Jeremiah 33

1 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still shut up in the court 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 saith Jehovah the doer of it, Jehovah that formeth it to establish it, Jehovah is his name:

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.

3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and I will shew thee great and hidden things, which thou knowest not.

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 saith Jehovah the God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down because of the mounds and because of the sword:

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,

5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but to fill them with the dead bodies of the men whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city.

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;

6 Behold, I will apply a healing dressing to it and cure, and I will heal them, and will reveal unto them an abundance 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 turn the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel, and will build them, as at 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, whereby they have sinned against me, and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned against me, and whereby they have transgressed against 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 it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear of all the good that I do unto them; and they shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.

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.

10 Thus saith Jehovah: In this place of which ye say, It is waste, without man and without beast! in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,

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 there shall again be heard the voice of mirth and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that say, Give ye thanks unto Jehovah of hosts; for Jehovah is good, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, — of them that bring thanksgiving unto the house of Jehovah. For I will turn the captivity of the land as in the beginning, saith Jehovah.

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.

12 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: In this place which is waste, without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, there shall again be a habitation of shepherds causing [their] flocks to lie down.

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.

13 In the cities of the hill-country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the environs of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that counteth [them], saith Jehovah.

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.

14 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will perform the good word which I have spoken unto the house of Israel and unto 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, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

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.

16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety. And this is the name wherewith she shall be called: Jehovah our Righteousness.

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.

17 For thus saith Jehovah: There shall never fail to David a man to sit 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 neither shall there fail to the priests the Levites a man before me to offer up burnt-offerings, and to burn oblations, and to do sacrifice continually.

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.

19 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying,

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.

20 Thus saith Jehovah: If ye can break my covenant [in respect] of the day, and my covenant [in respect] of the night, so that there should not be day and night in their season,

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] shall also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites, the priests, my ministers.

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

22 As the host of the heavens cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

And the king sent men into Egypt;

23 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying,

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.

24 Hast thou not seen what this people have spoken, saying, The two families that Jehovah had chosen, he hath even cast them off? And they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.

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 saith Jehovah: If my covenant of day and night [stand] not, if I have not appointed the ordinances of the heavens and the earth,

26 [then] will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so as not to take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will turn their captivity, and will have mercy on them.