Jeremiah 33

Promise of Restoration

1 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time:2 “This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name:3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’4 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword

5 in the fight with the Babylonians: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the men I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness.
6 “ ‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.8 I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.

9 Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
10 “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without men or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more

11 the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying,
“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
for the Lord is good;
his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.
12 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without men or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.

13 In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.

14 “ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

15 “ ‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.

16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness.’17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel,

18 nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’ ”
19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time,21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.

22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’ ”
23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:24 “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two kingdoms he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation.25 This is what the Lord says: ‘If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth,

26 then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion 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.