1 Moreover, the worde of the Lord came vnto Ieremiah the second time (while he was yet shut vp in the court of prison) saying, 2 Thus sayth the Lord, the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, and established it, the Lord is his Name. 3 Call vnto me, and I will answere thee, and shewe thee great and mightie things, which thou knowest not. 4 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, concerning the houses of this citie, and concerning the houses of the Kings of Iudah, which are destroyed by the mounts, and by the sword, 5 They come to fight with the Caldeans, but it is to fill themselues with the dead bodies of men, whome I haue slaine in mine anger and in my wrath: for I haue hid my face from this citie, because of all their wickednes. 6 Behold, I will giue it health and amendment: for I wil cure them, and will reueile vnto them the abundance of peace, and trueth. 7 And I wil cause the captiuitie of Iudah and the captiuitie of Israel to returne, and will build them as at the first. 8 And I wil clense them from all their iniquitie, whereby they haue sinned against me: yea, I wil pardon all their iniquities, whereby they haue sinned against me, and whereby they haue rebelled against me. 9 And it shalbe to me a name, a ioy, a praise, and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall heare all ye good that I doe vnto them: and they shall feare and tremble for all the goodnes, and for all the wealth, that I shew vnto this citie. 10 Thus sayth the Lord, Againe there shalbe heard in this place (which ye say shalbe desolate, without man, and without beast, euen in the cities of Iudah, and in the streetes of Ierusalem, that are desolate without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast) 11 The voyce of ioy and the voyce of gladnes, the voyce of the bridegrome, and the voyce of the bride, the voyce of them that shall say, Prayse the Lord of hostes, because the Lord is good: for his mercy endureth for euer, and of them that offer the sacrifice of prayse in the House of the Lord, for I will cause to returne the captiuitie of the land, as at the first, sayth the Lord. 12 Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, Againe in this place, which is desolate, without man, and without beast, and in all the cities thereof there shall be dwelling for shepheards to rest their flockes. 13 In the cities of the mountaines, in the cities in the plaine, and in the cities of the South, and in the land of Beniamin, and about Ierusalem, and in the cities of Iudah shall the sheepe passe againe, vnder the hand of him that telleth them, sayth the Lord. 14 Beholde, the dayes come, sayth the Lord, that I wil performe that good thing, which I haue promised vnto the house of Israel, and to the house of Iudah. 15 In those dayes and at that time, wil I cause the branch of righteousnesse to growe vp vnto Dauid, and he shall execute iudgement, and righteousnes in the land. 16 In those dayes shall Iudah be saued, and Ierusalem shall dwell safely, and hee that shall call her, is the Lord our righteousnesse. 17 For thus sayth the Lord, Dauid shall neuer want a man to sit vpon the throne of the house of Israel. 18 Neither shall the Priests and Leuites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to offer meat offerings, and to doe sacrifice continually. 19 And the worde of the Lord came vnto Ieremiah, saying, 20 Thus sayth the Lord, If you can breake my couenant of the day, and my couenant of the night, that there should not be day, and night in their season, 21 Then may my couenant be broken with Dauid my seruant, that he should not haue a sonne to reigne vpon his throne, and with the Leuites, and Priests my ministers. 22 As the army of heauen can not be nombred, neither the sand of the sea measured: so wil I multiplie the seede of Dauid my seruant, and the Leuites, that minister vnto me. 23 Moreouer, the worde of the Lord came to Ieremiah, saying, 24 Considerest thou not what this people haue spoken, saying, The two families, which the Lord hath chosen, hee hath euen cast them off? thus they haue despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. 25 Thus sayth the Lord, If my couenant be not with day and night, and if I haue not appointed the order of heauen and earth, 26 Then will I cast away the seede of Iaakob and Dauid my seruant, and not take of his seede to be rulers ouer the seede of Abraham, Izhak, and Iaakob: for I wil cause their captiuitie to returne, and haue compassion on them.
Another Promise of Hope
1 While I was still in prison in the courtyard, the Lord's message came to me again. 2 The Lord, who made the earth, who formed it and set it in place, spoke to me. He whose name is the Lord said, 3 “Call to me, and I will answer you; I will tell you wonderful and marvelous things that you know nothing about. 4 I, the Lord, the God of Israel, say that the houses of Jerusalem and the royal palace of Judah will be torn down as a result of the siege and the attack. 5 Some will fight against the Babylonians, who will fill the houses with the corpses of those whom I am going to strike down in my anger and fury. I have turned away from this city because of the evil things that its people have done. 6 But I will heal this city and its people and restore them to health. I will show them abundant peace and security. 7 I will make Judah and Israel prosperous, and I will rebuild them as they were before. 8 I will purify them from the sins that they have committed against me, and I will forgive their sins and their rebellion. 9 Jerusalem will be a source of joy, honor, and pride to me; and every nation in the world will fear and tremble when they hear about the good things that I do for the people of Jerusalem and about the prosperity that I bring to the city.”
10 The Lord said, “People are saying that this place is like a desert, that it has no people or animals living in it. And they are right; the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are empty; no people or animals live there. But in these places you will hear again 11 the shouts of gladness and joy and the happy sounds of wedding feasts. You will hear people sing as they bring thank offerings to my Temple; they will say,
‘Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
because he is good
and his love is eternal.’
I will make this land as prosperous as it was before. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
12 The Lord Almighty said, “In this land that is like a desert and where no people or animals live, there will once again be pastures where shepherds can take their sheep. 13 In the towns in the hill country, in the foothills, and in southern Judah, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, shepherds will once again count their sheep. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
14 The Lord said, “The time is coming when I will fulfill the promise that I made to the people of Israel and Judah. 15 At that time I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will do what is right and just throughout the land. 16 The people of Judah and of Jerusalem will be rescued and will live in safety. The city will be called ‘The Lord Our Salvation.’ 17 I, the Lord, promise that there will always be a descendant of David to be king of Israel 18 and that there will always be priests from the tribe of Levi to serve me and to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrifices.”
19 The Lord said to me, 20 “I have made a covenant with the day and with the night, so that they always come at their proper times; and that covenant can never be broken. 21 In the same way I have made a covenant with my servant David that he would always have a descendant to be king, and I have made a covenant with the priests from the tribe of Levi that they would always serve me; and those covenants can never be broken. 22 I will increase the number of descendants of my servant David and the number of priests from the tribe of Levi, so that it will be as impossible to count them as it is to count the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore.”
23 The Lord said to me, 24 “Have you noticed how people are saying that I have rejected Israel and Judah, the two families that I chose? And so they look with contempt on my people and no longer consider them a nation. 25 But I, the Lord, have a covenant with day and night, and I have made the laws that control earth and sky. 26 And just as surely as I have done this, so I will maintain my covenant with Jacob's descendants and with my servant David. I will choose one of David's descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will be merciful to my people and make them prosperous again.”