Jeremias 33
1 IN THE BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF KING JOAKIM SON OF JOSIAS THERE CAME THIS WORD FROM THE LORD.
Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the guard, saying,
2 Thus said the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and thou shalt declare to all the Jews, and to all that come to worship in the house of the Lord, all the words which I commanded thee to speak to them; abate not one word.
"Thus says the LORD who made the earth, and who formed it to establish it; the LORD is his name:
3 Peradventure they will hear, and turn every one from his evil way: then I will cease from the evils which I purpose to do to them, because of their evil practices.
'Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great and hidden things, which you do not know.'
4 And thou shalt say, Thus said the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my statutes which I set before you,
For thus says the LORD, 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 defense against the mounds and against the sword;
5 to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send to you early in the morning; yea, I sent them, but ye hearkened not to me;
while men come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have killed in my anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hidden my face from this city:
6 then will I make this house as Selo, and I will make [this] city a curse to all the nations of all the earth.
'Look, I will bring it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them abundance of peace and truth.
7 And the priests, and the false prophets, and all the people heard Jeremias speaking these words in the house of the Lord.
I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.
8 And it came to pass, when Jeremias had ceased speaking all that the Lord had ordered him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the false prophets and all the people took him, saying,
I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, by which they have sinned against me, and by which they have transgressed against me.
9 Thou shalt surely die, because thou hast prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be as Selo, and this city shall be made quite destitute of inhabitants. And all the people assembled against Jeremias in the house of the Lord.
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 to them, and shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I procure to it.'
10 And the princes of Juda heard this word, and they went up out of the house of the king to the house of the Lord, and sat in the entrance of the new gate.
"Thus says the LORD: 'Yet again there shall be heard in this place, about which you say, "It is waste, without man and without animal," even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal,
11 Then the priests and the false prophets said to the princes and to all the people, The judgment of death [is due] to this man; because he has prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, "Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for his loving kindness endures forever; who bring thanksgiving into the house of the LORD." For I will cause the captivity of the land to return as at the first,' says the LORD.
12 Then Jeremias spoke to the princes, and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city, all the words which ye have heard.
Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
13 And now amend your ways and your works, and hearken to the voice of the Lord; and the Lord shall cease from the evils which he has pronounced against you.
In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the Negev, 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 who numbers them,' says the LORD.
14 And behold, I am in your hands; do to me as is expedient, and as it is best for you.
'Look, the days come,' says the LORD, 'that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.
15 But know for a certainty, that if ye slay me, ye bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon them that dwell in it; for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak in your ears all these words.
In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
16 Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the false prophets; Judgment of death is not [due] to this man; for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.
In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name by which she shall be called: "The LORD our righteousness."
17 And there rose up men of the elders of the land, and said to all the assembly of the people,
For thus says the LORD: "David shall never want a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;
18 Michaeas the Morathite lived in the days of Ezekias king of Juda, and said to all the people of Juda, Thus saith the Lord; Sion shall be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become a desolation, and the mountain of the house shall be a thicket of trees.
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 Did Ezekias and all Juda in any way slay him? Was it not that they feared the Lord, and they made supplication before the Lord, and the Lord ceased from the evils which he [had] pronounced against them? whereas we have wrought great evil against our own souls.
The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
20 And there was [another] man prophesying in the name of the Lord, Urias the son of Samaeas of Cariathiarim; and he prophesied concerning this land according to all the words of Jeremias.
"Thus says the LORD: 'If you 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 And king Joakim and all the princes heard all his words, and sought to slay him; and Urias heard [it] and went into Egypt.
then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.
22 And the king sent men into Egypt;
As the host of heaven can't be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levites who minister to me.'"
23 and they brought him thence, and brought him into the king; and he smote him with the sword, and cast him into the sepulchre of the children of his people.
The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
24 Nevertheless the hand of Achicam son of Saphan was with Jeremias, to prevent his being delivered into the hands of the people, or being killed.
"Do not consider what this people has spoken, saying, 'The two families which the LORD chose, he has cast them off?' Thus do they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
Thus says the LORD: 'If my covenant of day and night fails, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
then will I also cast away the descendants of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them.'"
