Excellence of the Restored Nation

33 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still ^(A)shut up in the court of the prison, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord ^(B)who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it ^(C)(the^[a] Lord is His name): ^3 (D)‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and ^[b]mighty things, which you do not know.’

⁴ “For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against ^(E)the siege mounds and the sword: ⁵ ‘They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to ^(F)fill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city. ⁶ Behold, ^(G)I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. ⁷ And ^(H)I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places ^(I)as at the first. ⁸ I will ^(J)cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. ^9 (K)Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall ^(L)fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’

¹⁰ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—^(M)of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, ¹¹ the ^(N)voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say:

and of those who will bring ^(P)the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the Lord.

¹² “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(Q)‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. ^13 (R)In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again ^(S)pass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the Lord.

^14 (T)‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that ^(U)I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:

^[c]THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

¹⁷ “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never ^(W)lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; ¹⁸ nor shall the ^(X)priests, the Levites, lack a man to ^(Y)offer burnt offerings before Me, to ^[d]kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”

The Permanence of God’s Covenant

¹⁹ And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁰ “Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, ²¹ then ^(Z)My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. ²² As ^(AA)the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I ^(AB)multiply the descendants of David My servant and the ^(AC)Levites who minister to Me.’ ”

²³ Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁴ “Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the Lord has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus they have ^(AD)despised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them.

²⁵ “Thus says the Lord: ‘If ^(AE)My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not ^(AF)appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, ^26 (AG)then I will ^(AH)cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.’ ”

Zedekiah Warned by God

34 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, ^(AI)when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, ^(AJ)all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Go and ^(AK)speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, ^(AL)I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. ³ And ^(AM)you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you ^(AN)face^[e] to face, and you shall go to Babylon.’ ” ’ ⁴ Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. ⁵ You shall die in peace; as in ^(AO)the ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, ^(AP)so they shall burn incense for you and ^(AQ)lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have pronounced the word, says the Lord.’ ”

⁶ Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, ⁷ when the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only ^(AR)these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.

Treacherous Treatment of Slaves

⁸ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim ^(AS)liberty to them: ^9 (AT)that every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—^(AU)that no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage. ¹⁰ Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go. ¹¹ But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves.

¹² Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ¹³ “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I made a ^(AV)covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, ¹⁴ “At the end of ^(AW)seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who ^[f]has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.” But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear. ¹⁵ Then you ^[g]recently turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you ^(AX)made a covenant before Me ^(AY)in the house which is called by My name. ¹⁶ Then you turned around and ^(AZ)profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom you had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.’

¹⁷ “Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. ^(BA)Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says the Lord—^(BB)‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to ^(BC)trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸ And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when ^(BD)they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it— ¹⁹ the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the ^[h]eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— ²⁰ I will ^(BE)give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their ^(BF)dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. ²¹ And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army ^(BG)which has gone back from you. ^22 (BH)Behold, I will command,’ says the Lord, ‘and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it ^(BI)and take it and burn it with fire; and ^(BJ)I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’ ”

The Great Apostasy

4 Now the Spirit ^[a]expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed ^(A)to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, ^2 (B)speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience ^(C)seared with a hot iron, ³ forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; ⁵ for it is ^[b]sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

A Good Servant of Jesus Christ

⁶ If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, ^(D)nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. ⁷ But ^(E)reject profane and old wives’ fables, and ^(F)exercise yourself toward godliness. ⁸ For ^(G)bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, ^(H)having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. ⁹ This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. ¹⁰ For to this end ^[c]we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, ^(I)who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. ¹¹ These things command and teach.

Take Heed to Your Ministry

¹² Let no one ^[d]despise your youth, but be an ^(J)example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, ^[e]in spirit, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to ^[f]doctrine. ^14 (K)Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy ^(L)with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. ¹⁵ Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. ¹⁶ Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings

A ^[a]Contemplation of ^(A)Ethan the Ezrahite.