Jeremiah 33

1 Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the guard, saying,2 Thus saith Jehovah that doeth it, Jehovah that formeth it to establish it; Jehovah is his name:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great things, and difficult, which thou knowest not.4 For thus saith Jehovah, 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 defence against the mounds and against the sword;5 while men come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city:6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them; and I will reveal unto them abundance of peace and truth.7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned against me, and whereby they have transgressed against me.9 And this 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 unto them, and shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I procure unto it.10 Thus saith Jehovah: Yet again there shall be heard in this place, whereof ye say, It is waste, without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and 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 them that say, Give thanks to Jehovah of hosts, for Jehovah is good, for his lovingkindness endureth for ever; and of them that bring sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of Jehovah. For I will cause the captivity of the land to return as at the first, saith Jehovah.12 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.13 In 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 that numbereth them, saith Jehovah.14 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name whereby she shall be called: Jehovah our righteousness.17 For thus saith Jehovah: David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;18 neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt-offerings, and to burn meal-offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.19 And the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, saying,20 Thus saith Jehovah: If ye 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;21 then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.23 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying,24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which Jehovah did choose, he hath cast them off? thus do they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.25 Thus saith Jehovah: If my covenant of day and night stand not, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;26 then 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.

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.