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Healing after Punishment

33 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: “Thus says the Lord who made the earth,[a] the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things which you have not known. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah which were torn down to make a defense against the siege mounds and before the sword:[b] The Chalde′ans are coming in to fight[c] and to fill them with the dead bodies of men whom I shall smite in my anger and my wrath, for I have hidden my face from this city because of all their wickedness. Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance[d] of prosperity and security. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. And this city[e] shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them; they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.

10 “Thus says the Lord: In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast,’ in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again 11 the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord:

‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
    for the Lord is good,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever!’

For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.

12 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks. 13 In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephe′lah, and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the Lord.

The Righteous Branch and the Covenant with David

14 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring forth for David;[f] and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

17 “For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn cereal offerings, and to make sacrifices for ever.”

19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “Thus says the Lord: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, 21 then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”

23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24 “Have you not observed what these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two families which he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. 25 Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the ordinances of heaven and earth, 26 then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his descendants to rule over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes, and will have mercy upon them.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 33:2 Gk: Heb it
  2. Jeremiah 33:4 Heb obscure
  3. Jeremiah 33:5 Cn: Heb They are coming in to fight against the Chaldeans
  4. Jeremiah 33:6 Heb uncertain
  5. Jeremiah 33:9 Heb and it
  6. 33.15 cf. Is 11.1: “a shoot from the stump of Jesse.”

Israel’s Restoration

33 While he was still confined in the guard’s courtyard,(A) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time: “The Lord who made the earth,[a] the Lord who forms it to establish it, Yahweh is His name,(B) says this: Call to Me and I will answer you(C) and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.(D) For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the houses of this city and the palaces of Judah’s kings, the ones torn down for defense against the siege ramps and the sword:(E) The people coming to fight the Chaldeans will fill the houses with the corpses of their own men that I strike down in My wrath and rage. I have hidden My face(F) from this city because of all their evil. Yet I will certainly bring health(G) and healing to it and will indeed heal them. I will let them experience the abundance[b] of peace and truth.(H) I will restore the fortunes[c] of Judah and of Israel and will rebuild them as in former times.(I) I will purify them from all the wrongs they have committed against Me,(J) and I will forgive all the wrongs they have committed against Me, rebelling against Me. This city will bear on My behalf a name of joy, praise, and glory(K) before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good I will do for them. They will tremble with awe because of all the good and all the peace(L) I will bring about for them.

10 “This is what the Lord says: In this place, which you say is a ruin,(M) without man or beast—that is, in Judah’s cities and Jerusalem’s streets that are a desolation without man, without inhabitant, and without beast—there will be heard again 11 a sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride,(N) and the voice of those saying,

Praise the Lord of Hosts,
for the Lord is good;
His faithful love endures forever

as they bring thank offerings to the temple of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes[d] of the land as in former times, says the Lord.

12 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says: In this desolate place—without man or beast—and in all its cities there will once more be a grazing land where shepherds may rest flocks.(O) 13 The flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who counts them(P) in the cities of the hill country,(Q) the cities of the Judean foothills, the cities of the Negev, the land of Benjamin—the cities surrounding Jerusalem and Judah’s cities, says the Lord.

God’s Covenant with David

14 “Look, the days are coming”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“when I will fulfill the good promises
that I have spoken
concerning the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.(R)
15 In those days and at that time
I will cause a Righteous Branch(S)
to sprout up for David,
and He will administer justice
and righteousness in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved,
and Jerusalem will dwell securely,(T)
and this is what she will be named:
Yahweh Our Righteousness.

17 “For this is what the Lord says: David will never fail to have a man sitting on the throne of the house of Israel.(U) 18 The Levitical priests will never fail to have a man always before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices.”(V)

19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night so that day and night cease to come at their regular time,(W) 21 then also My covenant with My servant David(X) may be broken so that he will not have a son reigning on his throne, and the Levitical priests will not be My ministers.(Y) 22 The hosts of heaven cannot be counted; the sand of the sea cannot be measured.(Z) So, too, I will make the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister to Me innumerable.”

23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24 “Have you not noticed what these people have said? They say, ‘The Lord has rejected the two families He had chosen.’(AA) My people are treated with contempt and no longer regarded as a nation among them. 25 This is what the Lord says: If I do not keep My covenant with the day and with the night and fail to establish the fixed order of heaven and earth,(AB) 26 then I might also reject the seed of Jacob and of My servant David—not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead, I will restore their fortunes[e] and have compassion on them.”(AC)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 33:2 LXX; MT reads made it
  2. Jeremiah 33:6 Or fragrance; Hb obscure
  3. Jeremiah 33:7 Or will end the captivity
  4. Jeremiah 33:11 Or will end the captivity
  5. Jeremiah 33:26 Or Instead, I will end their captivity