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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”

Promises of Deliverance

30 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah. For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

This is the message the Lord gave concerning Israel and Judah. This is what the Lord says:

“I hear cries of fear;
    there is terror and no peace.
Now let me ask you a question:
    Do men give birth to babies?
Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced,
    hands pressed against their sides
    like a woman in labor?
In all history there has never been such a time of terror.
    It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel.[a]
    Yet in the end they will be saved!
For in that day,”
    says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
“I will break the yoke from their necks
    and snap their chains.
Foreigners will no longer be their masters.
    For my people will serve the Lord their God
and their king descended from David—
    the king I will raise up for them.

10 “So do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant;
    do not be dismayed, Israel,”
    says the Lord.
“For I will bring you home again from distant lands,
    and your children will return from their exile.
Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet,
    and no one will terrorize them.
11 For I am with you and will save you,”
    says the Lord.
“I will completely destroy the nations where I have scattered you,
    but I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you, but with justice;
    I cannot let you go unpunished.”

12 This is what the Lord says:
“Your injury is incurable—
    a terrible wound.
13 There is no one to help you
    or to bind up your injury.
    No medicine can heal you.
14 All your lovers—your allies—have left you
    and do not care about you anymore.
I have wounded you cruelly,
    as though I were your enemy.
For your sins are many,
    and your guilt is great.
15 Why do you protest your punishment—
    this wound that has no cure?
I have had to punish you
    because your sins are many
    and your guilt is great.

16 “But all who devour you will be devoured,
    and all your enemies will be sent into exile.
All who plunder you will be plundered,
    and all who attack you will be attacked.
17 I will give you back your health
    and heal your wounds,” says the Lord.
“For you are called an outcast—
    ‘Jerusalem[b] for whom no one cares.’”

18 This is what the Lord says:
“When I bring Israel home again from captivity
    and restore their fortunes,
Jerusalem will be rebuilt on its ruins,
    and the palace reconstructed as before.
19 There will be joy and songs of thanksgiving,
    and I will multiply my people, not diminish them;
I will honor them, not despise them.
20     Their children will prosper as they did long ago.
I will establish them as a nation before me,
    and I will punish anyone who hurts them.
21 They will have their own ruler again,
    and he will come from their own people.
I will invite him to approach me,” says the Lord,
    “for who would dare to come unless invited?
22 You will be my people,
    and I will be your God.”

23 Look! The Lord’s anger bursts out like a storm,
    a driving wind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not diminish
    until it has finished all he has planned.
In the days to come
    you will understand all this.

Footnotes

  1. 30:7 Hebrew Jacob; also in 30:10b, 18. See note on 5:20.
  2. 30:17 Hebrew Zion.