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The words of Jeremiah are often dark prophecies of destruction, for Judah willingly betrayed and disobeyed God. Clearly, a major aspect of his call is foreshadowing the coming judgment of God. But in the following oracles, Jeremiah delivers a strong message of hope to those in exile. The next three chapters are often called the “Book of Consolation.” Tucked in the middle of vivid declarations of God’s punishment of the unjust, these promises speak of hope and restoration. These, too, are part of the prophet’s message.
30 The word of the Eternal again came to Jeremiah.
Eternal One: 2 Write in a book all the words I, the Eternal, the God of Israel, have said to you. 3 Look! the days are coming when I will restore the fortunes of My people—both Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to the land I gave their ancestors, and they will again possess it.
4 So says the Eternal in a message about Israel and Judah.
5 Eternal One: A cry of fear is heard—
it is the sound of panic, not of peace.
6 Ask and see for yourself:
can a man give birth to a child?
Then why do I see strong men clutching themselves,
their hands on their abdomens as if they are in labor?
Why has every face paled, looking sickly?
7 I will tell you why:
for that great and awesome day is like no other.
It will be a time of suffering for Jacob’s descendants;
still they will be rescued from it.
8 For on that day of deliverance, declares the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, I will break Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke off their necks and tear off their shackles; no longer will foreigners force them into slavery. 9 Instead, they will serve the Eternal their God, and I will raise up a descendant of David their king to rule over them.
10 So do not be afraid, O Jacob, My servant;
do not be troubled, O Israel.
For I, the Eternal One, promise to liberate you from that distant place,
to bring your children home from where they are in exile.
Jacob will return home to peace and quiet,
and no one will make him afraid,
11 Because I am with you, and I will deliver you.
I will completely destroy all the nations where I have scattered you,
But I will not destroy you completely.
I will discipline you, but My discipline will be just.
I will not let you go unpunished.
12 Your wound is incurable;
your shattered pieces are beyond repair.
13 There is no one to plead your case—
no healing for your injury,
no relief for your affliction.
14 All of those allies you loved have forgotten about you;
they care nothing about you.
For I have struck you as an enemy would
and punished you like the cruelest of foes.
Why? Because your sins abound
and your evil actions are abundant and brazen.
15 Why do you cry out over this wound,
this pain that won’t go away?
I have done these things to you because your sins abound
and your wicked acts are abundant and brazen.
16 But all those who devour you will be devoured.
Exile awaits each of your enemies.
Those who plunder you will be turned into plunder,
and all who prey upon you will be turned into prey.
17 For I will make you well again and heal your wounds
I, the Eternal One, declare to you,
Because they have called you an outcast:
“Look, it is Zion, the one for whom no one cares.”
18 I, the Eternal, have this to say: Look, I will bring back those from captivity.
I will show mercy to Jacob’s tents and dwellings;
From the ruins I will rebuild Jerusalem,
and the palace will once again stand where it belongs.
19 Songs of joy and gratitude will rise from the people.
I will bless My people and increase their numbers; nothing will diminish them.
I will honor them in the presence of others;
no one will despise them.
20 Their children will live as they did long ago,
their community will be established again before My watchful eyes,
And I will punish anyone who tries to harm them.
21 The prince who leads them will come from among Jacob’s descendants;
their ruler will be one of their own.
I will draw him near to Me, and he will delight to come close,
for he will devote himself to remain close by My side.
22 And as before, you will be My people,
and I will be your God.
23 Behold, the storm of the Eternal’s wrath will now break open,
swirling down out of the sky like a whirlwind onto the heads of the wicked.
24 The Eternal’s anger will not relent until He has carried out His most fervent plans.
You will understand all of this in the days to come.
31 1-3 This is what the Eternal has to say:
Eternal One: There will come a time when I will be the God of all the clans and families of Israel, and they will be My people. This is what I, the Eternal One, declare to you:
My people who survived the sword
found grace as they wandered in the wilderness;
When Israel went in search of rest,
I appeared to them from far away and said:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love—
out of faithfulness I have drawn you close.
4 And so it shall be again, My virgin Israel;
I will build you up, and you will be rebuilt.
You will again take up the tambourine
and join with those who are dancing for joy.
5 You will again plant vineyards
on the hillsides of Samaria;
Your farmers will plant them,
and you will enjoy the fruit yourselves.
6 The day will come when those who guard the land
will cry out from the hills of Ephraim,
‘Get up! Let us go to Zion, dear Jerusalem,
and worship the Eternal our God.’”
7 Sing a song of joy for Jacob; shout for this greatest of nations.
Shout it out with praise in your hearts:
“O Eternal, save Your people—
rescue the remnant of Israel.”
8 Watch now, as I bring them from the land to the north,
as I gather My people from the ends of the earth.
Look who is among those returning home: the blind and the lame,
expectant mothers and even those giving birth—
All of these together in the multitude on its way home.
9 Listen, as they come home weeping and repenting,
praying for direction, pleading for mercy as I bring them back.
In that day I will lead them beside quiet streams of water
and take them upon a straight path where they will not stumble.
Why? Because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is My firstborn son.
10 Listen to the word of the Eternal, you nations of the earth;
take this story to distant shores and make it known:
The One who scattered Israel will now gather His people
and watch over His flock as a shepherd.
11 For the Eternal has rescued Jacob
and redeemed him from people who are too strong for him.
12 The redeemed will return home and shout for joy from the top of Mount Zion;
they will shine with the sheer goodness of the Eternal—
The harvests of grain, wine, and oil; the healthy flocks and herds.
Their lives will be like a lush, well-watered garden.
From that day on, they will never know sorrow.
13 Eternal One: Young women will dance for joy;
young men will join them, old ones too.
For I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will comfort My people and replace their sorrow with gladness.
14 From the overflow of sacrifices,
I will satisfy My priests;
All My people will feast on My goodness.
The people now cling to this promise as they struggle with exile. Jeremiah returns the focus to the heartbreak of a people being deported to a foreign land.
This is what the Eternal declares!
15 Eternal One: A voice rises from Ramah—
mourning and bitter weeping are heard day and night.
The voice is Rachel’s; she’s weeping for her children.
She will not be comforted,
for her children are no more.[a]
The setting is Ramah, a village a few miles north of Jerusalem, where exiles are assembled before the long march to Babylon. Later the prophet himself will spend time in this refugee camp awaiting his own exile (40:1). For now, he paints the picture of Rachel, one of the matriarchs of this nation, weeping for her children as they head off into captivity.
16 But listen to what the Eternal says:
Eternal One: Do not weep, Rachel—wipe the tears from your eyes—
for I promise I will reward you for what you have done.
Your children will return from this exile;
they will come back home from this enemy land.
17 There is hope for your future, I promise.
Your children will come home to their own land.
18 I have heard the cries of Ephraim, groaning, “You have disciplined me.
I was like an unruly calf, but You disciplined me.
Bring me back, so I can return home,
for You are my God, the Eternal.
19 After I had turned away from You, I repented.
I turned back toward You when I understood what I had done;
I slapped my thigh in shame and regret
for the disgraceful things I did when I was young.”
20 So I, the Eternal One, asked:
“Is this not Ephraim, My beloved son, My darling child?
As often as I speak against him, I have never forgotten him.
Even now, My heart longs for him;
I will surely show him mercy!”
21 Set up markers along the road;
put up guideposts so you can find your way home.
Pay attention to the highway, the road you take into exile.
Return by the same way, My virgin Israel;
return to your cities and villages.
22 How long will you drift this way and that,
My renegade daughter?
Take heart—for now the Eternal will do a new thing on the earth:
a woman will surround a man.[b]
23 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, has to say:
Eternal One: When I bring them back from exile, people throughout the land and villages of Judah will speak these familiar words:
May the Eternal bless you, home of righteousness,
O sacred mountain!
24 In those days of restoration, farmers and herders all across Judah will live together in peace alongside those who live in the cities. 25 I will satisfy those who are weary, and I will refresh every soul in the grips of sorrow.
26 At this moment, I woke up from a wonderful sleep and looked around.
2 So, first and foremost, I urge God’s people to pray. They should make their requests, petitions, and thanksgivings on behalf of all humanity. 2 Teach them to pray for kings (or anyone in high places for that matter) so that we can lead quiet, peaceful lives—reverent, godly, and holy— 3 all of which is good and acceptable before the eyes of God our Savior 4 who desires for everyone to be saved and know the truth. 5 Because
There is one God and one Mediator between God and us—
the man Jesus, God’s Anointed,
6 Who gave His life as a ransom for all
so that we might have freedom.
The testimony was given to me at just the right time. 7 This is exactly what I was appointed to do—tell everyone His story—as a herald, an emissary,[a] a teacher of the outsiders in faith and the truth. (Listen, I promise it’s all true. I’m not lying.)
8 So here’s what you tell them; here’s what I want to see: Men, pray wherever you are. Reach your holy hands to heaven—without rage or conflict—completely open. 9 Women, the same goes for you: dress properly, modestly, and appropriately. Don’t get carried away in grooming your hair or seek beauty in glittering gold, pearls, or expensive clothes. 10 Instead, as is fitting, let good works decorate your true beauty and show that you are a woman who claims reverence for God. 11 It’s best if a woman learns quietly and orderly in complete submission.
12 Now, Timothy, it’s not my habit to allow women to teach in a way that wrenches authority from a man. As I said, it’s best if a woman learns quietly and orderly. 13 This is because Adam was formed first by God, then Eve. 14 Plus, it wasn’t Adam who was tricked; it was she—the woman was the one who was fooled and disobeyed God’s command first. 15 Still, God, in His faithfulness, will deliver her through childbearing as long as she[b] remains in faith and love and holiness with self-restraint.
Psalm 87
A song of the sons of Korah.
1 He laid His foundation on the sacred mountains.
2 The Eternal loves Zion’s gates;
He prefers it over any other place where Jacob’s descendants make their homes.
3 Spectacular things are said about you,
O Jerusalem, city of the True God.
[pause][a]
4 God says, “I tell of some who know Me in Egypt[b] and Babylon;
behold, My people are in Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia[c] too:
‘This person was born there.’”
5 It is said of Zion,
“This person and that person were born in her.”
The Most High God has established that city and makes her strong.
6 When keeping track of His people, the Eternal surely notices,
“This one was born in Zion.”
[pause]
7 Those who sing and those who dance will say together,
“All my fountains of joy are in You.”
18 Like a maul and a sword and a sharp arrow all in one,
so is anyone who bears false witness against a neighbor.
19 Like a tooth that is rotten or a foot that is unsteady,
so is relying on a person who can’t be trusted in times of trouble.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.