Jeremiah 24-32

New King James Version

The Sign of Two Baskets of Figs

24 The ^(A)Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar ^(B)king of Babylon had carried away captive ^(C)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. ²One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so ^(D)bad. ³Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”

⁴Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁵“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I ^[a]acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶For I will set My eyes on them for good, and ^(E)I will bring them back to this land; ^(F)I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. ⁷Then I will give them ^(G)a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be ^(H)My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me ^(I)with their whole heart.

⁸‘And as the bad ^(J)figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the ^(K)residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and ^(L)those who dwell in the land of Egypt. ⁹I will deliver them to ^(M)trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, ^(N)to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. ¹⁰And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are ^[b]consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”

Seventy Years of Desolation

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, ^(O)in the fourth year of ^(P)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ²which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: ³^(Q)“From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, ^(R)but you have not listened. ⁴And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, ^(S)rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. ⁵They said, ^(T)‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. ⁶Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.’ ⁷Yet you have not listened to Me,” says the Lord, “that you might ^(U)provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

⁸“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, ⁹behold, I will send and take ^(V)all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^(W)My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and ^(X)make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. ¹⁰Moreover I will ^[c]take from them the ^(Y)voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, ^(Z)the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy ^(AA)years.

¹²‘Then it will come to pass, ^(AB)when ^[d]seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; ^(AC)‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. ¹³So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations. ¹⁴^(AD)(For many nations ^(AE)and great kings shall ^(AF)be served by them also; ^(AG)and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)’ ”

Judgment on the Nations

¹⁵For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this ^(AH)wine cup of ^[e]fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. ¹⁶And ^(AI)they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

¹⁷Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord had sent me: ¹⁸Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them ^(AJ)a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and ^(AK)a curse, as it is this day; ¹⁹Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people; ²⁰all the mixed multitude, all the kings of ^(AL)the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the ^(AM)Philistines (namely, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and ^(AN)the remnant of Ashdod); ²¹^(AO)Edom, Moab, and the people of Ammon; ²²all the kings of ^(AP)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are across the ^(AQ)sea; ²³^(AR)Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners; ²⁴all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the ^(AS)mixed multitude who dwell in the desert; ²⁵all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^(AT)Elam, and all the kings of the ^(AU)Medes; ²⁶^(AV)all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of ^[f]Sheshach shall drink after them.

²⁷“Therefore you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(AW)“Drink, ^(AX)be drunk, and vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.” ’ ²⁸And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “You shall certainly drink! ²⁹For behold, ^(AY)I begin to bring calamity on the city ^(AZ)which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished, for ^(BA)I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,” says the Lord of hosts.’

³⁰“Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

‘The Lord will ^(BB)roar from on high,
And utter His voice from ^(BC)His holy habitation;
He will roar mightily against ^(BD)His fold.
He will give ^(BE)a shout, as those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
³¹A noise will come to the ends of the earth—
For the Lord has ^(BF)a controversy with the nations;
^(BG)He will plead His case with all flesh.
He will give those who are wicked to the sword,’ says the Lord.”

³²Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“Behold, disaster shall go forth
From nation to nation,
And ^(BH)a great whirlwind shall be raised up
From the farthest parts of the earth.

³³^(BI)And at that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be ^(BJ)lamented, ^(BK)or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.

³⁴“Wail,^(BL) shepherds, and cry!
Roll about in the ashes,
You leaders of the flock!
For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled;
You shall fall like a precious vessel.
³⁵And the shepherds will have no ^[g]way to flee,
Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
³⁶A voice of the cry of the shepherds,
And a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard.
For the Lord has plundered their pasture,
³⁷And the peaceful dwellings are cut down
Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
³⁸He has left His lair like the lion;
For their land is desolate
Because of the fierceness of the Oppressor,
And because of His fierce anger.”

Jeremiah Saved from Death^(BM)

26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, saying, ²“Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in ^(BN)the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, ^(BO)all the words that I command you to speak to them. ^(BP)Do not diminish a word. ³^(BQ)Perhaps everyone will listen and turn from his evil way, that I may ^(BR)relent concerning the calamity which I purpose to bring on them because of the evil of their doings.’ ⁴And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(BS)“If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, ⁵to heed the words of My servants the prophets ^(BT)whom I sent to you, both rising up early and sending them (but you have not heeded), ⁶then I will make this house like ^(BU)Shiloh, and will make this city ^(BV)a curse to all the nations of the earth.” ’ ”

⁷So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸Now it happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You will surely die! ⁹Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be ^(BW)desolate, without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and sat down in the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. ¹¹And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, ^[h]“This man deserves to ^(BX)die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”

¹²Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city with all the words that you have heard. ¹³Now therefore, ^(BY)amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you. ¹⁴As for me, here ^(BZ)I am, in your hand; do with me as seems good and ^[i]proper to you. ¹⁵But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

¹⁶So the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve to die. For he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

¹⁷^(CA)Then certain of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying: ¹⁸^(CB)“Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^(CC)“Zion shall be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem shall become ^(CD)heaps of ruins,
And the mountain of the ^[j]temple
Like the ^[k]bare hills of the forest.” ’

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah ever put him to death? ^(CE)Did he not fear the Lord and ^(CF)seek the Lord’s favor? And the Lord ^(CG)relented concerning the doom which He had pronounced against them. ^(CH)But we are doing great evil against ourselves.”

²⁰Now there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath Jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. ²¹And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid and fled, and went to Egypt. ²²Then Jehoiakim the king sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor, and other men who went with him to Egypt. ²³And they brought Urijah from Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the ^[l]common people.

²⁴Nevertheless ^(CI)the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

Symbol of the Bonds and Yokes

27 In^[m] the beginning of the reign of ^[n]Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, ^(CJ)king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ²“Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, ^(CK)and put them on your neck, ³and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. ⁴And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: ⁵^(CL)‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and ^(CM)have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. ⁶^(CN)And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^(CO)My servant; and ^(CP)the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. ⁷^(CQ)So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, ^(CR)until the time of his land comes; ^(CS)and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. ⁸And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,’ says the Lord, ‘with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. ⁹Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your ^[o]dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.” ¹⁰For they prophesy a ^(CT)lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish. ¹¹But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ” ’ ”

¹²I also spoke to ^(CU)Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live! ¹³^(CV)Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? ¹⁴Therefore ^(CW)do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy ^(CX)a lie to you; ¹⁵for I have ^(CY)not sent them,” says the Lord, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”

¹⁶Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, ^(CZ)the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. ¹⁷Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste? ¹⁸But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’

¹⁹“For thus says the Lord of hosts ^(DA)concerning the pillars, concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, ²⁰which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away ^(DB)captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— ²¹yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the ^(DC)vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: ²²‘They shall be ^(DD)carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I ^(DE)visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then ^(DF)I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’ ”

Hananiah’s Falsehood and Doom

28 And ^(DG)it happened in the same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the ^(DH)fourth year and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of ^(DI)Azur the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, ²“Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘I have broken ^(DJ)the yoke of the king of Babylon. ³^(DK)Within two full years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(DL)took away from this place and carried to Babylon. ⁴And I will bring back to this place ^[p]Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”

⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the Lord, ⁶and the prophet Jeremiah said, ^(DM)“Amen! The Lord do so; the Lord perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all who were carried away captive, from Babylon to this place. ⁷Nevertheless hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: ⁸The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war and disaster and pestilence. ⁹As for ^(DN)the prophet who prophesies of ^(DO)peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”

¹⁰Then Hananiah the prophet took the ^(DP)yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. ¹¹And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^(DQ)from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.’ ” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

¹²Now the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ¹³“Go and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.” ¹⁴For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(DR)“I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. ^(DS)I have given him the beasts of the field also.” ’ ”

¹⁵Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, but ^(DT)you make this people trust in a ^(DU)lie. ¹⁶Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall ^(DV)die, because you have taught ^(DW)rebellion against the Lord.’ ”

¹⁷So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Captives

29 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were ^(DX)carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²(This happened after ^(DY)Jeconiah^[q] the king, the ^(DZ)queen mother, the ^[r]eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) ³The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^(EA)Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,

⁴Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:

⁵Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. ⁶Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. ⁷And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, ^(EB)and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. ⁸For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst ^(EC)deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. ⁹For they prophesy ^(ED)falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord.

¹⁰For thus says the Lord: After ^(EE)seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to ^(EF)return to this place. ¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹²Then you will ^(EG)call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will ^(EH)listen to you. ¹³And ^(EI)you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me ^(EJ)with all your heart. ¹⁴^(EK)I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; ^(EL)I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

¹⁵Because you have said, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon”— ¹⁶^(EM)therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, concerning all the people who dwell in this city, and concerning your brethren who have not gone out with you into captivity— ¹⁷thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like ^(EN)rotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. ¹⁸And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I ^(EO)will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be ^(EP)a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹because they have not heeded My words, says the Lord, which ^(EQ)I sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; neither would you heed, says the Lord. ²⁰Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a ^(ER)lie to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. ²²^(ES)And because of them a curse shall be taken up by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, ^(ET)whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”; ²³because ^(EU)they have done disgraceful things in Israel, have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I have not commanded them. Indeed I ^(EV)know, and am a witness, says the Lord.

²⁴You shall also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, ²⁵Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, ^(EW)to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶“The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be ^(EX)officers in the house of the Lord over every man who is ^(EY)demented and considers himself a prophet, that you should ^(EZ)put him in prison and in the stocks. ²⁷Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who makes himself a prophet to you? ²⁸For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ ”

²⁹Now Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: ³¹Send to all those in captivity, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, ^(FA)and I have not sent him, and he has caused you to trust in a ^(FB)lie— ³²therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ^[s]family: he shall not have anyone to dwell among this people, nor shall he see the good that I will do for My people, says the Lord, ^(FC)because he has taught rebellion against the Lord.

Restoration of Israel and Judah

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ²“Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. ³For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that ^(FD)I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ^(FE)‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ”

⁴Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah.

⁵“For thus says the Lord:

‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of ^[t]fear, and not of peace.
⁶Ask now, and see,
Whether a ^[u]man is ever in ^[v]labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
^(FF)Like a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
⁷^(FG)Alas! For that day is great,
^(FH)So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.

⁸‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
⁹But they shall serve the Lord their God,
And ^(FI)David their king,
Whom I will ^(FJ)raise up for them.

¹⁰‘Therefore ^(FK)do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord,
‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your seed ^(FL)from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet,
And no one shall make him afraid.
¹¹For I am with ^(FM)you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;
^(FN)Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,
^(FO)Yet I will not make a complete end of you.
But I will correct you ^(FP)in justice,
And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’

¹²“For thus says the Lord:

^(FQ)‘Your affliction is incurable,
Your wound is severe.
¹³There is no one to plead your cause,
That you may be bound up;
^(FR)You have no healing medicines.
¹⁴^(FS)All your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded you with the wound ^(FT)of an enemy,
With the chastisement ^(FU)of a cruel one,
For the multitude of your iniquities,
^(FV)Because your sins have increased.
¹⁵Why ^(FW)do you cry about your affliction?
Your sorrow is incurable.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased,
I have done these things to you.

¹⁶‘Therefore all those who devour you ^(FX)shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into ^(FY)captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become ^(FZ)plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a ^(GA)prey.
¹⁷^(GB)For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.” ’

¹⁸“Thus says the Lord:

‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
And ^(GC)have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city shall be built upon its own ^[w]mound,
And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.
¹⁹Then ^(GD)out of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
^(GE)I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
²⁰Their children also shall be ^(GF)as before,
And their congregation shall be established before Me;
And I will punish all who oppress them.
²¹Their nobles shall be from among them,
^(GG)And their governor shall come from their midst;
Then I will ^(GH)cause him to draw near,
And he shall approach Me;
For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.
²²‘You shall be ^(GI)My people,
And I will be your God.’ ”

²³Behold, the ^(GJ)whirlwind of the Lord
Goes forth with fury,
A ^[x]continuing whirlwind;
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
²⁴The fierce anger of the Lord will not return until He has done it,
And until He has performed the intents of His heart.

^(GK)In the latter days you will consider it.

The Remnant of Israel Saved

31 “At ^(GL)the same time,” says the Lord, ^(GM)“I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

²Thus says the Lord:

“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when ^(GN)I went to give him rest.”

³The Lord has appeared ^[y]of old to me, saying:
“Yes, ^(GO)I have loved you with ^(GP)an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have ^(GQ)drawn you.
⁴Again ^(GR)I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your ^(GS)tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
⁵^(GT)You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;
The planters shall plant and ^[z]eat them as ordinary food.
⁶For there shall be a day
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
^(GU)‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’ ”

⁷For thus says the Lord:

^(GV)“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O Lord, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel!’
⁸Behold, I will bring them ^(GW)from the north country,
And ^(GX)gather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
⁹^(GY)They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk ^(GZ)by the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My ^(HA)firstborn.

¹⁰“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the ^[aa]isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel ^(HB)will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
¹¹For ^(HC)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him ^(HD)from the hand of one stronger than he.
¹²Therefore they shall come and sing in ^(HE)the height of Zion,
Streaming to ^(HF)the goodness of the Lord—
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a ^(HG)well-watered garden,
^(HH)And they shall sorrow no more at all.

¹³“Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together;
For I will turn their mourning to joy,
Will comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
¹⁴I will ^[ab]satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”

Mercy on Ephraim

¹⁵Thus says the Lord:

^(HI)“A voice was heard in ^(HJ)Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter ^(HK)weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because ^(HL)they are no more.”

¹⁶Thus says the Lord:

“Refrain your voice from ^(HM)weeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷There is ^(HN)hope in your future, says the Lord,
That your children shall come back to their own border.

¹⁸“I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have ^(HO)chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
^(HP)Restore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.
¹⁹Surely, ^(HQ)after my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was ^(HR)ashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
²⁰Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
^(HS)Therefore My ^[ac]heart yearns for him;
^(HT)I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.

²¹“Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
^(HU)Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
^[ad]Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.
²²How long will you ^(HV)gad about,
O you ^(HW)backsliding daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”

Future Prosperity of Judah

²³Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ^(HX)‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and ^(HY)mountain of holiness!’ ²⁴And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and ^(HZ)in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. ²⁵For I have ^[ae]satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

²⁶After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was ^(IA)sweet to me.

²⁷“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that ^(IB)I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. ²⁸And it shall come to pass, that as I have ^(IC)watched over them ^(ID)to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them ^(IE)to build and to plant, says the Lord. ²⁹^(IF)In those days they shall say no more:

‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

³⁰^(IG)But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

A New Covenant

³¹“Behold, the ^(IH)days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— ³²not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that ^(II)I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, ^[af]though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. ³³^(IJ)But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: ^(IK)I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their ^[ag]hearts; ^(IL)and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for ^(IM)they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For ^(IN)I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

³⁵Thus says the Lord,
^(IO)Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs ^(IP)the sea,
And its waves roar
^(IQ)(The Lord of hosts is His name):

³⁶“If ^(IR)those ordinances depart
From before Me, says the Lord,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease
From being a nation before Me forever.”

³⁷Thus says the Lord:

^(IS)“If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also ^(IT)cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, says the Lord.

³⁸“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the city shall be built for the Lord ^(IU)from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. ³⁹^(IV)The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. ⁴⁰And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, ^(IW)to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, ^(IX)shall be holy to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”

Jeremiah Buys a Field

32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^(IY)in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. ²For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up ^(IZ)in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house. ³For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you ^(JA)prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(JB)“Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; ⁴and Zedekiah king of Judah ^(JC)shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him ^[ah]face to face, and see him ^(JD)eye to eye; ⁵then he shall ^(JE)lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be ^(JF)until I visit him,” says the Lord; ^(JG)“though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed” ’?”

⁶And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁷‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the ^(JH)right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’ ⁸Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. ⁹So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and ^(JI)weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver. ¹⁰And I signed the ^[ai]deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales. ¹¹So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open; ¹²and I gave the purchase deed to ^(JJ)Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the ^(JK)witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.

¹³“Then I charged ^(JL)Baruch before them, saying, ¹⁴‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.” ¹⁵For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be ^(JM)possessed again in this land.” ’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

¹⁶“Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ¹⁷‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, ^(JN)You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. ^(JO)There is nothing too ^[aj]hard for You. ¹⁸You show ^(JP)lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, ^(JQ)the Mighty God, whose name is ^(JR)the Lord of hosts. ¹⁹You are ^(JS)great in counsel and mighty in ^[ak]work, for Your ^(JT)eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, ^(JU)to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. ²⁰You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself ^(JV)a name, as it is this day. ²¹You ^(JW)have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; ²²You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—^(JX)“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ²³And they came in and took possession of it, but ^(JY)they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.

²⁴‘Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of ^(JZ)the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it! ²⁵And You have said to me, O Lord God, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ”

God’s Assurance of the People’s Return

²⁶Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁷“Behold, I am the Lord, the ^(KA)God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? ²⁸Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it. ²⁹And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and ^(KB)set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses ^(KC)on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger; ³⁰because the children of Israel and the children of Judah ^(KD)have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says the Lord. ³¹‘For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; ^(KE)so I will remove it from before My face ³²because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger—^(KF)they, their kings, their princes, their priests, ^(KG)their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³³And they have turned to Me the ^(KH)back, and not the face; though I taught them, ^(KI)rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction. ³⁴But they ^(KJ)set their abominations in ^[al]the house which is called by My name, to defile it. ³⁵And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to ^(KK)cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to ^(KL)Molech, ^(KM)which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’

³⁶“Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: ³⁷Behold, I will ^(KN)gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them ^(KO)to dwell safely. ³⁸They shall be ^(KP)My people, and I will be their God; ³⁹then I will ^(KQ)give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. ⁴⁰And ^(KR)I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but ^(KS)I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. ⁴¹Yes, ^(KT)I will rejoice over them to do them good, and ^(KU)I will ^[am]assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’

⁴²“For thus says the Lord: ^(KV)‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. ⁴³And fields will be bought in this land ^(KW)of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” ⁴⁴Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in ^(KX)the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the ^[an]lowland, and in the cities of the ^[ao]South; for ^(KY)I will cause their captives to return,’ says the Lord.”