Jeremiah 30
New Living Translation
Promises of Deliverance
30 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah. 3 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!”
4 This is the message the Lord gave concerning Israel and Judah. 5 This is what the Lord says:
“I hear cries of fear;
there is terror and no peace.
6 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?
7 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!
8 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.
9 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.
Jeremiah 30
Living Bible
30 This is another of the Lord’s messages to Jeremiah:
2 The Lord God of Israel says: Write down for the record all that I have said to you. 3 For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, and I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their fathers; they shall possess it and live here again.
4 And write this also concerning Israel and Judah:
5 “Where shall we find peace?” they cry. “There is only fear and trembling. 6 Do men give birth? Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced, hands pressed against their sides like women in labor?”
7 Alas, in all history when has there ever been a time of terror such as in that coming day? It is a time of trouble for my people—for Jacob—such as they have never known before. Yet God will rescue them! 8 For on that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will break the yoke from their necks and snap their chains, and foreigners shall no longer be their masters! 9 For they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their King,[a] whom I will raise up for them, says the Lord.
10 So don’t be afraid, O Jacob my servant; don’t be dismayed, O Israel; for I will bring you home again from distant lands, and your children from their exile. They shall have rest and quiet in their own land, and no one shall make them afraid. 11 For I am with you and I will save you, says the Lord. Even if I utterly destroy the nations where I scatter you, I will not exterminate you; I will punish you, yes—you will not go unpunished.
12 For your sin is an incurable bruise, a terrible wound. 13 There is no one to help you or to bind up your wound, and no medicine does any good. 14 All your lovers have left you and don’t care anything about you anymore; for I have wounded you cruelly, as though I were your enemy; mercilessly, as though I were an implacable foe; for your sins are so many, your guilt is so great.
15 Why do you protest your punishment? Your sin is so scandalous that your sorrow should never end! It is because your guilt is great that I have had to punish you so much.
16 But in that coming day, all who are destroying you shall be destroyed, and all your enemies shall be slaves. Those who rob you shall be robbed; and those attacking you shall be attacked. 17 I will give you back your health again and heal your wounds. Now you are called “The Outcast” and “Jerusalem, the Place Nobody Wants.”
18 But, says the Lord, when I bring you home again from your captivity and restore your fortunes, Jerusalem will be rebuilt upon her ruins; the palace will be reconstructed as it was before. 19 The cities will be filled with joy and great thanksgiving, and I will multiply my people and make of them a great and honored nation. 20 Their children shall prosper as in David’s reign; their nations shall be established before me, and I will punish anyone who hurts them. 21 They will have their own ruler again.[b] He will not be a foreigner. And I will invite him to be a priest at my altars, and he shall approach me, for who would dare to come unless invited. 22 And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
23 Suddenly the devastating whirlwind of the Lord roars with fury; it shall burst upon the heads of the wicked. 24 The Lord will not call off the fierceness of his wrath until it has finished all the terrible destruction he has planned. Later on[c] you will understand what I am telling you.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 30:9 David their King, the Messiah, David’s greater Son, whom God has raised up for them.
- Jeremiah 30:21 They will have their own ruler again. This verse probably refers to the restoration after the Babylonian captivity (the rulers of the Maccabean period were priests as well as kings) as well as to the final restoration under Christ.
- Jeremiah 30:24 Later on, literally, “In the latter days.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.