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Israel and Judah Will Be Delivered from Their Distress

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,[a] “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying,[b] ‘Write for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you in a scroll. For look, days are coming,’ declares[c] Yahweh, ‘when I will restore the fortunes[d] of my people Israel and Judah,’ says Yahweh, ‘and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors[e] and they will take possession of it.’”

Now these are the words that Yahweh spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah. “For thus says Yahweh:

‘We have heard a sound of trembling,
    terror, and there is no peace.
Ask please and see whether a male can bear a child.
    Why do I see every strong man
with his hands on his loins like a woman giving birth?
    And why are all their faces changed to paleness?
Alas! For that day is great,
    there is none like it.[f]
And it is a time of distress for Jacob,
    yet from it he will be delivered.
And it will happen on that day,’ declares[g] Yahweh of hosts,
    ‘I will break his yoke from your neck
and your bonds I will tear to pieces.
    And strangers will no longer let him work as a slave.
But they will serve Yahweh their God,
    and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 But you must not fear, my servant Jacob,’ declares[h] Yahweh,
    ‘and you must not be dismayed, Israel,
for look, I am going to save you from far,
    and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob will return,
    and he will be at rest,
and he will be at ease,
    and there will be no one who makes him[i] afraid.
11 For I am with you,’ declares[j] Yahweh, ‘to save you.
    For I will make a complete destruction
of all the nations to which I scattered you,
    but you I will not make a complete destruction.
And I will chastise you to the measure,
    and I will not leave you entirely unpunished.’

12 For thus says Yahweh,

‘Your injury is incurable,
    your wound is overcome by sickness.
13 There is no one who pleads your cause,
    for your boil there is no healing for you.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you,
    they do not care for you.
I have struck you with the blow of an enemy,
    the punishment of the cruel,
because of the greatness of your guilt,
    your sins are numerous.
15 Why do you cry because of your wound?
    Your pain is incurable.
Because of the greatness of your guilt—your sins are vast—
    I have done these things to you.
16 Therefore[k] all those who devour you will be devoured,
    and all your foes, all of them will go into captivity,
and those who plunder you will be as plunder,
    and all those who plunder you I will make as plunder.
17 For I will present healing to you,
    and I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares[l] Yahweh.
‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying,
    “It is Zion, there is no one who cares for her.”’

18 Thus says Yahweh:

‘Look, I will restore the fortunes[m] of the tents of Jacob,
    and I will have compassion on his dwellings,
and the city will be rebuilt upon its mound,
    and the citadel fortress will stand on its rightful site.
19 And thanksgiving and the sound of merrymakers
    will come out from them,
and I will make them numerous,
    and they will not be few.
And I will make them honored,
    and they will not be lowly.
20 And their children will be as of old,
    and their community will be established before me.[n]
And I will punish all their oppressors.
21     And their noble will be from them,
and their ruler will come out from their midst.
    And I will bring him near and he will approach me.
For who is he that would pledge his heart to approach me?’ declares[o] Yahweh.
22 ‘And you will be to me a people,
    and I will be to you God.’”
23 Look, the storm of Yahweh!
    Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest.
    It will whirl upon the head of the wicked.
24 The burning anger of Yahweh[p] will not turn back until his doing,
    and until his accomplishing the plans of his mind.[q]
In the last of the days you will understand it.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 30:1 Literally “to say”
  2. Jeremiah 30:2 Literally “to say”
  3. Jeremiah 30:3 Literally “a declaration of”
  4. Jeremiah 30:3 Hebrew “fortune”
  5. Jeremiah 30:3 Or “fathers”
  6. Jeremiah 30:7 Literally “from none like it”
  7. Jeremiah 30:8 Literally “a declaration of”
  8. Jeremiah 30:10 Literally “a declaration of”
  9. Jeremiah 30:10 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  10. Jeremiah 30:11 Literally “a declaration of”
  11. Jeremiah 30:16 Literally “To thus”
  12. Jeremiah 30:17 Literally “a declaration of”
  13. Jeremiah 30:18 Hebrew “fortune”
  14. Jeremiah 30:20 Literally “to the face of me”
  15. Jeremiah 30:21 Literally “a declaration of”
  16. Jeremiah 30:24 Literally “The blaze of the nose of Yahweh”
  17. Jeremiah 30:24 Literally “heart”

THE SCROLL OF COMFORT

Healing and restoration for my people

30 Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: Write down in a scroll all the words I have spoken to you. The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will bring back my people Israel and Judah from captivity,[a] says the Lord. I will bring them home to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it. Here are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

The Lord proclaims:
I[b] hear screams of panic and terror;
    no one is safe.
Ask and see:
    Can men bear children?
Then why do I see every man
    bent over in pain,[c] as if he’s in labor?
    Why have all turned pale?
That day is awful, beyond words.
    A time of unspeakable pain
        for my people Jacob.
    But they will be delivered from it.

At that time, I will break the yoke off their[d] necks and remove their[e] shackles. Foreigners will no longer enslave them, declares the Lord of heavenly forces. They will serve the Lord their God and the king whom I will raise up for them from David’s family.

10 So don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
    declares the Lord,
        Don’t lose hope, Israel.
I will deliver you from faraway places
    and your children from the land of their exile.
        My people Jacob will again be safe and sound,
            with no one harassing them.
11 I am with you and will rescue you,
    declares the Lord.
I will put an end to all the nations
    where I have scattered you.
But I won’t put an end to you.
    I won’t let you remain unpunished:
        I will discipline you as you deserve.

12 This is what the Lord says:
Your injury is incurable;
    your illness is grave.
13 No one comes to your aid;
    no one attends to your wound;
        your disease is incurable.
14 All your lovers disregard you;
    they write you off as a lost cause,
    because I have dealt harshly with you
        as an enemy would,
    because your guilt is great
            and your sins are many.
15 Why cry out for relief from your pain?
    Your wound is incurable.
I have done these things to you,
    because your guilt is great
        and your sins are many.

16 Yet all who ravage you will be ravaged;
    all who oppress you will go into exile.
Those who rob you will be robbed,
    and all who plunder you will be plundered.
17 I will restore your health,
    and I will heal your wounds,
        declares the Lord,
    because you were labeled an outcast,
        “Zion, the lost cause.”

18 The Lord proclaims:
I will restore Jacob’s tents
    and have pity on their birthplace.
Their city will be rebuilt on its ruins
    and the palace in its rightful place.
19 There will be laughter
    and songs of thanks.
I will add to their numbers
    so they don’t dwindle away.
I will honor them
    so they aren’t humiliated.
20 Their children will thrive as they did long ago,
    and their community will be established before me.
        I will punish their oppressors.
21 They will have their own leader;
    their ruler will come from among them.
I will let him approach me,
    and he will draw near.
Who would dare approach me
    unless I let them come?
        declares the Lord.
22 You will be my people,
    and I will be your God.

23 Look! The Lord’s anger breaks out like a violent storm,
    a fierce wind that strikes the heads of the wicked.
24 The Lord’s fierce anger won’t turn back
    until God’s[f] purposes are entirely accomplished.
In the days to come,
    you will understand what this means.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 30:3 Or restore the fortunes
  2. Jeremiah 30:5 Or We
  3. Jeremiah 30:6 Or with his hands on his groin
  4. Jeremiah 30:8 Or your
  5. Jeremiah 30:8 Or your
  6. Jeremiah 30:24 Or his or its