Restoration for Israel and Judah

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: eWrite in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. ³fFor behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, gwhen I will restore hthe fortunes of my people, iIsrael and Judah, says the Lord, jand I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

⁴These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning iIsrael and Judah:

⁵“Thus says the Lord:

We have heard a cry of panic,

of terror, and no peace.

⁶Ask now, and see,

can a man bear a child?

kWhy then do I see every man

with his hands on his stomach klike a woman in labor?

lWhy has every face turned pale?

⁷Alas! mThat day is so great

nthere is none like it;

it is a time of distress for Jacob;

yet he shall be saved out of it.

⁸“And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will obreak his pyoke from off your neck, and I will oburst your bonds, qand foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.1 ⁹But they shall serve the Lord their God and rDavid their king, whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰s“Then fear not, tO Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,

nor be dismayed, O Israel;

for behold, sI will save you from far away,

uand your offspring from the land of their captivity.

sJacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and none shall make him afraid.

¹¹vFor I am with you to save you,

declares the Lord;

vI will make a full end of all the nations

among whom I scattered you,

but of you I will not make a full end.

vI will wdiscipline you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

¹²“For thus says the Lord:

xYour hurt is incurable,

yand your wound is grievous.

¹³There is none to uphold your cause,

no medicine for your wound,

zno healing for you.

¹⁴aAll your lovers have forgotten you;

they care nothing for you;

for I have dealt you the blow of ban enemy,

the punishment cof a merciless foe,

because your guilt is great,

dbecause your sins are flagrant.

¹⁵xWhy do you cry out over your hurt?

xYour pain is incurable.

Because your guilt is great,

dbecause your sins are flagrant,

I have done these things to you.

¹⁶eTherefore all who devour you shall be devoured,

and fall your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;

gthose who plunder you shall be plundered,

hand all who prey on you I will make a prey.

¹⁷iFor I will restore jhealth to you,

and kyour wounds I will heal,

declares the Lord,

because lthey have called you an outcast:

l‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’

¹⁸“Thus says the Lord:

Behold, mI will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob

and have compassion on his dwellings;

the city shall be rebuilt on nits mound,

and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

¹⁹oOut of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,

and the voices of those who celebrate.

pI will multiply them, and they shall not be few;

I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.

²⁰qTheir children shall be as they were of old,

and their congregation shall be established before me,

and I will punish all who oppress them.

²¹rTheir prince shall be one of themselves;

rtheir ruler shall come out from their midst;

sI will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,

tfor who would dare of himself to approach me?

declares the Lord.

²²uAnd you shall be my people,

and I will be your God.”

²³vBehold wthe storm of the Lord!

Wrath has gone forth,

a whirling tempest;

it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

²⁴xThe fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back

until he has executed and accomplished

the intentions of his mind.

yIn the latter days you will understand this.