Jeremiah 33

1 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still confined to the atrium of the prison, saying:

IN THE BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF KING JOAKIM SON OF JOSIAS THERE CAME THIS WORD FROM THE LORD.

2 “Thus says the Lord, who will prepare, and form, and accomplish it; the Lord is his name.

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.

3 Cry out to me and I will heed you. And I will announce to you great things, things that are certain, though you do not know them.

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.

4 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to the houses of this city, and to the houses of the king of Judah, which have been destroyed, and to the fortifications, and to the sword

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,

5 of those who have arrived, so that they may fight with the Chaldeans, and so that they may have their fill of the dead bodies of the men whom I have struck down in my fury and in my indignation, concealing my face from this city, because of all their wickedness:

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;

6 Behold, I will lead over them scars and health, and I will cure them. And I will reveal to them an invocation of peace and truth.

then will I make this house as Selo, and I will make [this] city a curse to all the nations of all the earth.

7 And I will convert the turning away of Judah and the turning away of Jerusalem. And I will build them up, just as from the beginning.

And the priests, and the false prophets, and all the people heard Jeremias speaking these words in the house of the Lord.

8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they have sinned against me. And I will forgive all their iniquities, by which they have offended against me and have despised me.

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,

9 And this will be for me: a name, and a joy, and a praise, and an exultation, among all the nations of the earth who will hear about all the good things that I will accomplish for them. And they will be afraid and troubled over all these good things, and over all the peace, that I will accomplish for them.

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.

10 Thus says the Lord: Still shall there be heard in this place, (which you say is desolate, because there is neither man nor beast, ) and in the cities of Judah and outside of Jerusalem, (which are desolate, without man, and without an inhabitant and without cattle, )

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.

11 the voice of gladness and the voice of rejoicing, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: ‘Confess to the Lord of hosts! For the Lord is good! For his mercy is eternal!’ and the voice of those fulfilling their vows in the house of the Lord. For I will lead back the turning away of the land, just as from the beginning, says the Lord.”

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.

12 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Still shall there be in this place, (which is desolate without man and without beast, ) and in all of its cities: a habitation for the shepherds giving rest to their flocks.

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.

13 For even in the cities on the mountains, and in the cities on the plains, and in the cities that are toward the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and all around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, still shall the flocks travel by the hand of him who numbers them, says the Lord.

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.

14 Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the good word that I have spoken to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

And behold, I am in your hands; do to me as is expedient, and as it is best for you.

15 In those days and at that time, I will cause the seedling of justice to spring up from David, and he will accomplish judgment and justice upon the earth.

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.

16 In those days, Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in confidence. And this is the name that they will call him: ‘The Lord, our Just One.’

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.

17 For thus says the Lord: There shall not cease to be a man from David sitting upon the throne of the house of Israel.

And there rose up men of the elders of the land, and said to all the assembly of the people,

18 And there shall not cease to be a man from the priests and from the Levites before my face, who offers holocausts, and burns sacrifices, and kills victims, for days without end.”

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.

19 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

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.

20 “Thus says the Lord: If my covenant with the day is able to be nullified, or my covenant with the night, such that there would be no day and no night in their time,

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.

21 then, too, my covenant with David, my servant, may be nullified, such that he would not have a son who reigns upon his throne, with both the Levites and the priests as my ministers.

And king Joakim and all the princes heard all his words, and sought to kill him; and Urias heard [it] and went into Egypt.

22 Just as the stars of heaven are not able to be numbered, and the sand of the sea is not able to be measured, so will I multiply the offspring of David, my servant, and the Levites, my ministers.”

And the king sent men into Egypt;

23 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

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.

24 “Have you not seen what this people has spoken? They say: ‘The two families which the Lord had chosen have been rejected.’ And so they have despised my people, as if they were no longer a nation in their sight.

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.

25 Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with the day and the night, and my laws over heaven and earth,

26 then truly I will also cast aside the offspring of Jacob, and of David, my servant, so that I do not take up any of his offspring to be leaders over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will lead back their turning away, and I will take pity on them.”