Jeremiah 33

1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah 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 the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish 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 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty 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, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by 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 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but [it is] to fill them with the dead bodies of 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.

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 bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance 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 cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.

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 pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against 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 of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.

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; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say [shall be] desolate 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,

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, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD [is] good; for his mercy [endureth] for ever: [and] of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return 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; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be 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 In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth [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 that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

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, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

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 Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this [is the name] wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.

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; David shall never want 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 the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice 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 unto Jeremiah, saying,

A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:

20 Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and 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 [Then] may 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.

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 host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

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 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

Another message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:

24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be 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 my covenant [be] not with day and night, [and if] I have not appointed the ordinances of 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 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, [so] that I will not 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.

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.