages around Jerusalem and in all the towns of Judah.” That is what the Lord says.
14 The Lord also says, “A time will soon come when I do good things for the nations of Israel and Judah. I will do what I have promised to do for them. 15 At that time, I will cause a descendant of David to be born. He will be righteous. He will grow like a branch on the tree of David's family. He will do what is right and fair in the land. [ a ] 16 When he rules, the people of Judah will be safe. Jerusalem's people will live in peace. People will give this name to the city: ‘The Lord is our righteous Saviour.’ ”
17 The Lord says, “One of David's descendants will always rule as king over the nation of Israel. 18 There will always be priests who are descendants of Levi. They will serve me in my temple. They will always be there to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings and other sacrifices to me.” ’
19 The Lord also said this to Jeremiah: 20 ‘I, the Lord , say to you, “The day and the night will always come at their proper times. I have made that agreement with them, and nobody can stop it. 21 In the same way, nobody can stop the covenant that I have made with my servant David, and with the Levites. I promise you that there will always be a descendant of King David who rules as king. I also promise that there will always be descendants of Levi to serve me as priests. 22 I promise that my servant David will always have many descendants. There will also be very many Levites to serve me as priests. You will not be able to count them. They will be more than the stars in the sky and more than the sand on the shore of the sea.” ’
23 The Lord also said to Jeremiah, 24 ‘Some people are saying, “The Lord chose the two nations of Israel and Judah to be his special people. But now he has turned away from them.” You have heard people say those things. They do not think that my people will ever be a nation again. 25 But I promise you this: Nobody can stop the agreement that I have made with the day and the night. I have also commanded the earth and the sky to obey certain laws. 26 In the same way, I will never change my promise to the descendants of Jacob and to my servant David. I will always choose one of David's descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. [ b ] I will bring them back to their own land. I will be kind to them and forgive them.’
33 While Jeremiah was still locked up in the courtyard of the guards, the message from the Lord came to him a second time: 2 “The Lord made the earth, and he keeps it safe. The Lord is his name. He says, 3 ‘Judah, pray to me, and I will answer you. I will tell you important secrets. You have never heard these things before.’ 4 The Lord is the God of Israel. This is what he says about the houses in Jerusalem and about the palaces of the kings of Judah: ‘The enemy will pull these houses down. They will build ramps up to the top of the city walls. They will use swords and fight the people in these cities.
5 “‘The people in Jerusalem have done many bad things. I am angry with them. I have turned against them, so I will kill many people there. The Babylonian army will come to fight against Jerusalem. There will be many dead bodies in the houses in Jerusalem.
6 “‘But then I will heal the people in that city. I will let them enjoy peace and safety. 7 I will make good things happen to Judah and Israel again and make them strong as in the past. 8 They sinned against me, but I will wash away that sin. They fought against me, but I will forgive them. 9 Then Jerusalem will be a wonderful place. The people will be happy. People from other nations will praise it when they hear about the good things happening there. They will hear about the good things I am doing for Jerusalem.’
10 “This is what the Lord says: ‘You people say that your country is an empty desert. There are no people or animals living there.’ It is now quiet in the streets of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah. But it will be noisy there soon. 11 There will be sounds of joy and happiness. There will be the happy sounds of a bride and groom. There will be the sounds of people bringing their gifts to the Lord ’s Temple. They will say, ‘Praise the Lord All-Powerful! The Lord is good! His faithful love will last forever!’ They will say this because I will again do good things to Judah. It will be as it was in the beginning.” This is what the Lord said.
12 The Lord All-Powerful says, “This place is empty now. There are no people or animals living here. But there will be people in all the towns of Judah. There will be shepherds, and there will be pastures where they will let their flocks rest. 13 Shepherds will count their sheep as the sheep walk in front of them. They will be counting their sheep all around the country—in the hill country, in the western foothills, in the Negev, and in all the other towns of Judah.”
14 This message is from the Lord : “I made a special promise to the people of Israel and Judah. The time is coming when I will do what I promised. 15 At that time I will make a good ‘branch’ grow from David’s family. That branch will do what is good and right for the country. 16 When he rules, Judah will be saved. The people of Jerusalem will live in safety. This will be his name: ‘The Lord Makes Things Right For Us.’”
17 The Lord says, “Someone from David’s family will always sit on the throne and rule the family of Israel. 18 And there will always be priests from the family of Levi. They will always stand before me and offer burnt offerings and sacrifice grain offerings and give sacrifices to me.”
19 This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. 20 The Lord says, “I have an agreement with day and night. I agreed that they would continue forever. You cannot change that agreement. Day and night will always come at the right time. If you could change that agreement, 21 then you could change my agreement with David and Levi. Then descendants from David would not be the kings, and the family of Levi would not be priests. 22 But I will give many descendants to my servant David and to the tribe of Levi. They will be as many as the stars in the sky—no one can count all the stars. And they will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore—no one can count the grains of sand.”
23 Jeremiah received this message from the Lord : 24 “Jeremiah, have you heard what the people are saying? They are saying, ‘The Lord turned away from the two families of Israel and Judah. He chose those people, but now he does not even accept them as a nation.’”
25 The Lord says, “If my agreement with day and night does not continue, and if I had not made the laws for the sky and earth, maybe I would leave those people. 26 Then maybe I would turn away from Jacob’s descendants. And then maybe I would not let David’s descendants rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But David is my servant, and I will be kind to those people. I will again cause good things to happen to them.”
33 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
2 Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name;
3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
4 For thus saith the Lord , the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword;
5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city.
6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.
8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.
9 And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
10 Thus saith the Lord ; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,
11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord . For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord .
12 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
13 In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the Lord .
14 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord , that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.
17 For thus saith the Lord ; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.
19 And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying,
20 Thus saith the Lord ; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;
21 Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.
22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
23 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
25 Thus saith the Lord ; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
33 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still ( A ) confined in the courtyard of the guard, saying, 2 “This is what ( B ) the Lord says, He who made [ a ] the earth, the Lord who formed it to create it, He whose name is the ( C ) Lord : 3 ‘ ( D ) Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you ( E ) great and [ b ] mighty things, ( F ) which you do not know.’ 4 For this is what the Lord , the God of Israel says concerning the ( G ) houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which have been torn down to make a defense against the ( H ) assault ramps and the sword: 5 ‘While they are coming to ( I ) fight the Chaldeans and to fill [ c ] their houses with the bodies of people whom I have struck down in My anger and My wrath, and I have ( J ) hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness: 6 Behold, I am going to bring to it ( K ) healing and a remedy, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an ( L ) abundance of peace and truth. 7 And I will ( M ) restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and will ( N ) rebuild them as they were at first. 8 And I will ( O ) cleanse them from all their wrongdoing by which they have sinned against Me, and I will forgive all their wrongdoings by which they have sinned against Me and revolted against Me. 9 [ d ] It will be to Me a ( P ) name of joy, praise, and glory before ( Q ) all the nations of the earth, which will hear of all the ( R ) good that I do for them, and they will be ( S ) frightened and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’
10 “This is what the Lord says: ‘ Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a ( T ) waste, without man and without animal,” that is , in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are ( U ) deserted, without man and without inhabitant and without animal, 11 the voice of ( V ) joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,
“ ( W ) Give thanks to the Lord of armies,
For the Lord is good,
For His mercy is everlasting,”
as they bring a ( X ) thanksgiving 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 “This is what the Lord of armies says: ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, ( Y ) without man or animal, and in all its cities, a pasture for shepherds who rest their ( Z ) flocks. 13 In the ( AA ) cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again ( AB ) pass under the hands of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord .
14 ‘Behold, ( AC ) days are coming,’ declares the Lord , ‘when I will ( AD ) fulfill 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 make a ( AE ) righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute ( AF ) justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 In those days ( AG ) Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: the ( AH ) Lord is our righteousness.’ 17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘ [ e ] David shall ( AI ) not lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 [ f ] and the ( AJ ) Levitical priests shall not lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to ( AK ) prepare sacrifices [ g ] continually.’”
19 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can ( AL ) break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night do not occur at their proper time, 21 then ( AM ) My covenant with David My servant may also be broken, so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. 22 As the ( AN ) heavenly [ h ] lights cannot be counted, and the ( AO ) sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will ( AP ) multiply the [ i ] descendants of My servant David and the ( AQ ) Levites who serve Me.’”
23 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Have you not observed what these people have asserted, saying, ‘The ( AR ) two families which the Lord chose, He has ( AS ) rejected them’? So they ( AT ) despise My people as no longer being a nation [ j ] in their sight. 25 This is what the Lord says: ‘If My ( AU ) covenant for day and night does not continue, and I have ( AV ) not established the [ k ] fixed patterns of heaven and earth, 26 then I would ( AW ) reject the [ l ] descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so as not to take from his [ m ] descendants ( AX ) rulers over the [ n ] descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will ( AY ) restore their fortunes and have ( AZ ) mercy on them.’”
33 While Jeremiah was still confined ( A ) in the courtyard ( B ) of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time: ( C ) 2 “This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, ( D ) the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: ( E ) 3 ‘Call ( F ) to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable ( G ) things you do not know.’ 4 For this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ( H ) ramps ( I ) and the sword 5 in the fight with the Babylonians [ a ] : ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. ( J ) I will hide my face ( K ) from this city because of all its wickedness.
6 “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal ( L ) my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace ( M ) and security. 7 I will bring Judah ( N ) and Israel back from captivity [ b ] ( O ) and will rebuild ( P ) them as they were before. ( Q ) 8 I will cleanse ( R ) them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive ( S ) all their sins of rebellion against me. 9 Then this city will bring me renown, ( T ) joy, praise ( U ) and honor ( V ) before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble ( W ) at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
10 “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” ( X ) Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, ( Y ) inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more 11 the sounds of joy and gladness, ( Z ) the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings ( AA ) to the house of the Lord , saying,
For I will restore the fortunes ( AD ) of the land as they were before, ( AE ) ’ says the Lord .
12 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate ( AF ) and without people or animals ( AG ) —in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. ( AH ) 13 In the towns of the hill ( AI ) country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, ( AJ ) in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand ( AK ) of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord .
14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord , ‘when I will fulfill the good promise ( AL ) I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 “‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous ( AM ) Branch ( AN ) sprout from David’s line; ( AO )
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved ( AP )
and Jerusalem will live in safety. ( AQ )
This is the name by which it [ c ] will be called: ( AR )
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’ ( AS )
17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail ( AT ) to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, 18 nor will the Levitical ( AU ) priests ( AV ) ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices. ( AW ) ’”
19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day ( AX ) and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, ( AY ) 21 then my covenant ( AZ ) with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites ( BA ) who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. ( BB ) 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless ( BC ) as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’”
23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24 “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two kingdoms [ d ] ( BD ) he chose’? So they despise ( BE ) my people and no longer regard them as a nation. ( BF ) 25 This is what the Lord says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night ( BG ) and established the laws ( BH ) of heaven and earth, ( BI ) 26 then I will reject ( BJ ) the descendants of Jacob ( BK ) and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes [ e ] ( BL ) and have compassion ( BM ) on them.’”
