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30 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Write all the words that I have spoken to you in a book. For, behold, the days come,’ says Yahweh, ‘that I will reverse the captivity of my people Israel and Judah,’ says Yahweh. ‘I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’”

These are the words that Yahweh spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For Yahweh says:

“We have heard a voice of trembling;
    a voice of fear, and not of peace.
Ask now, and see whether a man travails with child.
    Why do I see every man with his hands on his waist, as a woman in travail,
    and all faces are turned pale?
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it.
    It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;
    but he will be saved out of it.
It will come to pass in that day, says Yahweh of Armies, that I will break his yoke from off your neck,
    and will burst your bonds.
    Strangers will no more make them their bondservants;
but they will serve Yahweh their God,
    and David their king,
    whom I will raise up to them.
10 Therefore don’t be afraid, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh.
    Don’t be dismayed, Israel.
For, behold, I will save you from afar,
    and save your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob will return,
    and will be quiet and at ease.
    No one will make him afraid.
11 For I am with you, says Yahweh, to save you;
    for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you,
    but I will not make a full end of you;
but I will correct you in measure,
    and will in no way leave you unpunished.”

12 For Yahweh says,

“Your hurt is incurable.
    Your wound is grievous.
13 There is no one to plead your cause,
    that you may be bound up.
    You have no healing medicines.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you.
    They don’t seek you.
For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
    with the chastisement of a cruel one,
for the greatness of your iniquity,
    because your sins were increased.
15 Why do you cry over your injury?
    Your pain is incurable.
For the greatness of your iniquity,
    because your sins have increased,
    I have done these things to you.
16 Therefore all those who devour you will be devoured.
    All your adversaries, everyone of them, will go into captivity.
Those who plunder you will be plunder.
    I will make all who prey on you become prey.
17 For I will restore health to you,
    and I will heal you of your wounds,” says Yahweh;
“because they have called you an outcast,
    saying, ‘It is Zion, whom no man seeks after.’”

18 Yahweh says:

“Behold, I will reverse the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
    and have compassion on his dwelling places.
The city will be built on its own hill,
    and the palace will be inhabited in its own place.
19 Thanksgiving will proceed out of them
    with the voice of those who make merry.
I will multiply them,
    and they will not be few;
I will also glorify them,
    and they will not be small.
20 Their children also will be as before,
    and their congregation will be established before me.
    I will punish all who oppress them.
21 Their prince will be one of them,
    and their ruler will proceed from among them.
I will cause him to draw near,
    and he will approach me;
    for who is he who has had boldness to approach me?” says Yahweh.
22 “You shall be my people,
    and I will be your God.
23 Behold, Yahweh’s storm, his wrath, has gone out,
    a sweeping storm:
    it will burst on the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of Yahweh will not return until he has accomplished,
    and until he has performed the intentions of his heart.
    In the latter days you will understand it.”

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