Jeremias 33
1 IN THE BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF KING JOAKIM SON OF JOSIAS THERE CAME THIS WORD FROM THE LORD.
While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time:
2 Thus said the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and you shall declare to all the Jews, and to all that come to worship in the house of the Lord, all the words which I commanded you to speak to them; abate not one word.
“Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established 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 and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
4 And you shall say, Thus said the Lord; If you will not listen to me, to walk in my statutes which I set before you,
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:
5 to listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send to you early in the morning; yes, I sent them, but you listened not to me;
The Chaldeans are coming to fight and to fill those places with the corpses of the men I will strike down in My anger and in My wrath. I have hidden My face from this city because of all its wickedness.
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.
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.
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 restore Judah and Israel from captivity and will rebuild them as in former times.
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,
And I will cleanse them from all the iniquity they have committed against Me, and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against Me.
9 You shall surely die, because you have 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.
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 that I will provide for 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.
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
11 Then the priests and the false prophets said to the princes and to all the people, The judgement of death [is due] to this man; because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.
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.
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 you have heard.
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.
13 And now amend your ways and your works, and listen 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, 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.
14 And behold, I am in your hands; do to me as is expedient, and as it is best for you.
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.
15 But know for a certainty, that if you kill me, you 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 I will cause to sprout for David a righteous Branch, and He will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
16 Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the false prophets; Judgement 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 Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is the name by which it will 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 this is what the LORD says: David will never lack 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 says 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.
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.”
19 Did Ezekias and all Juda in any way kill 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.
And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
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.
“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,
21 And king Joakim and all the princes heard all his words, and sought to kill him; and Urias heard [it] and went into Egypt.
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.
22 And the king sent men into Egypt;
As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister before Me.”
23 and they brought him thence, and brought him into the king; and he struck him with the sword, and cast him into the sepulchre of the children of his people.
Moreover, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
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.
“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 order of heaven and earth,
then I would also reject the descendants 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 will have compassion on them.”
