Jeremiah 30-31

New International Version

Restoration of Israel

30 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write^(A) in a book all the words I have spoken to you. ³The days^(B) are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring^(C) my people Israel and Judah back from captivity^[a] and restore^(D) them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

⁴These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ⁵“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Cries of fear^(E) are heard—
    terror, not peace.
⁶Ask and see:
    Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,^(F)
    every face turned deathly pale?^(G)
⁷How awful that day^(H) will be!
    No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble^(I) for Jacob,
    but he will be saved^(J) out of it.

⁸“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
    ‘I will break the yoke^(K) off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;^(L)
    no longer will foreigners enslave them.^(M)
⁹Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
    and David^(N) their king,^(O)
    whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰“‘So do not be afraid,^(P) Jacob my servant;^(Q)
    do not be dismayed, Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will surely save^(R) you out of a distant place,
    your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,^(S)
    and no one will make him afraid.^(T)
¹¹I am with you^(U) and will save you,’
    declares the Lord.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
    among which I scatter you,
    I will not completely destroy^(V) you.
I will discipline^(W) you but only in due measure;
    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’^(X)

¹²“This is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wound^(Y) is incurable,
    your injury beyond healing.^(Z)
¹³There is no one to plead your cause,^(AA)
    no remedy for your sore,
    no healing^(AB) for you.
¹⁴All your allies^(AC) have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy^(AD) would
    and punished you as would the cruel,^(AE)
because your guilt is so great
    and your sins^(AF) so many.
¹⁵Why do you cry out over your wound,
    your pain that has no cure?^(AG)
Because of your great guilt and many sins
    I have done these things to you.^(AH)

¹⁶“‘But all who devour^(AI) you will be devoured;
    all your enemies will go into exile.^(AJ)
Those who plunder^(AK) you will be plundered;
    all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
¹⁷But I will restore you to health
    and heal^(AL) your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,^(AM)
    Zion for whom no one cares.’^(AN)

¹⁸“This is what the Lord says:

“‘I will restore the fortunes^(AO) of Jacob’s tents^(AP)
    and have compassion^(AQ) on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt^(AR) on her ruins,
    and the palace will stand in its proper place.
¹⁹From them will come songs^(AS) of thanksgiving^(AT)
    and the sound of rejoicing.^(AU)
I will add to their numbers,^(AV)
    and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor,^(AW)
    and they will not be disdained.
²⁰Their children^(AX) will be as in days of old,
    and their community will be established^(AY) before me;
    I will punish^(AZ) all who oppress them.
²¹Their leader^(BA) will be one of their own;
    their ruler will arise from among them.^(BB)
I will bring him near^(BC) and he will come close to me—
    for who is he who will devote himself
    to be close to me?’
declares the Lord.
²²“‘So you will be my people,^(BD)
    and I will be your God.^(BE)’”

²³See, the storm^(BF) of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a driving wind swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
²⁴The fierce anger^(BG) of the Lord will not turn back^(BH)
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand^(BI) this.

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God^(BJ) of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

²This is what the Lord says:

“The people who survive the sword
will find favor^(BK) in the wilderness;
I will come to give rest^(BL) to Israel.”

³The Lord appeared to us in the past,^[b] saying:

“I have loved^(BM) you with an everlasting love;
    I have drawn^(BN) you with unfailing kindness.
⁴I will build you up again,
    and you, Virgin^(BO) Israel, will be rebuilt.^(BP)
Again you will take up your timbrels^(BQ)
    and go out to dance^(BR) with the joyful.^(BS)
⁵Again you will plant^(BT) vineyards
    on the hills of Samaria;^(BU)
the farmers will plant them
    and enjoy their fruit.^(BV)
⁶There will be a day when watchmen^(BW) cry out
    on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord our God.’”^(BX)

⁷This is what the Lord says:

“Sing^(BY) with joy for Jacob;
    shout for the foremost^(BZ) of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
    ‘Lord, save^(CA) your people,
    the remnant^(CB) of Israel.’
⁸See, I will bring them from the land of the north^(CC)
    and gather^(CD) them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind^(CE) and the lame,^(CF)
    expectant mothers and women in labor;
    a great throng will return.
⁹They will come with weeping;^(CG)
    they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead^(CH) them beside streams of water^(CI)
    on a level^(CJ) path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,^(CK)
    and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

¹⁰“Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;
    proclaim it in distant coastlands:^(CL)
‘He who scattered^(CM) Israel will gather^(CN) them
    and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’^(CO)
¹¹For the Lord will deliver Jacob
    and redeem^(CP) them from the hand of those stronger^(CQ) than they.
¹²They will come and shout for joy^(CR) on the heights^(CS) of Zion;
    they will rejoice in the bounty^(CT) of the Lord—
the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,^(CU)
    the young of the flocks^(CV) and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,^(CW)
    and they will sorrow^(CX) no more.
¹³Then young women will dance and be glad,
    young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning^(CY) into gladness;
    I will give them comfort^(CZ) and joy^(DA) instead of sorrow.
¹⁴I will satisfy^(DB) the priests^(DC) with abundance,
    and my people will be filled with my bounty,^(DD)”
declares the Lord.

¹⁵This is what the Lord says:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,^(DE)
    mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,^(DF)
    because they are no more.”^(DG)

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:

“Restrain your voice from weeping
    and your eyes from tears,^(DH)
for your work will be rewarded,^(DI)”
declares the Lord.
    “They will return^(DJ) from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷So there is hope^(DK) for your descendants,”
declares the Lord.
    “Your children^(DL) will return to their own land.

¹⁸“I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
    ‘You disciplined^(DM) me like an unruly calf,^(DN)
    and I have been disciplined.
Restore^(DO) me, and I will return,
    because you are the Lord my God.
¹⁹After I strayed,^(DP)
    I repented;
after I came to understand,
    I beat^(DQ) my breast.
I was ashamed^(DR) and humiliated
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’^(DS)
²⁰Is not Ephraim my dear son,
    the child^(DT) in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
    I still remember^(DU) him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
    I have great compassion^(DV) for him,”
declares the Lord.

²¹“Set up road signs;
    put up guideposts.^(DW)
Take note of the highway,^(DX)
    the road that you take.
Return,^(DY) Virgin^(DZ) Israel,
    return to your towns.
²²How long will you wander,^(EA)
    unfaithful^(EB) Daughter Israel?
The Lord will create a new thing^(EC) on earth—
    the woman will return to^[c]^(ED) the man.”

²³This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity,^[d]^(EE) the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless^(EF) you, you prosperous city,^(EG) you sacred mountain.’^(EH) ²⁴People will live^(EI) together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks.^(EJ) ²⁵I will refresh the weary^(EK) and satisfy the faint.”^(EL)

²⁶At this I awoke^(EM) and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.

²⁷“The days are coming,”^(EN) declares the Lord, “when I will plant^(EO) the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. ²⁸Just as I watched^(EP) over them to uproot^(EQ) and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster,^(ER) so I will watch over them to build and to plant,”^(ES) declares the Lord. ²⁹“In those days people will no longer say,

‘The parents^(ET) have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’^(EU)

³⁰Instead, everyone will die for their own sin;^(EV) whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

³¹“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will make a new covenant^(EW)
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
³²It will not be like the covenant^(EX)
    I made with their ancestors^(EY)
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,^(EZ)
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband^(FA) to^[e] them,^[f]”
declares the Lord.
³³“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds^(FB)
    and write it on their hearts.^(FC)
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.^(FD)
³⁴No longer will they teach^(FE) their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know^(FF) me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive^(FG) their wickedness
    and will remember their sins^(FH) no more.”

³⁵This is what the Lord says,

he who appoints^(FI) the sun
    to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
    to shine by night,^(FJ)
who stirs up the sea^(FK)
    so that its waves roar^(FL)—
    the Lord Almighty is his name:^(FM)
³⁶“Only if these decrees^(FN) vanish from my sight,”
    declares the Lord,
“will Israel^(FO) ever cease
    being a nation before me.”

³⁷This is what the Lord says:

“Only if the heavens above can be measured^(FP)
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject^(FQ) all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the Lord.

³⁸“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt^(FR) for me from the Tower of Hananel^(FS) to the Corner Gate.^(FT) ³⁹The measuring line^(FU) will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. ⁴⁰The whole valley^(FV) where dead bodies^(FW) and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley^(FX) on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate,^(FY) will be holy^(FZ) to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 30:3 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah
Jeremiah 31:3 Or Lord has appeared to us from afar
Jeremiah 31:22 Or will protect
Jeremiah 31:23 Or I restore their fortunes
Jeremiah 31:32 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac / and I turned away from
Jeremiah 31:32 Or was their master

Jeremiah 37-38

New International Version

Jeremiah in Prison

37 Zedekiah^(A) son of Josiah was made king^(B) of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin^[a]^(C) son of Jehoiakim. ²Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention^(D) to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

³King Zedekiah, however, sent^(E) Jehukal^(F) son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah^(G) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray^(H) to the Lord our God for us.”

⁴Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.^(I) ⁵Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt,^(J) and when the Babylonians^[b] who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew^(K) from Jerusalem.^(L)

⁶Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire^(M) of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched^(N) out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.^(O) ⁸Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture^(P) it and burn^(Q) it down.’

⁹“This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive^(R) yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! ¹⁰Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian^[c] army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn^(S) this city down.”

¹¹After the Babylonian army had withdrawn^(T) from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹²Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property^(U) among the people there. ¹³But when he reached the Benjamin Gate,^(V) the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”^(W)

¹⁴“That’s not true!” Jeremiah said. “I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested^(X) Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. ¹⁵They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten^(Y) and imprisoned^(Z) in the house^(AA) of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.

¹⁶Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. ¹⁷Then King Zedekiah sent^(AB) for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked^(AC) him privately,^(AD) “Is there any word from the Lord?”

“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered^(AE) into the hands of the king of Babylon.”

¹⁸Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime^(AF) have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹Where are your prophets^(AG) who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? ²⁰But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.”^(AH)

²¹King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread^(AI) in the city was gone.^(AJ) So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.^(AK)

Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern

38 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur^(AL), Jehukal^[d]^(AM) son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, ²“This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague,^(AN) but whoever goes over to the Babylonians^[e] will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’^(AO) ³And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’”^(AP)

⁴Then the officials^(AQ) said to the king, “This man should be put to death.^(AR) He is discouraging^(AS) the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”

⁵“He is in your hands,”^(AT) King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing^(AU) to oppose you.”

⁶So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard.^(AV) They lowered Jeremiah by ropes^(AW) into the cistern; it had no water in it,^(AX) only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.^(AY)

⁷But Ebed-Melek,^(AZ) a Cushite,^[f] an official^[g]^(BA) in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,^(BB) ⁸Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, ⁹“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern,^(BC) where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread^(BD) in the city.”

¹⁰Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

¹¹So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes^(BE) to Jeremiah in the cistern. ¹²Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, ¹³and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.^(BF)

Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again

¹⁴Then King Zedekiah sent^(BG) for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide^(BH) anything from me.”

¹⁵Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.”

¹⁶But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly^(BI) to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath,^(BJ) I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.”^(BK)

¹⁷Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender^(BL) to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.^(BM) ¹⁸But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands^(BN) of the Babylonians and they will burn^(BO) it down; you yourself will not escape^(BP) from them.’”

¹⁹King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid^(BQ) of the Jews who have gone over^(BR) to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”

²⁰“They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey^(BS) the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well^(BT) with you, and your life^(BU) will be spared. ²¹But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: ²²All the women^(BV) left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you:

“‘They misled you and overcame you—
those trusted friends^(BW) of yours.
Your feet are sunk in the mud;^(BX)
your friends have deserted you.’

²³“All your wives and children^(BY) will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape^(BZ) from their hands but will be captured^(CA) by the king of Babylon; and this city will^[h] be burned down.”^(CB)

²⁴Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know^(CC) about this conversation, or you may die. ²⁵If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’ ²⁶then tell^(CD) them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house^(CE) to die there.’”

²⁷All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king.

²⁸And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard^(CF) until the day Jerusalem was captured.