Jeremiah 30-31
New American Standard Bible 1995
Deliverance from Captivity Promised
30 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘(A)Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3 For behold, (B)days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will (C)restore the [a]fortunes of My people (D)Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also (E)bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.’”
4 Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah:
5 “For thus says the Lord,
‘[b]I have heard a sound of (F)terror,
Of dread, and there is no peace.
6 ‘Ask now, and see
If a male can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his loins, (G)as a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?
7 ‘Alas! for that (H)day is great,
There is (I)none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s (J)distress,
But he will be (K)saved from it.
8 ‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will (L)break his yoke from off [c]their neck and will tear off [d]their (M)bonds; and strangers will no longer (N)make [e]them their slaves. 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and (O)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 ‘(P)Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,
‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you (Q)from afar
And your [f]offspring from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob will return and will be (R)quiet and at ease,
And (S)no one will make him afraid.
11 ‘For (T)I am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;
For I will (U)destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will (V)not destroy you completely.
But I will (W)chasten you justly
And will by no means leave you unpunished.’
12 “For thus says the Lord,
‘Your wound is incurable
And your (X)injury is serious.
13 ‘There is no one to plead your cause;
No healing for your sore,
(Y)No recovery for you.
14 ‘All your (Z)lovers have forgotten you,
They do not seek you;
For I have (AA)wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the (AB)punishment of a (AC)cruel one,
Because your (AD)iniquity is great
And your (AE)sins are numerous.
15 ‘Why do you cry out over your injury?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your iniquity is great
And your sins are numerous,
I have done these things to you.
16 ‘Therefore all who (AF)devour you will be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, (AG)will go into captivity;
And those who plunder you will be for plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will give for prey.
17 ‘For I will [g]restore you to [h](AH)health
And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord,
‘Because they have called you an (AI)outcast, saying:
“It is Zion; no one [i]cares for her.”’
Restoration of Jacob
18 “Thus says the Lord,
‘Behold, I will (AJ)restore the [j]fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And (AK)have compassion on his dwelling places;
And the (AL)city will be rebuilt on its ruin,
And the (AM)palace will stand on its rightful place.
19 ‘From them will proceed (AN)thanksgiving
And the voice of those who [k](AO)celebrate;
And I will (AP)multiply them and they will not be diminished;
I will also (AQ)honor them and they will not be insignificant.
20 ‘[l]Their children also will be as formerly,
And [m]their congregation shall be (AR)established before Me;
And I will punish all [n]their oppressors.
21 ‘[o]Their (AS)leader shall be one of them,
And [p]their ruler shall come forth from [q]their midst;
And I will (AT)bring him near and he shall approach Me;
For [r]who would dare to risk his life to (AU)approach Me?’ declares the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be (AV)My people,
And I will be your God.’”
23 Behold, the (AW)tempest of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
A [s]sweeping tempest;
It will burst on the head of the wicked.
24 The (AX)fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
Until He has performed and until He has accomplished
The intent of His heart;
In the (AY)latter days you will understand this.
Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy
31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the (AZ)God of all the (BA)families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
2 Thus says the Lord,
“The people who survived the sword
(BB)Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to (BC)find its rest.”
3 The Lord appeared to [t]him from afar, saying,
“I have (BD)loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with (BE)lovingkindness.
4 “(BF)Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
Again you will [u]take up your (BG)tambourines,
And go forth to the dances of the (BH)merrymakers.
5 “Again you will (BI)plant vineyards
On the [v]hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will [w]enjoy them.
6 “For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
‘Arise, and (BJ)let us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’”
7 For thus says the Lord,
“(BK)Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the [x](BL)chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise and say,
‘O Lord, (BM)save Your people,
The (BN)remnant of Israel.’
8 “Behold, I am (BO)bringing them from the north country,
And I will (BP)gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them the (BQ)blind and the (BR)lame,
The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;
A great [y]company, they will return here.
9 “(BS)With weeping they will come,
And by supplication I will lead them;
I will make them walk by (BT)streams of waters,
On a straight path in which they will (BU)not stumble;
For I am a (BV)father to Israel,
And Ephraim is (BW)My firstborn.”
10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare in the (BX)coastlands afar off,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will (BY)gather him
And keep him as a (BZ)shepherd keeps his flock.”
11 For the Lord has (CA)ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was (CB)stronger than he.
12 “They will (CC)come and shout for joy on the (CD)height of Zion,
And they will be (CE)radiant over the [z]bounty of the Lord—
Over the (CF)grain and the new wine and the oil,
And over the young of the (CG)flock and the herd;
And their life will be like a (CH)watered garden,
And they will (CI)never languish again.
13 “Then the virgin will rejoice in the (CJ)dance,
And the young men and the old, together,
For I will (CK)turn their mourning into joy
And will comfort them and give them (CL)joy for their sorrow.
14 “I will [aa]fill the soul of the priests with [ab]abundance,
And My people will be (CM)satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.
15 Thus says the Lord,
“(CN)A voice is heard in (CO)Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She (CP)refuses to be comforted for her children,
Because (CQ)they are no more.”
16 Thus says the Lord,
“(CR)Restrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your (CS)work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
“And they will (CT)return from the land of the enemy.
17 “There is (CU)hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
18 “I have surely heard Ephraim (CV)grieving,
‘You have (CW)chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained (CX)calf;
(CY)Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 ‘For after I turned back, I (CZ)repented;
And after I was instructed, I (DA)smote on my thigh;
I was (DB)ashamed and also humiliated
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 “Is (DC)Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My [ac](DD)heart yearns for him;
I will surely (DE)have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.
21 “Set up for yourself roadmarks,
Place for yourself guideposts;
(DF)Direct your [ad]mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
(DG)Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
22 “How long will you go here and there,
O (DH)faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman will encompass a man.”
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I (DI)restore their [ae]fortunes,
24 Judah and all its cities will (DL)dwell together in it, the farmer and they who go about with flocks. 25 (DM)For I satisfy the weary ones and [af]refresh everyone who languishes.” 26 At this I (DN)awoke and looked, and my (DO)sleep was pleasant to me.
A New Covenant
27 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will (DP)sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 28 As I have (DQ)watched over them to (DR)pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will watch over them to (DS)build and to plant,” declares the Lord.
29 “In those days they will not say again,
‘(DT)The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are [ag]set on edge.’
30 But (DU)everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be [ah]set on edge.
31 “(DV)Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a (DW)new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the (DX)covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I (DY)took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My (DZ)covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “But (EA)this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “(EB)I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and (EC)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will (ED)not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all (EE)know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will (EF)forgive their iniquity, and their (EG)sin I will remember no more.”
35 Thus says the Lord,
Who (EH)gives the sun for light by day
And the [ai]fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who (EI)stirs up the sea so that its waves roar;
(EJ)The Lord of hosts is His name:
36 “(EK)If [aj]this fixed order departs
From before Me,” declares the Lord,
“Then the offspring of Israel also will (EL)cease
From being a nation before Me [ak]forever.”
37 Thus says the Lord,
“(EM)If the heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also (EN)cast off all the offspring of Israel
For all that they have done,” declares the Lord.
38 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the (EO)city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the (EP)Tower of Hananel to the (EQ)Corner Gate. 39 The (ER)measuring line will go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40 And (ES)the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook (ET)Kidron, to the corner of the (EU)Horse Gate toward the east, shall be (EV)holy to the Lord; it will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 30:3 Or captivity
- Jeremiah 30:5 Lit We
- Jeremiah 30:8 So Gr; Heb your
- Jeremiah 30:8 So Gr; Heb your
- Jeremiah 30:8 Lit him their slave
- Jeremiah 30:10 Lit seed
- Jeremiah 30:17 Lit cause to go up
- Jeremiah 30:17 Or healing
- Jeremiah 30:17 Lit is seeking
- Jeremiah 30:18 Or captivity
- Jeremiah 30:19 Or dance
- Jeremiah 30:20 Lit His
- Jeremiah 30:20 Lit his
- Jeremiah 30:20 Lit his
- Jeremiah 30:21 Lit his
- Jeremiah 30:21 Lit his
- Jeremiah 30:21 Lit his
- Jeremiah 30:21 Lit who is he that gives his heart in pledge
- Jeremiah 30:23 Or raging
- Jeremiah 31:3 Lit me
- Jeremiah 31:4 Or be adorned with
- Jeremiah 31:5 Or mountains
- Jeremiah 31:5 Lit defile
- Jeremiah 31:7 Lit head
- Jeremiah 31:8 Or assembly
- Jeremiah 31:12 Lit goodness
- Jeremiah 31:14 Lit saturate
- Jeremiah 31:14 Lit fatness
- Jeremiah 31:20 Lit inward parts
- Jeremiah 31:21 Lit heart
- Jeremiah 31:23 Or captivity
- Jeremiah 31:25 Lit fill
- Jeremiah 31:29 Or dull
- Jeremiah 31:30 Or dull
- Jeremiah 31:35 Lit statutes
- Jeremiah 31:36 Lit these statutes
- Jeremiah 31:36 Lit all the days
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
