Daniel 1-3
GOD’S WORD Translation
Daniel and His Friends Remain Faithful to God
1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and attacked it. 2 The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah and some utensils from God’s temple over to Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar took the utensils to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put them in the temple treasury.
3 The king told Ashpenaz, the chief-of-staff, to bring some of the Israelites, the royal family, and the nobility. 4 They were to be young men who were healthy, good-looking, knowledgeable in all subjects, well-informed, intelligent, and able to serve in the king’s palace. They were to be taught the language and literature of the Babylonians.
5 The king arranged for them to get a daily allowance of the king’s rich food and wine. They were to be trained for three years. After that, they were to serve the king. 6 Among these young men were some Judeans: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 The chief-of-staff gave them ⌞Babylonian⌟ names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar. To Hananiah he gave the name Shadrach. To Mishael he gave the name Meshach. And to Azariah he gave the name Abednego.
8 Daniel made up his mind not to harm himself by eating the king’s rich food and drinking the king’s wine. So he asked the chief-of-staff for permission not to harm himself in this way.
9 God made the chief-of-staff kind and compassionate toward Daniel. 10 The chief-of-staff told Daniel, “I’m afraid of my master, the king. The king determined what you should eat and drink. If he sees that you look worse than the other young men your age, he would have my head cut off.”
11 The chief-of-staff put a supervisor in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel said to the supervisor, 12 “Please test us for ten days. Give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare us to the young men who are eating the king’s rich food. Decide how to treat us on the basis of how we look.”
14 The supervisor listened to them about this matter and tested them for ten days. 15 After ten days they looked healthier and stronger than the young men who had been eating the king’s rich food. 16 So the supervisor took away the king’s rich food and wine and gave them vegetables.
17 God gave these four men knowledge, wisdom, and the ability to understand all kinds of literature. Daniel could also understand all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 At the end of the three-year training period, the chief-of-staff brought all the young men to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked to them and found no one like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah among all of them. So these four men served the king. 20 Whenever the king asked them about things that required wisdom and insight, he found that they knew ten times more than all the magicians and psychics in his whole kingdom.
21 Daniel served the royal palace until the first year of King Cyrus ⌞of Persia⌟.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream about a Statue Made of Four Metals
2 During the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he had some dreams. He was troubled, but he stayed asleep. 2 The king sent for the magicians, psychics, sorcerers, and astrologers so that they could tell him what he had dreamed. So they came to the king.
3 The king said to them, “I had a dream, and I’m troubled by it. I want to know what the dream was.”
4 The astrologers spoke to the king in Aramaic, “Your Majesty, may you live forever! Tell us the dream, and we’ll interpret it for you.”
5 The king answered the astrologers, “I meant what I said! If you don’t tell me the dream and its meaning, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into piles of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and its meaning, I will give you gifts, awards, and high honors. Now tell me the dream and its meaning.”
7 Once more they said, “Your Majesty, tell us the dream, and we’ll tell you its meaning.”
8 The king replied, “I’m sure you’re trying to buy some time because you know that I meant what I said. 9 If you don’t tell me the dream, you’ll all receive the same punishment. You have agreed among yourselves to make up a phony explanation to give me, hoping that things will change. So tell me the dream. Then I’ll know that you can explain its meaning to me.”
10 The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can tell the king what he asks. No other king, no matter how great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, psychic, or astrologer. 11 What you ask is difficult, Your Majesty. No one can tell what you dreamed except the gods, and they don’t live with humans.”
12 This made the king so angry and furious that he gave an order to destroy all the wise advisers in Babylon. 13 So a decree was issued that the wise advisers were to be killed, and some men were sent to find Daniel and his friends and kill them.
14 While Arioch, the captain of the royal guard, was leaving to kill the wise advisers in Babylon, Daniel spoke to him using shrewd judgment. 15 He asked Arioch, the royal official, “Why is the king’s decree so harsh?” So Arioch explained everything to Daniel.
16 Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time so that he could explain the dream’s meaning. 17 Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about this matter. 18 He told them to ask the God of heaven to be merciful and to explain this secret to them so that they would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise advisers in Babylon.
19 The secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision during the night. So Daniel praised the God of heaven. 20 He said,
“Praise God’s name from everlasting to everlasting
because he is wise and powerful.
21 He changes times and periods of history.
He removes kings and establishes them.
He gives wisdom to those who are wise
and knowledge to those who have insight.
22 He reveals deeply hidden things.
He knows what is in the dark,
and light lives with him.
23 God of my ancestors, I thank and praise you.
You gave me wisdom and power.
You told me the answer to our question.
You told us what the king wants to know.”
24 Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy Babylon’s wise advisers. Daniel told him, “Don’t destroy Babylon’s wise advisers. Take me to the king, and I’ll explain the dream’s meaning to him.”
25 Arioch immediately took Daniel to the king. He told the king, “I’ve found one of the captives from Judah who can explain the dream’s meaning to you, Your Majesty.”
26 The king asked Daniel (who had been renamed Belteshazzar), “Can you tell me the dream I had and its meaning?”
27 Daniel answered the king, “No wise adviser, psychic, magician, or fortuneteller can tell the king this secret. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets. He will tell King Nebuchadnezzar what is going to happen in the days to come. This is your dream, the vision you had while you were asleep: 29 Your Majesty, while you were lying in bed, thoughts about what would happen in the future came to you. The one who reveals secrets told you what is going to happen. 30 This secret wasn’t revealed to me because I’m wiser than anyone else. It was revealed so that you could be told the meaning and so that you would know your innermost thoughts.
31 “Your Majesty, you had a vision. You saw a large statue. This statue was very bright. It stood in front of you, and it looked terrifying. 32 The head of this statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were made of silver. Its stomach and hips were made of bronze. 33 Its legs were made of iron. Its feet were made partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 While you were watching, a stone was cut out, but not by humans. It struck the statue’s iron-and-clay feet and smashed them. 35 Then all at once, the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were smashed. They became like husks on a threshing floor [a] in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain which filled the whole world. 36 This is the dream. Now we’ll tell you its meaning.
37 “Your Majesty, you are the greatest king. The God of heaven has given you a kingdom. He has given you power, strength, and honor. 38 He has given you control over people, wild animals, and birds, wherever they live. He has made you ruler of them all. You are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to power after you. Then there will be a third kingdom, a kingdom of bronze, that will rule the whole world. 40 There will also be a fourth kingdom. It will be as strong as iron. (Iron smashes and shatters everything.) As iron crushes things, this fourth kingdom will smash and crush all the other kingdoms. 41 You also saw the feet and toes. They were partly potters’ clay and partly iron. This means that there will be a divided kingdom which has some of the firmness of iron. As you saw, iron was mixed with clay. 42 The toes were partly iron and partly clay. Part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle. 43 As you saw, iron was mixed with clay. So the two parts of the kingdom will mix by intermarrying, but they will not hold together any more than iron can mix with clay.
44 “At the time of those kings, the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never be destroyed. No other people will be permitted to rule it. It will smash all the other kingdoms and put an end to them. But it will be established forever. 45 This is the stone that you saw cut out from a mountain, but not by humans. It smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told you what will happen in the future, Your Majesty. The dream is true, and you can trust that this is its meaning.”
46 King Nebuchadnezzar immediately bowed down on the ground in front of Daniel. He ordered that gifts and offerings be given to Daniel. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings. He can reveal secrets because you were able to reveal this secret.”
48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many wonderful gifts. Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel governor of the whole province of Babylon and head of all Babylon’s wise advisers. 49 With the king’s permission, Daniel appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to govern the province of Babylon. But Daniel stayed at the king’s court.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Refuse to Worship an Idol
3 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. He set it up in a recessed area in the wall [b] in the province of Babylon. 2 King Nebuchadnezzar sent messengers to assemble the satraps, governors, mayors, military advisers, treasurers, judges, officers, and all the other provincial officials to dedicate the statue he had set up. 3 Then the satraps, governors, mayors, military advisers, treasurers, judges, officers, and all the other provincial officials assembled to dedicate the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood in front of the statue.
4 The herald called out loudly, “People of every province, nation, and language! 5 When you hear the sound of rams’ horns, flutes, lyres, harps, and three-stringed harps playing at the same time with all other kinds of instruments, bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever doesn’t bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” 7 As soon as they heard the sound of rams’ horns, flutes, lyres, harps, and three-stringed harps with all other kinds of instruments, all the people from every province, nation, and language bowed down and worshiped the gold statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 After that happened, some astrologers came forward and brought charges against the Jews. 9 They addressed King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your Majesty, may you live forever! 10 Your Majesty, you gave an order that everyone who hears the sound of rams’ horns, flutes, lyres, harps, and three-stringed harps playing at the same time with all other kinds of instruments should bow down and worship the gold statue. 11 ⌞Your order said that⌟ whoever doesn’t bow down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you appointed to govern the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men didn’t obey your order, Your Majesty. They don’t honor your gods or worship the statue that you set up.”
13 Then, in a fit of rage and anger, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Immediately, they were brought to the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t honor my gods or worship the gold statue that I set up? 15 When you hear the sound of the rams’ horns, flutes, lyres, harps, and three-stringed harps playing at the same time with all other kinds of instruments, will you bow down and worship the gold statue I made? If you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. What god can save you from my power then?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “We don’t need to answer your last question. 17 If our God, whom we honor, can save us from a blazing furnace and from your power, he will, Your Majesty. 18 But if he doesn’t, you should know, Your Majesty, we’ll never honor your gods or worship the gold statue that you set up.”
19 Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with anger toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face turned red. He ordered that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than normal. 20 He told some soldiers from his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego so that they could be thrown into the blazing furnace. 21 Then the three men were thrown into the blazing furnace. They were wearing their clothes, hats, and other clothing. 22 The king’s order was so urgent and the furnace was so extremely hot that the men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were killed by the flames from the fire. 23 So these three men—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—fell into the blazing furnace. They were still tied up.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar was startled. He sprang to his feet. He asked his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men into the fire?”
“That’s true, Your Majesty,” they answered.
25 The king replied, “But look, I see four men. They’re untied, walking in the middle of the fire, and unharmed. The fourth one looks like a son of the gods.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went to the door of the blazing furnace and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—servants of the Most High God—come out here.”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. 27 The king’s satraps, governors, mayors, and advisers gathered around the three men. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies. The hair on their heads wasn’t singed, their clothes weren’t burned, and they didn’t smell of smoke.
28 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He sent his angel and saved his servants, who trusted him. They disobeyed the king and risked their lives so that they would not have to honor or worship any god except their own God. 29 So I order that people from every province, nation, or language who say anything slanderous about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb. Their houses will be turned into piles of rubble. No other god can rescue like this.”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to higher positions in the province of Babylon.
Daniel 6
GOD’S WORD Translation
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
6 [a]Darius decided it would be good to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom. 2 Over these satraps were three officials. Daniel was one of these officials. The satraps were to report to these three officials so that the king wouldn’t be cheated.
3 This man, Daniel, distinguished himself among the other officials and satraps because there was an extraordinary spirit in him. The king thought about putting him in charge of the whole kingdom. 4 So the other officials and satraps tried to find something to accuse Daniel of in his duties for the kingdom. But they couldn’t find anything wrong because he was trustworthy. No error or fault could be found. 5 These men said, “We won’t find anything to accuse this man, Daniel, unless we find it in his religious practices.”
6 So these officials and satraps went to the king as a group. They said to him, “May King Darius live forever! 7 All the officials, governors, satraps, advisers, and mayors agree that the king should make a statute and enforce a decree. The decree should state that for the next 30 days whoever asks for anything from any god or person except you, Your Majesty, will be thrown into a lions’ den. 8 Your Majesty, issue this decree, and sign it. According to the law of the Medes and Persians no one could change it or repeal it.” 9 So Darius signed the written decree.
10 When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went to his house. An upper room in his house had windows that opened in the direction of Jerusalem. Three times each day he got down on his knees and prayed to his God. He had always praised God this way.
11 One of those times the men came in as a group and found Daniel praying and pleading to his God. 12 Then they went and spoke to the king about his decree. ⌞They asked,⌟ “Didn’t you sign a decree which stated that for 30 days whoever asks for anything from any god or person except you, Your Majesty, will be thrown into a lions’ den?”
The king answered, “That’s true. According to the law of the Medes and Persians the decree can’t be repealed.”
13 They replied, “Your Majesty, Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, refuses to obey your order or the decree that you signed. He prays three times each day.”
14 The king was very displeased when he heard this. He tried every way he could think of to save Daniel. Until sundown he did everything he could to rescue him.
15 Then Daniel’s accusers gathered in front of the king. They said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, the Medes and Persians have a law that no decree or statute the king makes can be changed.”
16 So the king gave the order, and Daniel was brought to him and thrown into the lions’ den. The king told Daniel, “May your God, whom you always worship, save you!”
17 A stone was brought and placed over the opening of the den. The king put his seal on the stone, using his ring and the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation could not be changed.
18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night without food or company. He couldn’t get to sleep. 19 At dawn, as soon as it was light, the king got up and quickly went to the lions’ den. 20 As he came near the den where Daniel was, the king called to Daniel with anguish in his voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was God, whom you always worship, able to save you from the lions?”
21 Daniel said to the king, “Your Majesty, may you live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they couldn’t hurt me. He did this because he considered me innocent. Your Majesty, I haven’t committed any crime.”
23 The king was overjoyed and had Daniel taken out of the den. When Daniel was taken out of the den, people saw that he was completely unharmed because he trusted his God.
24 The king ordered those men who had brought charges against Daniel to be brought to him. They, their wives, and their children were thrown into the lions’ den. Before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions attacked them and crushed all their bones.
25 Then King Darius wrote to the people of every province, nation, and language all over the world:
I wish you peace and prosperity.
26 I decree that in every part of my kingdom people should tremble with terror in front of Daniel’s God, the living God who continues forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed. His power lasts to the end ⌞of time⌟. 27 He saves, rescues, and does miraculous signs and amazing things in heaven and on earth. He saved Daniel from the lions.
28 This man, Daniel, prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Footnotes
- 6:1 Daniel 6:1–28 in English Bibles is Daniel 6:2–29 in the Hebrew Bible.
Jeremiah 29-31
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jeremiah Writes to the Captives in Babylon
29 The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the rest of the leaders among the captives. He also sent it to the priests, the prophets, and all the people that Nebuchadnezzar took away as captives from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after King Jehoiakin [a] and his mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and metal workers left Jerusalem.) 3 He sent the letter with Shaphan’s son Elasah and Hilkiah’s son Gemariah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah had sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. The letter said:
4 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all those who were taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses, and live in them. Plant gardens, and eat what they produce. 6 Get married, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons, and let your daughters get married so that they can have sons and daughters. Grow in number there; don’t decrease. 7 Work for the good of the city where I’ve taken you as captives, and pray to the Lord for that city. When it prospers, you will also prosper.
8 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Don’t let the prophets or the mediums who are among you trick you. Don’t even listen to your own dreams. 9 These people are prophesying lies to you in my name. I didn’t send them, declares the Lord.
10 This is what the Lord says: When Babylon’s 70 years are over, I will come to you. I will keep my promise to you and bring you back to this place. 11 I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. 12 Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 When you look for me, you will find me. When you wholeheartedly seek me, 14 I will let you find me, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I’ve scattered you, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from the place where you are being held captive.
15 You’ve said that the Lord has given you prophets in Babylon. 16 But this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and about all the people who live in this city, the people who are your relatives and who weren’t taken away as captives: 17 The Lord of Armies says: I’m going to send them wars, famines, and plagues. These people are like rotten figs to me, figs that are so bad that they can’t be eaten. 18 I will chase them with wars, famines, and plagues. I will make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms on the earth. They will become something cursed, ridiculed, and hissed at, and they will be a disgrace among all the nations where I scatter them. 19 They didn’t listen to me, declares the Lord. I sent them my servants the prophets again and again, but they refused to listen, declares the Lord.
20 So listen to the Lord’s word, all you captives who were sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Kolaiah’s son Ahab and about Maaseiah’s son Zedekiah, who prophesy lies to you in my name: I’m going to hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will kill them as you watch. 22 Because of them, all the captives from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: May the Lord curse you as he cursed Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned to death. 23 They have done shameful things in Israel. They committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and spoke lies in my name. I didn’t command them to do this. I know what they have done. I’m a witness, declares the Lord.
24 ⌞The Lord says,⌟ “Say to Shemaiah from Nehelam, 25 ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. These letters said: 26 The Lord made you priest instead of Jehoiada so that there would be officials for the Lord’s temple. You should put any lunatic who acts like a prophet in prison and in shackles. 27 Now, why haven’t you arrested Jeremiah from Anathoth? After all, he acts like a prophet among you. 28 That’s why Jeremiah sent this message to us in Babylon: You will be captives a long time. Build houses, and live in them. Plant gardens, and eat what they produce.’ ”
29 The priest Zephaniah read this letter to the prophet Jeremiah.
30 Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, 31 “Send this message to all the captives: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah from Nehelam: Shemaiah prophesied to you, but I didn’t send him. He has made you believe a lie. 32 The Lord says: I will punish Shemaiah from Nehelam. I will also punish his descendants. No one from his family will be left alive. He will not see the blessings that I’m going to send my people, declares the Lord, because he has encouraged rebellion against the Lord.’ ”
Israel’s Glorious Future
30 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Write in a book everything that I tell you. 3 The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity. I will bring them back to the land that I gave their ancestors, and they will take possession of it.”
4 This is the message that the Lord spoke about Israel and Judah: 5 “This is what the Lord says:
“We hear cries of fear, cries of panic, not cries of peace.
6 Ask now, and see: Can a man give birth to a child?
Why, then, do I see every strong man holding his stomach in pain
like a woman giving birth to a child?
Why has every face turned pale?
7 How terrible that day will be!
There will be no other day like it.
It will be a time of calamity for the descendants of Jacob,
but they will be rescued from it.
8 “On that day,” declares the Lord of Armies, “I will break the yokes [b] off your necks and tear off your ropes. Foreigners will no longer make you serve them. 9 You will serve the Lord your God and David your king. I will establish him for you.
10 “Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,” declares the Lord.
“Don’t be terrified, Israel.
I’m going to rescue you from a faraway place.
I’m going to rescue your descendants from where they are captives.
The descendants of Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will frighten them.
11 I am with you, and I will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
“I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you,
but I will not completely destroy you.
I will correct you with justice.
I won’t let you go entirely unpunished.
12 “This is what the Lord says:
Your wound is incurable.
Your injury is beyond healing.
13 No one argues that you should be healed.
No medicine will heal you.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you,
and they don’t want you anymore.
I’ve punished you as an enemy would.
I’ve corrected you as a cruel person would.
You are very wicked, and you have many sins.
15 Why do you cry about your wound, your injury that can’t be cured?
I’ve done this to you.
You are very wicked, and you have many sins.
16 That is why everyone who devours you will be devoured,
and all your enemies will be taken away as captives.
Those who looted you will be looted.
Those who stole from you in war will have things stolen from them.
17 I’ll restore your health and heal your wounds,” declares the Lord.
“People call you an outcast:
Zion, no one cares for you.
18 “This is what the Lord says:
I’m going to bring the captives back to Jacob’s tents
and show compassion on their homes.
Cities will be built on the ruins,
and fortified palaces will be built in their rightful place.
19 The people who live there will sing songs of praise,
and the sound of laughter will be heard from there.
I’ll make them numerous, and their number won’t decrease.
I’ll bring them honor, and they won’t be considered unimportant.
20 Their children will be like they were long ago.
Their community will be established in my presence,
and I will punish everyone who oppresses them.
21 Their leader will be someone from their own people.
Their ruler will come from among them.
I’ll bring him near, and he will come close to me.
Who would dare to come near me?” asks the Lord.
22 You will be my people, and I will be your God.
23 The storm of the Lord will come with his anger.
Like a driving wind, it will swirl down on the heads of the wicked.
24 The Lord’s burning anger will not turn back
until he has done everything he intends to do.
In the last days you will understand this clearly.
Both Israel and Judah Will Be Rescued
31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
2 This is what the Lord says:
The people who survived the wars have found favor in the desert.
Israel went to find its rest.
3 The Lord appeared to me in a faraway place and said,
“I love you with an everlasting love.
So I will continue to show you my kindness.
4 Once again I will build you up,
and you will be rebuilt, my dear people Israel.
Once again you will take your tambourines,
and you will go dancing with happy people.
5 Once again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria.
Those who plant them will enjoy the fruit.
6 There will be a day when watchmen on the mountains of Ephraim
will call out this message:
‘Arise! Let’s go to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ ”
7 This is what the Lord says:
Sing a happy song about Jacob.
Sing joyfully for the leader of the nations.
Shout, sing praise, and say,
“O Lord, rescue your people, the remaining few from Israel.”
8 “I will bring them from the land of the north.
I will gather them from the farthest parts of the earth.
Blind people and lame people will return
together with pregnant women and those in labor.
A large crowd will return here.
9 They will cry as they return.
They will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams
on a level path where they will not stumble.
I will be a Father to Israel,
and Ephraim will be my firstborn.
10 “You nations, listen to the Lord’s word.
Tell it to the distant islands.
Say, ‘The one who scattered the people of Israel will gather them
and watch over them as a shepherd watches over his flock.’
11 The Lord will free the descendants of Jacob
and reclaim them from those who are stronger than they are.
12 They will come and shout for joy on top of Mount Zion.
They will stream to it to enjoy the Lord’s blessings:
fresh grain, new wine, and olive oil, lambs and calves.
Their lives will be like well-watered gardens,
and they will never suffer again.
13 Then young women will rejoice and dance
along with young men and old men.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will comfort them.
I will give them joy in place of their sorrow.
14 I will satisfy the priests with rich food.
My people will be filled with my blessings,” declares the Lord.
15 This is what the Lord says:
A sound is heard in Ramah,
the sound of crying in bitter grief.
Rachel is crying for her children.
She refuses to be comforted,
because they are dead.
16 This is what the Lord says:
Stop your crying, and wipe away your tears.
You will be rewarded for your work, declares the Lord.
You will return from the land of the enemy.
17 Your future is filled with hope, declares the Lord.
Your children will return to their own territory.
18 “I have certainly heard Ephraim mourn and say,
‘You disciplined me, and I was disciplined.
I was like a young, untrained calf.
Turn me, and I will be turned,
because you are the Lord my God.
19 After I was turned around, I changed the way I thought and acted.
After I was taught a lesson, I hung my head in shame.
I was so ashamed and humiliated,
because of all the stupid things I have done
ever since I was young.’
20 Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child?
Even though I have often spoken against him, I still think fondly of him.
That is why my heart longs for him,
and I will certainly have compassion on him,” declares the Lord.
21 Set up landmarks!
Put up road signs!
Remember the highway, the road on which you traveled.
Come back, my dear people Israel, come back to your cities.
22 How long will you wander around, you unfaithful people?
The Lord will create something new on earth:
A woman will protect a man.
23 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: When I have brought them back from captivity, they will once again use this saying in Judah and in its cities:
“The Lord bless you, home of righteousness, holy mountain.
24 Judah and all its cities will live there together.
Farmers and shepherds will also live there.
25 I will give those who are weary all they need.
I will refresh everyone who is filled with sorrow.”
26 At this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant.
27 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the nations of Israel and Judah with people and animals. 28 Once I watched over them to uproot them, to tear them down, and to wreck, ruin, and hurt them. Now I will watch over them to build them up and to plant them,” declares the Lord. 29 “When those days come, people will no longer say, ‘Fathers have eaten sour grapes, and their children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 30 But each person will die for his own sin. Whoever eats sour grapes will have his own teeth set on edge.
The New Promise
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new promise [c] to Israel and Judah. 32 It will not be like the promise that I made to their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt. They rejected that promise, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “But this is the promise that I will make to Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put my teachings inside them, and I will write those teachings on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will each person teach his neighbors or his relatives by saying, ‘Know the Lord.’ All of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” declares the Lord, “because I will forgive their wickedness and I will no longer hold their sins against them.”
35 The Lord provides the sun to be a light during the day.
He orders the moon and stars to be lights during the night.
He stirs up the sea so that its waves roar.
His name is the Lord of Armies.
This is what the Lord says:
36 Only if these laws stop working, declares the Lord,
will Israel’s descendants stop being a nation in my presence.
37 This is what the Lord says:
Only if the heavens could be measured
or the foundations of the earth could be searched,
would I ever reject all of Israel’s descendants
because of everything that they have done, declares the Lord.
38 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to Corner Gate. 39 A measuring line will stretch from there straight to the Hill of Gareb, and then it will turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley, filled with its dead bodies and ashes, and the whole area to the Kidron Valley, as far as the corner of Horse Gate in the east, will be holy to the Lord. It will never be uprooted or torn down again.”
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