Liberation from Captivity Promised

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘(A)Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. For behold, (B)days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will (C)restore the fortunes of My people (D)Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also (E)bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.’”

Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

“For this is what the Lord says:

[a]I have heard a sound of (F)terror,
Of fear, and there is no peace.
Ask now, and see
If a male can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his waist, (G)as a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?
Woe, for that (H)day is great,
There is (I)none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s (J)distress,
Yet he will be (K)saved from it.

‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘that I will (L)break his yoke from [b]their necks and will tear to pieces [c]their (M)restraints; and strangers will no longer (N)make [d]them their slaves. But they shall serve the Lord their God and (O)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10 And (P)do not fear, Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,
‘And do not be dismayed, Israel;
For behold, I am going to save you (Q)from far away,
And your [e]descendants from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob will return and be (R)at peace, without anxiety,
And (S)no one will make him afraid.
11 For (T)I am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;
For I will completely (U)destroy all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will (V)not destroy you completely.
But I will (W)discipline you fairly
And will by no means leave you unpunished.’

12 “For this is what the Lord says:
‘Your broken limb is irreparable,
And your (X)wound is incurable.
13 There is no one to plead your cause;
No healing for your sore,
(Y)No recovery for you.
14 All your (Z)lovers have forgotten you,
They do not seek you;
For I have (AA)wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the (AB)punishment of a (AC)cruel one,
Because your (AD)wrongdoing is great,
And your (AE)sins are numerous.
15 Why do you cry out over your injury?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your wrongdoing is great
And your sins are numerous,
I have done these things to you.
16 Therefore all who (AF)devour you will be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, (AG)will go into captivity;
And those who plunder you will become plunder,
And all who plunder you I will turn into plunder.
17 For I will [f]restore you to [g](AH)health
And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord,
‘Because they have called you an (AI)outcast, saying:
“It is Zion; no one [h]cares for her.”’

Restoration of Jacob

18 “This is what the Lord says:
‘Behold, I will (AJ)restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And (AK)have compassion on his dwellings;
And the (AL)city will be rebuilt on its ruins,
And the (AM)palace will stand on its rightful place.
19 From them will come a (AN)song of thanksgiving
And the voices of those who [i](AO)celebrate;
And I will (AP)multiply them and they will not decrease;
I will (AQ)honor them and they will not be insignificant.
20 [j]Their children also will be as before,
And [k]their congregation will be (AR)established before Me;
And I will punish all [l]their oppressors.
21 [m]Their (AS)leader shall be one of them,
And [n]their ruler will come out from [o]their midst;
And I will (AT)bring him near and he shall approach Me;
For [p]who would dare to risk his life to (AU)approach Me?’ declares the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be (AV)My people,
And I will be your God.’”

23 Behold, the (AW)tempest of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
A [q]sweeping tempest;
It will whirl upon the head of the wicked.
24 The (AX)fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has performed and accomplished
The intent of His heart.
In the (AY)latter days you will understand this.

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the (AZ)God of all the (BA)families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

This is what the Lord says:
“The people who survived the sword
(BB)Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to (BC)find its rest.”
The Lord appeared to [r]him [s]long ago, saying,
“I have (BD)loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you out with (BE)kindness.
(BF)I will build you again and you will be rebuilt,
Virgin of Israel!
You will [t]take up your (BG)tambourines again,
And go out to the dances of the (BH)revelers.
Again you will (BI)plant vineyards
On the [u]hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will [v]enjoy the fruit.
For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
‘Arise, and (BJ)let’s go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’”

For this is what the Lord says:
(BK)Sing aloud with joy for Jacob,
And be joyful with the [w](BL)chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
Lord, (BM)save Your people,
The (BN)remnant of Israel!’
Behold, I am (BO)bringing them from the north country,
And I will (BP)gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them those who are (BQ)blind and those who (BR)limp,
The pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
They will return here as a great assembly.
(BS)They will come with weeping,
And by pleading I will bring them;
I will lead them by (BT)streams of waters,
On a straight path on which they will (BU)not stumble;
For I am a (BV)father to Israel,
And Ephraim is (BW)My firstborn.”

10 Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,
And declare it in the (BX)coastlands far away,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will (BY)gather him,
And He will keep him as a (BZ)shepherd keeps his flock.”
11 For the Lord has (CA)ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was (CB)stronger than he.
12 “They will (CC)come and shout for joy on the (CD)height of Zion,
And they will be (CE)radiant over the [x]bounty of the Lord
Over the (CF)grain, the new wine, the oil,
And over the young of the (CG)flock and the herd.
And their life will be like a (CH)watered garden,
And they will (CI)never languish again.
13 Then the virgin will rejoice in the (CJ)dance,
And the young men and the old together;
For I will (CK)turn their mourning into joy
And comfort them, and give them (CL)joy for their sorrow.
14 I will refresh the soul of the priests with [y]abundance,
And My people will be (CM)satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.

15 This is what the Lord says:
(CN)A voice is heard in (CO)Ramah,
Lamenting and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She (CP)refuses to be comforted for her children,
Because (CQ)they are no more.”

16 This is what the Lord says:

(CR)Restrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your (CS)work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
“And they will (CT)return from the land of the enemy.
17 There is (CU)hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
18 I have certainly heard Ephraim (CV)grieving,
‘You have (CW)disciplined me, and I was corrected,
Like an untrained (CX)calf;
(CY)Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 For after I turned back, I (CZ)repented;
And after I was instructed, I [z](DA)slapped my thigh;
I was (DB)ashamed and also humiliated
Because I bore the shame of my youth.’
20 Is (DC)Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My [aa](DD)heart yearns for him;
I will certainly (DE)have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.

21 “Set up roadmarks for yourself,
Place guideposts for yourself;
(DF)Direct your [ab]mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
(DG)Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
22 How long will you waver,
You (DH)rebellious daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
A woman will shelter a man.”

23 This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I (DI)restore their fortunes,

‘The Lord bless you, O (DJ)place of righteousness,
O (DK)holy hill!’

24 Judah and all its cities will (DL)live together in it, the farmers and those who travel with flocks. 25 (DM)For I give plenty of water to the weary ones, and [ac]refresh everyone who languishes.” 26 At this I (DN)awoke and looked, and my (DO)sleep had been pleasant to me.

A New Covenant

27 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will (DP)sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of mankind and the seed of animals. 28 And just as I have (DQ)watched over them to (DR)uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to (DS)build and to plant them,” declares the Lord.

29 “In those days they will no longer say,
(DT)The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
[ad]But it is the children’s teeth that have become blunt.’

30 But (DU)everyone will die for his own wrongdoing; each person who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will become blunt.

31 (DV)Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a (DW)new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the (DX)covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I (DY)took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My (DZ)covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “For (EA)this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “(EB)I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and (EC)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will (ED)not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all (EE)know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will (EF)forgive their wrongdoing, and their (EG)sin I will no longer remember.”

35 This is what the Lord says,
He who (EH)gives the sun for light by day
And the [ae]fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who (EI)stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
(EJ)The Lord of armies is His name:
36 (EK)If [af]this fixed order departs
From Me,” declares the Lord,
“Then the descendants of Israel also will (EL)cease
To be a nation before Me [ag]forever.”
37 This is what the Lord says:
(EM)If the heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also (EN)reject all the descendants of Israel
For everything that they have done,” declares the Lord.

38 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the (EO)city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the (EP)Tower of Hananel to the (EQ)Corner Gate. 39 The (ER)measuring line will go out farther straight ahead, to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40 And (ES)the entire valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook (ET)Kidron to the corner of the (EU)Horse Gate toward the east, shall be (EV)holy to the Lord; it will not be uprooted or overthrown ever again.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 30:5 Lit We
  2. Jeremiah 30:8 As in LXX; MT your neck
  3. Jeremiah 30:8 As in LXX; MT your
  4. Jeremiah 30:8 Lit him their slave
  5. Jeremiah 30:10 Lit seed
  6. Jeremiah 30:17 Lit cause to go up
  7. Jeremiah 30:17 Or healing
  8. Jeremiah 30:17 Lit is seeking
  9. Jeremiah 30:19 Or dance
  10. Jeremiah 30:20 Lit His
  11. Jeremiah 30:20 Lit his
  12. Jeremiah 30:20 Lit his
  13. Jeremiah 30:21 Lit his
  14. Jeremiah 30:21 Lit his
  15. Jeremiah 30:21 Lit his
  16. Jeremiah 30:21 Lit who is he that gives his heart in pledge
  17. Jeremiah 30:23 Or raging
  18. Jeremiah 31:3 Lit me
  19. Jeremiah 31:3 Or from far away
  20. Jeremiah 31:4 Lit adorn yourself with
  21. Jeremiah 31:5 Or mountains
  22. Jeremiah 31:5 Lit defile
  23. Jeremiah 31:7 Lit head
  24. Jeremiah 31:12 Lit goodness
  25. Jeremiah 31:14 Lit fatness
  26. Jeremiah 31:19 I.e., in regret
  27. Jeremiah 31:20 Lit inward parts
  28. Jeremiah 31:21 Lit heart
  29. Jeremiah 31:25 Lit fill
  30. Jeremiah 31:29 I.e., the children suffer for the fathers’ sins
  31. Jeremiah 31:35 Lit statutes
  32. Jeremiah 31:36 Lit these statutes
  33. Jeremiah 31:36 Lit all the days

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