Jeremiah 33

¹Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still shut up in the place of the armed watchmen, saying,

²These are the words of the Lord, who is doing it, the Lord who is forming it, to make it certain; the Lord is his name;

³Let your cry come to me, and I will give you an answer, and let you see great things and secret things of which you had no knowledge.

⁴For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said about the houses of this town and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been broken down to make earthworks and ...;

⁵... and to make them full of the dead bodies of men whom I have put to death in my wrath and in my passion, and because of whose evil-doing I have kept my face covered from this town.

⁶See, I will make it healthy and well again, I will even make them well; I will let them see peace and good faith in full measure.

⁷And I will let the fate of Judah and of Israel be changed, building them up as at first.

⁸And I will make them clean from all their sin, with which they have been sinning against me; I will have forgiveness for all their sins, with which they have been sinning against me, and with which they have done evil against me.

⁹And this town will be to me for a name of joy, for a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth, who, hearing of all the good which I am doing for them, will be shaking with fear because of all the good and the peace which I am doing for it.

¹⁰This is what the Lord has said: There will again be sounding in this place, of which you say, It is a waste, without man and without beast; even in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem which are waste and unpeopled, without man and without beast,

¹¹Happy sounds, the voice of joy, the voice of the newly-married man and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who say, Give praise to the Lord of armies, for the Lord is good, for his mercy is unchanging for ever: the voices of those who go with praise into the house of the Lord. For I will let the land come back to its first condition, says the Lord.

¹²This is what the Lord of armies has said: Again there will be in this place, which is a waste, without man and without beast, and in all its towns, a resting-place where the keepers of sheep will make their flocks take rest.

¹³In the towns of the hill-country, in the towns of the lowland, and in the towns of the South and in the land of Benjamin and in the country round Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, the flocks will again go under the hand of him who is numbering them, says the Lord.

¹⁴See, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will give effect to the good word which I have said about the people of Israel and the people of Judah.

¹⁵In those days and at that time, I will let a Branch of righteousness come up for David; and he will be a judge in righteousness in the land.

¹⁶In those days, Judah will have salvation and Jerusalem will be safe: and this is the name which will be given to her: The Lord is our righteousness.

¹⁷For the Lord has said, David will never be without a man to take his place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel;

¹⁸And the priests and the Levites will never be without a man to come before me, offering burned offerings and perfumes and meal offerings and offerings of beasts at all times.

¹⁹And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁰The Lord has said: If it is possible for my agreement of the day and the night to be broken, so that day and night no longer come at their fixed times,

²¹Then my agreement with my servant David may be broken, so that he no longer has a son to take his place on the seat of the kingdom; and my agreement with the Levites, the priests, my servants.

²²As it is not possible for the army of heaven to be numbered, or the sand of the sea measured, so will I make the seed of my servant David, and the Levites my servants.

²³And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁴Have you taken note of what these people have said, The two families, which the Lord took for himself, he has given up? This they say, looking down on my people as being, in their eyes, no longer a nation.

²⁵The Lord has said, If I have not made day and night, and if the limits of heaven and earth have not been fixed by me,

²⁶Then I will give up caring for the seed of Jacob and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will let their fate be changed and will have mercy on them.

Jeremiah 33

¹Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the guard, saying,

²"Thus says the Lord who does it, the Lord who forms it to establish it; the Lord is his name:

³'Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you do not know.'

⁴For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are broken down to make a defense against the mounds and against the sword;

⁵while men come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have killed in my anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hidden my face from this city:

⁶'Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them; and I will reveal to them abundance of peace and truth.

⁷I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.

⁸I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, by which they have sinned against me, and by which they have transgressed against me.

⁹This city shall be to me for a name of joy, for a praise and for a glory, before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do to them, and shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I procure to it.'

¹⁰"Thus says the Lord: 'Yet again there shall be heard in this place, about which you say, "It is waste, without man and without animal," even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal,

¹¹the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, "Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his loving kindness endures forever; who bring thanksgiving into the house of the Lord." For I will cause the captivity of the land to return as at the first,' says the Lord.

¹²Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.

¹³In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks again pass under the hands of him who numbers them,' says the Lord.

¹⁴'Behold, the days come,' says the Lord, 'that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.

¹⁵In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

¹⁶In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name by which she shall be called: "The Lord our righteousness."

¹⁷For thus says the Lord: "David shall never want a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;

¹⁸neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to burn meal offerings, and to do sacrifice continually."'"

¹⁹The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁰"Thus says the Lord: 'If you can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, so that there shall not be day and night in their season;

²¹then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.

²²As the army of the sky can't be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites who minister to me.'"

²³The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁴"Do not consider what this people has spoken, saying, 'The two families which the Lord chose, he has cast them off?' Thus do they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.

²⁵Thus says the Lord: 'If my covenant of day and night fails, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;

²⁶then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them.'"