Jeremiah 33

1 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying:

A second message came from the Lord to Jeremiah while he was still being held in the guard's courtyard of the guard.

2 Thus saith the Lord, who will do, and will form it, and prepare it, the Lord is his name.

This is what the Lord says, the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who shaped it and set it in place, the Lord is his name:

3 Cry to me and I will hear thee: and I will shew thee great things, and sure things which thou knowest not.

Call out to me, and I will answer you, explaining to you amazing, hidden things about which you don't have any idea.

4 For thus saith the Lord the God of Israel to the houses of this city, and to the houses of the king of Juda, which rue destroyed, and to the bulwarks, and to the sword.

For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about Jerusalem's houses and the palaces of the kings of Judah that were demolished for materials to be used to defend against the siege ramps and the enemy attacks.

5 Of them that come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of the men whom I have slain in my wrath, and in my indignation, hiding my face from this city because of all their wickedness.

They come to fight the Babylonians but will only fill those houses with the dead bodies of those I'm going to kill in my furious anger. I have given up on this city because of all its wickedness.

6 Behold I will close their wounds and give them health, and I will cure them: and I will reveal to them the prayer of peace and truth.

But even so, in the future I will restore and repair it, and I will heal its people and give them lasting peace and safety.

7 And I will bring back the captivity of Juda, and the captivity of Jerusalem: and I will build them as from the beginning.

I will bring Judah and Israel back from exile and will make them as strong as before.

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

I will wash away all their sins that they committed against me, and I will forgive all their guilt from when they sinned in rebelling against me.

9 And it shall be to me a name, and a joy, and a praise, and a gladness before all the nations of the earth, that shall hear of all the good things which I will do to them: and they shall fear and be troubled for all the good things, and for all the peace that I will make for them.

Then this city will bring me a glorious reputation, celebrated and praised by all the nations of the earth who get to hear of all the good things I do for it. They will tremble, amazed at how much good I have done for it, how I have made it so prosperous.

10 Thus saith the Lord: There shall be heard again in this place (which you say is desolate, because there is neither man nor beast: in the cities of Juda, and without Jerusalem, which are desolate without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast)

This is what the Lord says: You call this place “a wasteland where there's no people or animals.” Well, here in the towns of Judah and in the empty streets of Jerusalem where no people or animals live, one day

11 The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say: Give ye glory to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring their vows into the house of the Lord: for I will bring back the captivity of the land as at the first, saith the Lord.

the sounds of joy and celebration will be heard there again, the happy voices of bride and bridegroom, and the shouts of praise of those bringing thank offerings to the Lord's Temple, saying: “Thank the Lord Almighty! For the Lord is good; his trustworthy love lasts endures forever.” For I will bring the land back from its “captivity” too, says the Lord.

12 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: There shall be again in this place that is desolate without man, and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: In this wasteland where there's no people or animals, and in all its towns, once again there'll be pastures where shepherds can take their flocks.

13 And in the cities on the mountains, and in the cities of the plains, and in the cities that are towards the south: and in the land of Benjamin, and round about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Juda shall the flocks pass again under the hand of him that numbereth them, saith the Lord.

In all the towns, whether in the hill country, or the foothills, or the Negev, or the land of Benjamin or the towns around Jerusalem, or throughout the cities of Judah, flocks will once again be counted by their shepherds, says the Lord.

14 Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform the good word that I have spoken to the house of Israel, and to the house of Juda.

Look! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will keep my promise to do good to the people of Israel and Judah.

15 In those days, and at that time, I will make the bud of justice to spring forth unto David, and he shall do judgment and justice in the earth.

At that time, right there and then, I will give you a good king from the line of David. He will do what is just and right throughout the country.

16 In those days shall Juda be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell securely: and this is the name that they shall call him, The Lord our just one.

This is when Judah will be saved, and the people of Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name he will be called: The Lord Who Makes Us Right.

17 For thus saith the Lord: There shall not be cut off from David a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.

This is what the Lord says: David will always have a descendant who will be king of Israel,

18 Neither shall there be cut off from the priests and Levites a man before my face to offer holocausts, and to burn sacrifices, and to kill victims continually:

and the Levitical priests will always have a descendant to present burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrifices to me.

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

A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:

20 Thus saith the Lord: If my covenant with the day can be made void, and my covenant with the night, that there should not be day and night in their season:

This is what the Lord says: If you were able to break my agreement with the day and with the night, so that they wouldn't come at the right time,

21 Also my covenant with David my servant may be made void, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne, and with the Levites and priests my ministers.

only then would my agreement be broken with David my servant and with the Levites who serve as my priests, so that David would not have a descendant to rule on his throne.

22 As the stars of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea be measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites my ministers.

In the same way that the stars of heaven can't be counted, and the sand on the seashore can't be measured, that's how many times I will multiply the number of my servant David's descendants and the Levites who serve me.

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

Another message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:

24 Hast thou not seen what this people hath spoken, saying: The two families which the Lord had chosen, are cast off: and they have despised my people, so that it is no more a nation before them?

Have you heard what people are saying: “The Lord chose two families, but now he's rejected them”? So they look down on my people and don't consider them worthy of being called a nation.

25 Thus saith the Lord: If I have not set my covenant between day and night, and laws to heaven and earth:

This is what the Lord says: Just as I can't break my agreement with the day and the night and the laws that regulate heaven and earth,

26 Surely I will also cast; off the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so as not to take any of his seed to be rulers of the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will bring back their captivity, and will have mercy on them.

so I can't reject the descendants of Jacob and of my servant David, and I can't fail to make his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will bring them back from exile and I will be kind to them.