Jeremiah 33

Excellence of the Restored Nation

1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying,2 Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the Lord is His name):3 Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.4 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been pulled down to fortify against the siege mounds and the sword:5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to fill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city.6 Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.7 And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first.8 I 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 and by which they have transgressed against Me.9 Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.10 Thus says the Lord: Again there shall be heard in this place of which you say, It is desolate, without man and without beastin the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast,11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: Praise the Lord of hosts, For the Lord is good, For His mercy endures forever and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first, says the Lord.12 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.13 In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them, says the Lord.14 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:15 In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.16 In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.17 For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;18 nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.

The Permanence of Gods Covenant

19 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,20 Thus says the Lord: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season,21 then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers.22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.23 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,24 Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord has chosen, He has also cast them off? Thus they have despised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them.25 Thus says the Lord: If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth,26 then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.

JEREMIAH 33

The [Lord] Promises //To Give the Land //Back to His People

1-2 I was still being held prisoner in the courtyard of the palace guards when the [Lord] told me:
I am the [Lord], and I created the whole world.t

3 Ask me, and I will tell you things that you don't know and can't find out.

4-5 Many of the houses in Jerusalem and some of the buildings at the royal palace have been torn down to be used in repairing the walls to keep out the Babylonian attackers.t Now there are empty spaces where the buildings once stood. But I am furious, and these spaces will be filled with the bodies of the people I kill. The people of Jerusalem will cry out to me for help, but they are evil, and I will ignore their prayers.
6 Then someday, I will heal this place and my people as well, and let them enjoy unending peace.t 7 I will give this land to Israel and Judah once again, and I will make them as strong as they were before. 8 They sinned and rebelled against me, but I will forgive them and take away their guilt.

9 When that happens, all nations on earth will see the good things I have done for Jerusalem, and how I have given it complete peace. The nations will celebrate and praise and honor me, but they will also tremble with fear because of the powerful things I have done.
10 Jeremiah, you say that this land is a desert without people or animals, and for now, you are right. The towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are deserted, and people and animals are nowhere to be seen. But someday you will hear

11 t happy voices and the sounds of parties and wedding celebrations. And when people come to my temple to offer sacrifices to thank me, you will hear them say:
“We praise you,
[Lord] All-Powerful!
You are good to us,
and your love never fails.”
The land will once again be productive.

12-13 Now it is empty, without people or animals. But when that time comes, shepherds will take care of their flocks in pastures near every town in the hill country, in the foothills to the west, in the Southern Desert, in the land of the Benjamin tribe, and around Jerusalem and the towns of Judah.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The [Lord]'s Wonderful Promise

14  t The [Lord] said:
I made a wonderful promise to Israel and Judah, t and the days are coming when I will keep it.

15 I promise that the time will come
when I will appoint a king
from the family of David,
a king who will be honest
and rule with justice.

16 In those days,
Judah will be safe;
Jerusalem will have peace
and will be named,
“The [Lord] Gives Justice.”
17  t The king of Israel will be one of David's descendants,

18 t and there will always be priests from the Levi tribe serving at my altar and offering sacrifices to please me and to give thanks.t

19 Then the [Lord] told me:
20 I, the [Lord], have an agreement with day and night, so they always come at the right time. You can't break the agreement I made with them, 21 and you can't break the agreements I have made with David's family and with the priests from the Levi tribe who serve at my altar. A descendant of David will always rule as king of Israel,

22 and there will be more descendants of David and of the priests from the Levi tribe than stars in the sky or grains of sand on the beach.

23 The [Lord] also said:

24 You've heard foreigners insult my people by saying, “The [Lord] chose Israel and Judah, but now he has rejected them, and they are no longer a nation.”
25 Jeremiah, I will never break my agreement with the day and the night or let the sky and the earth stop obeying my commands. 26 In the same way, I will never reject the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or break my promise that they will always have a descendant of David as their king. I will be kind to my people Israel, and they will be successful again.