Jeremiah 33

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

And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

2 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:

Thus hath said the Lord who doth this, the Lord that formeth it, to establish it: the Eternal is his name;

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

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and I will tell thee great and unheard of things, which thou knowest not.

4 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.

For thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by means of the mounds, and by means of the sword;

5 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.

As they come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to fill those with the corpses of the men whom I slay in my anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hidden my face from this city:

6 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.

Behold, I will bring it healing and cure, and I will cure them, and I will display unto them the abundance of peace and truth.

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

And I will cause to return the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel, and I will build them up, as at the first.

8 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.

And I will cleanse them from all their guiltiness, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned toward me, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

9 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.

And it shall be to me for a name of gladness, a praise and an honor with all the nations of the earth, who will hear all the good that I am doing unto them: and they shall dread and tremble because of all the good and because of all the happiness that I prepare unto it.

10 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

Thus hath said the Lord, Yet again shall there be heard in this place, of which ye say, “It is ruined, without man and without beast” [[[even] in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast, ]]

11 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.

The voice of gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of those that say, “Give thanks unto the Lord of hosts; for the Lord is good; because to eternity endureth his kindness:” of those that bring thanksgiving-offering unto the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.

12 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.

Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Yet again shall there be in this place, which is ruined, without man and even without beast, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds who cause their flocks to lie down.

13 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.

In the cities of the mountain, in the cities of the lowlands, 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 yet pass again under the hands of him that counteth them, saith the Lord.

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

Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will fulfill that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and respecting the house of Judah.

15 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.

In those days, and at that time, will I cause to grow up unto David the sprout of righteousness: and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

16 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.

In those days shall Judah be helped, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety: and this is what she shall be called, The Lord is our righteousness.

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

For thus hath said the Lord, There shall never be wanting unto David a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

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

And unto the priests the Levites there shall not be wanting a man before me, to offer burnt-offerings, and to burn meat-offerings, and to prepare sacrifices at all times.

19 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:

And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying,

20 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,

Thus hath said the Lord, If ye can break my covenant with the day, and my covenant with the night, and so, that there be not day and night in their season:

21 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.

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

22 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.

As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, and the sand of the sea not be measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

23 Another message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:

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

24 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.

Hast thou not observed what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord hath made choice of, even these hath he rejected: and they [thus] have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.

25 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,

Thus hath said the Lord, If my covenant be not with day and night, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth:

26 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.

Then also will I reject the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so as not to take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.