CHAPTER 33
While Jeremiah
was still
confined
in the courtyard
of the guard,
the word
of the LORD
came
to
him
a second time:
“Thus
says
the LORD
who made the earth,
the LORD
who formed
it
and established it,
the LORD
is His name:
For
this is what
the LORD,
the God
of Israel,
says
about
the houses
of this
city
and the palaces
of the kings
of Judah
that have been torn down
for defense against
the siege ramps
and the sword:
Those who come
to fight
the Chaldeans
will fill
these houses
with
the corpses
of their own men,
whom
I will strike down
in My anger
and in My wrath.
I have hidden
My face
from this
city
because of
all
its wickedness.
Nevertheless,
I will bring
to it
health
and healing,
and I will heal its people
and reveal
to them
the abundance
of peace
and truth.
And I will cleanse them
from all
the iniquity
they have committed against Me
and forgive
all
the wrongs
they have committed
by rebelling against Me.
So this city will bring
Me
renown,
joy,
praise,
and glory
before all
the nations
of the earth,
who
will hear
of all
the good
I
do
for it.
They will tremble
in awe
because of
all
the goodness
and
prosperity
I
will provide it.
This is what
the LORD
says:
In this
place
you
say
is a wasteland
without
man
or
beast,
in the cities
of Judah
and in the streets
of Jerusalem
that are deserted—
inhabited
by neither
man
nor
beast—
there will be heard
again
the sounds
of joy
and
gladness,
the voices
of the bride
and
bridegroom,
and the voices
of those bringing
thank offerings
into the house
of the LORD,
saying:
‘Give thanks
to the LORD
of Hosts,
for
the LORD
is good;
His loving devotion
endures forever.'
For
I will restore
the land
from captivity
as in former times,
says
the LORD.
This is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
In this
desolate
place,
without
man
or beast,
and in all
its cities,
there will once more
be
pastures
for shepherds
to rest
their flocks.
In the cities
of the hill country,
the foothills,
and
the Negev,
in the land
of Benjamin
and the cities surrounding
Jerusalem,
and in the cities
of Judah,
the flocks
will again
pass
under
the hands
of the one who counts them,
says
the LORD.
Behold,
the days
are coming,
declares
the LORD,
when I will fulfill
the gracious
promise
that
I have spoken
to
the house
of Israel
and the house
of Judah.
In those
days
and at that
time
I will cause to sprout
a Righteous
Branch
of David,
and He will administer
justice
and righteousness
in the land.
In those
days
Judah
will be saved,
and Jerusalem
will dwell securely,
and this
is the name
by which she will be called:
The LORD
Our Righteousness.
For
this is what
the LORD
says:
David
will never
lack
a man
to sit
on
the throne
of the house
of Israel,
nor
will the priests
who are Levites
ever
fail
to have a man
before
Me to offer
burnt offerings,
to burn
grain offerings,
and to present
sacrifices.”
“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
cease
to occupy
their appointed time,
then My covenant
may also
be broken
with
David
My servant
and with
My ministers
the Levites
who are priests,
so that David will not have
a son
to reign
on
his throne.
As
the hosts
of heaven
cannot
be counted
and the sand
of the sea
cannot
be measured,
so too
will I multiply
the descendants
of My servant
David
and the Levites
who minister
before Me.”
“Have you not
noticed
what
these
people
are saying:
‘The LORD
has rejected
the two
families
He had chosen’?
So they despise
My people
and no longer
regard them
as a nation.
This is what
the LORD
says:
If
I have not
established
My covenant
with the day
and the night
and the fixed laws
of heaven
and earth,
then I would also
reject
the seed
of Jacob
and of My servant
David,
so as not to take
from his descendants
rulers
over
the descendants
of Abraham,
Isaac,
and Jacob.
For
I will restore them
from captivity
and have compassion on them.”