Jeremiah 33

1 The word of Jehovah came also to Jeremiah the second time, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, and said: —

While I was still being guarded in the courtyard of the palace, Yahweh gave me this second message:

2 Thus saith Jehovah, who doeth it, Jehovah who disposeth it, to establish it; Jehovah is his name.

“This is what I, the one who made the earth, who formed/shaped it and put it in its place, say [to the people of Jerusalem]: ‘My name is Yahweh.

3 Call to me, and I will answer thee, And I will show thee great things, And hidden things which thou knowest not.

Call out to me, and [then] I will tell you great and wonderful things that you have not known [before].’

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 toward the mounds and the sword,

This is what [I, ] Yahweh, the God whom [you] Israeli people [say you belong to], say: ‘[The men in this city] have torn down [some of] their houses, and [even parts of] the king’s palace, to get materials to strengthen the walls around the city, in order that [the soldiers of Babylonia will not be able to break through the walls after they climb up] the ramps that they have built against the walls, and [kill the inhabitants with] their swords.

5 To fight with the Chaldaeans, And to fill them with the dead bodies of men, Whom I have smitten in mine anger and in my wrath, And for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city:

You are expecting to fight against the army from Babylonia, but [what will happen is that] the houses of this city will be filled with the corpses of the men of this city whom I will [allow to be killed] because I am extremely angry [DOU] with them. I have abandoned them because of all the wicked things that they have done.

6 Behold, I will bind up her wounds, and heal them, And I will reveal to them abundance of peace and stability.

However, [there will be a time when] I will cause the people in this city to be healthy and strong again. I will enable them to be prosperous and have peace.

7 And I will bring back the captives of Judah, And the captives of Israel, And I will build them, as at the first.

I will bring the people of Judah and Israel back from the lands to which they were exiled. I will enable them to rebuild their towns.

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, And have rebelled against me.

I will get rid of their guilt for all the sins that they have committed against me, and I will forgive them for their sin of rebelling against me.

9 And it [[the city]] shall be to me a name of joy, A praise and a glory among all the nations of the earth, Who shall hear of all the good which I do to them. And they shall fear and tremble because of all the good, And because of all the prosperity, which I bestow upon it.

[When that happens], all the nations of the world will rejoice, and they will praise me and honor me. They will hear about all the good things that I have done for this city and, because of that, they will revere me, and they will tremble because I have caused [the people in this city] to have peace and to prosper.’

10 Thus saith Jehovah: Yet again shall be heard in this place, Of which ye say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast,” In the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, Which are desolate, without man, Even without an inhabitant and without beast,

And this is also what [I], Yahweh, say: ‘You people have said that this is a land where there are no [longer] any people or animals. But in the streets of Jerusalem that are now completely empty [DOU], and in the [other] towns in Judah,

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 say, “Praise ye Jehovah of hosts, For Jehovah is good, For his mercy endureth forever!” And of them that bring an offering of praise to the house of Jehovah. For I will restore the captives of the land, As at the first, saith Jehovah.

[some day] people will again be happy and laugh. Brides and bridegrooms will [again] sing [joyfully]. And many other people will also sing joyfully as they bring their offerings to me to thank me [for what I have done for them]. [They will sing this song]: “[We] thank you, the Commander of the armies of angels, because you are good [to us]. You faithfully love [us] forever.” [They will sing that] because I will cause [the people of] land to be as prosperous as they were before.’

12 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Yet again shall there be in this place, Which is desolate, without man and without beast, And in all the cities thereof, A habitation of shepherds, who shall cause their flocks to rest;

This land is [now] desolate. There are no people or animals living here. But [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, say this: ‘In this land there will again be pastures/fields where shepherds will lead their sheep.

13 In the cities of the hill-country, and in the cities of the plain, 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 yet again Under the hands of him that numbereth them, saith Jehovah.

Shepherds will again count their sheep as the sheep walk by, outside the towns in the hilly area, in the western foothills, in the southern desert area, in the land [where the descendants] of Benjamin live, around Jerusalem, and outside [all] the [other] towns in Judah.’ [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.

14 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will perform that good thing Which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel, And concerning the house of Judah.

Listen to this! [I], Yahweh, say that there will be a time when I will do for the people of Israel and Judah [all the good things that] I promised to do [for them].

15 In those days and at that time Will I cause to grow up from David a righteous branch, Who shall maintain justice and equity in the land.

At that time [DOU] I will appoint a righteous man who will be a descendant [MET] of King David. Throughout the land, he will do what is just and right.

16 In those days shall Judah be saved, And Jerusalem shall dwell securely; And this is the name which shall be given her, Jehovah-is-our-salvation.

At that time, [the people of] Judah will be rescued [from their enemies], and [the people of] Jerusalem will be safe. And people will say that the name of the city is ‘Yahweh [is the one who] vindicates/defends us’.

17 For thus saith Jehovah: There shall never fail from David A man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

And this is [also] what [I], Yahweh, say: ‘There will be descendants of King David ruling [MTY] Israel forever.

18 Neither from the priests and the Levites Shall a man fail before me, To offer burnt-offerings, and to kindle meat-offerings, And to perform sacrifice continually.

And there will always be priests who are descendants of Levi who [stand] in front of me and offer sacrifices that will be completely burned [on the altar] and who will burn grain offerings and [other] sacrifices.’”

19 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah and said,

[Then] Yahweh gave me this message:

20 Thus saith Jehovah: If ye can break my covenant concerning the day, And my covenant concerning the night, So that there shall no more be day and night in their season,

“This is what [I], Yahweh, say: ‘[You] certainly cannot annul my promise/agreement to cause nighttime to follow daytime each day.

21 Then also may my covenant with David my servant be broken, So that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne, And with the Levites, the priests, my servants.

Similarly, you cannot annul the promise/agreement [that I made] with King David, who served me [well], that there will always be descendants of his who will rule [Judah]. The same is true for my agreement with the descendants of Levi who are priests who do work for me.

22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, Nor the sand of the sea measured, So will I multiply the posterity of David my servant, And the Levites who minister to me.

No one can count the stars in the sky, and no one can count the grains of sand at the seashore. Similarly, I will cause there to be a huge number of priests who are descendants of David and descendants of Levi who will work for me.’”

23 The word of Jehovah came also to Jeremiah, saying:

Yahweh gave another message to me. He said,

24 Seest thou not what this people speaketh, saying, “The two families, which Jehovah chose, he hath cast off”? Therefore they despise my people, So that they are no more a people in their eyes.

“Have you noticed/heard that some people are saying, ‘Yahweh chose two groups, the people [of Judah] and the people [of Israel], and [later] abandoned them.’ They are despising my people and saying that Israel no longer deserves to be considered a nation.

25 Thus saith Jehovah: If my covenant concerning the day and the night be not maintained, And if I have not established the ordinances of the heaven and the earth,

But this is what I say: ‘I will not change my laws that control the day and the night, the sky and the earth.

26 Then will I cast away the posterity of Jacob, and of David, my servant, So as not to take of his posterity to be rulers Over the posterity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; For I will bring them back from their captivity, And have mercy upon them.

Similarly, I will never abandon the descendants of David or the [other] descendants of Jacob, and I will always allow descendants of David to rule the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will bring my people back to their land, and I will act mercifully toward them.’”