Restoration of Israel and Judah

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that (A)I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. (B)‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ”

Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah.

“For thus says the Lord:

‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of [a]fear, and not of peace.
Ask now, and see,
Whether a [b]man is ever in [c]labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
(C)Like a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
(D)Alas! For that day is great,
(E)So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.

‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
But they shall serve the Lord their God,
And (F)David their king,
Whom I will (G)raise up for them.

10 ‘Therefore (H)do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord,
‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your seed (I)from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet,
And no one shall make him afraid.
11 For I am with (J)you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;
(K)Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,
(L)Yet I will not make a complete end of you.
But I will correct you (M)in justice,
And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’

12 “For thus says the Lord:

(N)‘Your affliction is incurable,
Your wound is severe.
13 There is no one to plead your cause,
That you may be bound up;
(O)You have no healing medicines.
14 (P)All your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded you with the wound (Q)of an enemy,
With the chastisement (R)of a cruel one,
For the multitude of your iniquities,
(S)Because your sins have increased.
15 Why (T)do you cry about your affliction?
Your sorrow is incurable.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased,
I have done these things to you.

16 ‘Therefore all those who devour you (U)shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into (V)captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become (W)plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a (X)prey.
17 (Y)For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.” ’

18 “Thus says the Lord:

‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
And (Z)have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city shall be built upon its own [d]mound,
And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.
19 Then (AA)out of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
(AB)I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
20 Their children also shall be (AC)as before,
And their congregation shall be established before Me;
And I will punish all who oppress them.
21 Their nobles shall be from among them,
(AD)And their governor shall come from their midst;
Then I will (AE)cause him to draw near,
And he shall approach Me;
For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be (AF)My people,
And I will be your God.’ ”

23 Behold, the (AG)whirlwind of the Lord
Goes forth with fury,
A [e]continuing whirlwind;
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not return until He has done it,
And until He has performed the intents of His heart.

(AH)In the latter days you will consider it.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 30:5 dread
  2. Jeremiah 30:6 Lit. male can give birth
  3. Jeremiah 30:6 childbirth
  4. Jeremiah 30:18 ruins
  5. Jeremiah 30:23 Or sweeping

THE SCROLL OF COMFORT

Healing and restoration for my people

30 Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: Write down in a scroll all the words I have spoken to you. The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will bring back my people Israel and Judah from captivity,[a] says the Lord. I will bring them home to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it. Here are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

The Lord proclaims:
I[b] hear screams of panic and terror;
    no one is safe.
Ask and see:
    Can men bear children?
Then why do I see every man
    bent over in pain,[c] as if he’s in labor?
    Why have all turned pale?
That day is awful, beyond words.
    A time of unspeakable pain
        for my people Jacob.
    But they will be delivered from it.

At that time, I will break the yoke off their[d] necks and remove their[e] shackles. Foreigners will no longer enslave them, declares the Lord of heavenly forces. They will serve the Lord their God and the king whom I will raise up for them from David’s family.

10 So don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
    declares the Lord,
        Don’t lose hope, Israel.
I will deliver you from faraway places
    and your children from the land of their exile.
        My people Jacob will again be safe and sound,
            with no one harassing them.
11 I am with you and will rescue you,
    declares the Lord.
I will put an end to all the nations
    where I have scattered you.
But I won’t put an end to you.
    I won’t let you remain unpunished:
        I will discipline you as you deserve.

12 This is what the Lord says:
Your injury is incurable;
    your illness is grave.
13 No one comes to your aid;
    no one attends to your wound;
        your disease is incurable.
14 All your lovers disregard you;
    they write you off as a lost cause,
    because I have dealt harshly with you
        as an enemy would,
    because your guilt is great
            and your sins are many.
15 Why cry out for relief from your pain?
    Your wound is incurable.
I have done these things to you,
    because your guilt is great
        and your sins are many.

16 Yet all who ravage you will be ravaged;
    all who oppress you will go into exile.
Those who rob you will be robbed,
    and all who plunder you will be plundered.
17 I will restore your health,
    and I will heal your wounds,
        declares the Lord,
    because you were labeled an outcast,
        “Zion, the lost cause.”

18 The Lord proclaims:
I will restore Jacob’s tents
    and have pity on their birthplace.
Their city will be rebuilt on its ruins
    and the palace in its rightful place.
19 There will be laughter
    and songs of thanks.
I will add to their numbers
    so they don’t dwindle away.
I will honor them
    so they aren’t humiliated.
20 Their children will thrive as they did long ago,
    and their community will be established before me.
        I will punish their oppressors.
21 They will have their own leader;
    their ruler will come from among them.
I will let him approach me,
    and he will draw near.
Who would dare approach me
    unless I let them come?
        declares the Lord.
22 You will be my people,
    and I will be your God.

23 Look! The Lord’s anger breaks out like a violent storm,
    a fierce wind that strikes the heads of the wicked.
24 The Lord’s fierce anger won’t turn back
    until God’s[f] purposes are entirely accomplished.
In the days to come,
    you will understand what this means.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 30:3 Or restore the fortunes
  2. Jeremiah 30:5 Or We
  3. Jeremiah 30:6 Or with his hands on his groin
  4. Jeremiah 30:8 Or your
  5. Jeremiah 30:8 Or your
  6. Jeremiah 30:24 Or his or its

Promises of Hope

30 These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. The Lord, the God of Israel, said: “Jeremiah, write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days will come when I will bring Israel and Judah back from captivity,” says the Lord. “I will return them to the land I gave their ancestors, and they will own it!” says the Lord.

The Lord spoke this message about the people of Israel and Judah: This is what the Lord said:

“We hear people crying from fear.
    They are afraid; there is no peace.
Ask this question, and consider it:
    A man cannot have a baby.
So why do I see every strong man
    holding his stomach in pain like a woman having a baby?
    Why is everyone’s face turning white like a dead man’s face?
This will be a terrible day!
    There will never be another time like this.
This is a time of great trouble for the people of Jacob,
    but they will be saved from it.”

The Lord All-Powerful says, “At that time
    I will break the yoke from their necks
and tear off the ropes that hold them.
    Foreign people will never again make my people slaves.
They will serve the Lord their God
    and David their king,
    whom I will send to them.

10 “So people of Jacob, my servants, don’t be afraid.
    Israel, don’t be frightened,” says the Lord.
“I will soon save you from that faraway place where you are captives.
    I will save your family from that land.
The people of Jacob will be safe and have peace again;
    there will be no enemy to frighten them.
11 I am with you and will save you,”
    says the Lord.
“I will completely destroy all those nations
    where I scattered you,
    but I will not completely destroy you.
I will punish you fairly,
    but I will still punish you.”

12 This is what the Lord said:

“You people have a wound that cannot be cured;
    your injury will not heal.
13 There is no one to argue your case
    and no cure for your sores.
    So you will not be healed.
14 All those nations who were your friends have forgotten you.
    They don’t care about you.
I have hurt you as an enemy would.
    I punished you very hard,
because your guilt was so great
    and your sins were so many.
15 Why are you crying out about your injury?
    There is no cure for your pain.
I did these things to you because of your great guilt,
    because of your many sins.
16 But all those nations that destroyed you will now be destroyed.
    All your enemies will become captives in other lands.
Those who stole from you will have their own things stolen.
    Those who took things from you in war will have their own things taken.
17 I will bring back your health
    and heal your injuries,” says the Lord,
“because other people forced you away.
    They said about you, ‘No one cares about Jerusalem!’”

18 This is what the Lord said:

“I will soon make the tents of Jacob’s people as they used to be,
    and I will have pity on Israel’s houses.
The city will be rebuilt on its hill of ruins,
    and the king’s palace will stand in its proper place.
19 People in those places will sing songs of praise.
    There will be the sound of laughter.
I will give them many children
    so their number will not be small.
I will bring honor to them
    so no one will look down on them.
20 Their descendants will be as they were in the old days.
    I will set them up as a strong people before me,
and I will punish the nations who have hurt them.
21 One of their own people will lead them;
    their ruler will come from among them.
He will come near to me when I invite him.
    Who would dare to come to me uninvited?” says the Lord.
22 “So you will be my people,
    and I will be your God.”

23 Look! It is a storm from the Lord!
    He is angry and has gone out to punish the people.
Punishment will come like a storm
    crashing down on the evil people.
24 The Lord will stay angry
    until he finishes punishing the people.
He will stay angry
    until he finishes the punishment he planned.
When that day comes,
    you will understand this.