Jeremias 33
1 IN THE BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF KING JOAKIM SON OF JOSIAS THERE CAME THIS WORD FROM THE LORD.
Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut within the courtyard of the guard, saying,
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.
“Yahweh the maker, says this—Yahweh, who forms in order to establish—Yahweh 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. I will demonstrate great things to you, mysteries that you do not understand.'
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 Yahweh, God of Israel, says this concerning the houses in this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that are torn down because of 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 the houses with corpses of people whom I will kill in my wrath and fury, when I hide my face from this city because of all their 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.
But see, I am about to bring healing and a cure, for I will heal them and will bring to them abundance, peace, and faithfulness.
7 And the priests, and the false prophets, and all the people heard Jeremias speaking these words in the house of the Lord.
For I will bring back the fortunes of Judah and Israel; I will build them up as in the beginning.
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,
Then I will purify them from all the iniquity that they have committed against me. I will pardon all the iniquities that they have done against me, and all the ways that they rebelled 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.
For this city will become for me an object of joy, a song of praise and honor for all the nations of the earth who will hear of all the good things that I am going to do for it. Then they will fear and tremble because of all the good things and the peace that I will give 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.
Yahweh says this, 'In this place about which you are now saying, “It is desolate, a place with neither man nor beast,” in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate having 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 sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the sound of the groom and the sound of the bride, the sound of those who say, while they bring thank offerings to the house of Yahweh, “Give thanks to Yahweh of hosts, for Yahweh is good, and his unfailing love lasts forever!” For I will restore the fortunes of the land to what they were before,' says Yahweh.
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.
Yahweh of hosts says this: 'In this desolate place, where now there is neither man nor beast—in all its cities there will again be pastures where shepherds can 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 in the hill country, the lowlands, and the Negev, in the land of Benjamin and all around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the ones counting them,' says Yahweh.
14 And behold, I am in your hands; do to me as is expedient, and as it is best for you.
'Look! Days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will do what I have promised for 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 in that time I will make a righteous branch to grow for David, and he will carry out 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 live in security, for this is what she will be called, “Yahweh is our righteousness.”'
17 And there rose up men of the elders of the land, and said to all the assembly of the people,
For Yahweh says this: 'A man from David's line will never be lacking 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 a man from the Levitical priests be lacking before me to raise burnt offerings, to burn food offerings, and to perform grain offerings all the time.'”
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.
The word of Yahweh 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.
“Yahweh says this: 'If you can break my covenant with day and night so that there will no longer be day or night at their proper times,
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 you will be able to break my covenant with David my servant, so that he will no longer have a son to sit on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests, my servants.
22 And the king sent men into Egypt;
As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted, and as the sand of the seashores cannot be measured, so I will increase the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who serve 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.
The word of Yahweh 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.
“Have you not considered what this people has declared when they said, 'The two families that Yahweh chose, now he has rejected them'? In this way they despise my people, saying that they are no longer a nation in their sight.
I, Yahweh, say this, 'If I have not established the covenant of day and night, and if I have not fixed the laws of heaven and earth,
then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant, and not bring from them a person to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and show mercy to them.'”
