Healing after Punishment

33 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time while he was still confined in the court of the guard:^{(A) 2} Thus says the Lord who makes it, the Lord who forms it to establish it—the Lord is his name:^{(B) 3} Call to me, and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.^{(C) 4} For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that were torn down to make a defense against the siege ramps and before the sword:^{[a](D) 5} They are coming to fight the Chaldeans and to fill them with the dead bodies of those whom I shall strike down in my anger and my wrath, for I have hidden my face from this city because of all their wickedness.^{(E) 6} I am going to bring it recovery and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them abundance^[b] of prosperity and security.^{(F) 7} I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and rebuild them as they were at first.^{(G) 8} 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.^{(H) 9} And this city^[c] 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.^(I)

¹⁰ Thus says the Lord: In this place of which you say, “It is a waste without humans or animals,” in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without inhabitants, human or animal, there shall once more be heard 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:

For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.^(J)

¹² Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place that is waste, without humans or animals, and in all its towns there shall again be pasture for shepherds resting their flocks.^{(K) 13} In the towns of the hill country, of the Shephelah, and of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the Lord.^(L)

The Riot in Ephesus

²¹ Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have gone there, I must also see Rome.”^{(A) 22} So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia.^(B)

²³ About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way.^{(C) 24} A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans.^{(D) 25} These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, “Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. ²⁶ You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods.^{(E) 27} And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.”

²⁸ When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”^{(F) 29} The city was filled with the confusion, and people^[a] rushed together to the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travel companions.^{(G) 30} Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; ³¹ even some officials of the province of Asia^[b] who were friendly to him sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theater. ³² Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.^{(H) 33} Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people.^{(I) 34} But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ³⁵ But when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Citizens of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven?^{(J) 36} Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. ³⁷ You have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our^[c] goddess.^{(K) 38} If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another.^{(L) 39} If there is anything further^[d] you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly. ⁴⁰ For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” ⁴¹ When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

The Righteous Branch and the Covenant with David

¹⁴ The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.^{(A) 15} In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.^{(B) 16} In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”^(C)

¹⁷ For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel,^{(D) 18} and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to make grain offerings, and to make sacrifices for all time.^(E)

¹⁹ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁰ Thus says the Lord: If any of you could break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night would not come at their appointed time,^{(F) 21} only then could my covenant with my servant David be broken, so that he would not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with my ministers the Levites.^{(G) 22} Just as the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will increase the offspring of my servant David and the Levites who minister to me.^(H)

²³ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁴ Have you not observed how these people say, “The two families that the Lord chose have been rejected by him,” and how they hold my people in such contempt that they no longer regard them as a nation?^{(I) 25} Thus says the Lord: Only if I had not established my covenant with day and night and the ordinances of heaven and earth^{(J) 26} would I reject the offspring of Jacob and of my servant David and not choose any of his descendants as rulers over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy upon them.^(K)

Paul Goes to Macedonia and Greece

20 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left for Macedonia.^{(A) 2} When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece, ³ where he stayed for three months. He was about to set sail for Syria when a plot was made against him by the Jews, so he decided to return through Macedonia.^{(B) 4} He was accompanied^[a] by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Beroea, by Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, by Gaius from Derbe, and by Timothy, as well as by Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia.^{(C) 5} They went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas, ⁶ but we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we joined them in Troas, where we stayed for seven days.^(D)

Paul’s Farewell Visit to Troas

⁷ On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight.^{(E) 8} There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were meeting. ⁹ A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down and bending over him took him in his arms and said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.”^{(F) 11} Then Paul went upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he continued to converse with them until dawn; then he left. ¹² Meanwhile they had taken the boy away alive and were not a little comforted.

The Voyage from Troas to Miletus

¹³ We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there, for he had made this arrangement, intending to go by land himself. ¹⁴ When he met us in Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. ¹⁵ We sailed from there, and on the following day we arrived opposite Chios. The next day we touched at Samos, and^[b] the day after that we came to Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; he was eager to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.^(G)