Jeremiah 33

1 And the word of Yahweh came unto Jeremiah, the second time, when he was yet imprisoned in the guard-court, saying:

IN THE BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF KING JOAKIM SON OF JOSIAS THERE CAME THIS WORD FROM THE LORD.

2 Thus, saith Yahweh, who doeth it, —Yahweh, who fashioneth it to establish it, Yahweh, 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 that I may answer thee, —and tell thee things great and inaccessible, which thou hast not known.

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 Yahweh God of Israel, Concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, —which are thrown down against the earthworks and against 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 In entering to fight with the Chaldeans, it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have smitten in mine anger and in mine indignation, —and because of whom I have hidden my face from this city, —by reason of all their wickedness.

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 me! laying upon her a bandage of healing, so will I heal them, —And will reveal to them abundance of prosperity 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 bring back Them of the captivity of Judah, and Them of the captivity of Israel, —And I will build them, as at the first;

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 purify them, from all their iniquity wherewith they have sinned against me, —And I will grant pardon for all their iniquities Wherewith they have sinned against me, and Wherewith 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 So shall she become to me—A name of joy, A praise and An adorning, To all the nations of the earth, —Who will hear all the good which I am doing them, And will dread and be deeply moved over all the good and over all the prosperity which I am causing her.

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 Yahweh—Again, shall be heard in this place, as to which ye are saying, Deserted, it is without man or beast, In the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, Which are desolate without man or inhabitant or 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 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, The voice of them who are saying, Praise ye Yahweh of hosts, For good is Yahweh For age-abiding is his lovingkindness, The voice of them who are bringing a thank-offering into the house of Yahweh, —For I will bring back the captives of the land, as at the first, Saith Yahweh.

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 Yahweh of hosts, Again, shall there be in this place—Which is deserted without man or even beast—And all the cities thereof, —The home of shepherds, causing 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 places round about Jerusalem, and In the cities of Judah, Again shall the flock pass over the hands of the numberer, Saith Yahweh.

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 Lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, —when I will establish my good word, which I have spoken—As to the house of Israel And concerning 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 to bud unto David A Bud of righteousness, —And he shall execute justice 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, Judah shall be saved, and, Jerusalem abide, securely, —And, this, is that which shall be proclaimed to her—Yahweh, 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 Yahweh, —There shall not be wanting 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 Nor to the priests the Levites, shall there be wanting—A man, before me, To offer an ascending-sacrifice, or To make a perfume with a gift, or To offer a [peace-] offering, all the days!

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 Yahweh came unto 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 Yahweh, If ye can break, My covenant of the day, and My covenant of the night, That there be not 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 My covenant also, may be broken With David my servant, that he shall not have a son, to reign upon his throne, —And with the Levites the priests, mine attendants:

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 recorded, Nor the sand of the sea, be measured, So, will I multiply, The seed of David my servant, And the Levites who attend upon me.

And the king sent men into Egypt;

23 And the word of Yahweh came unto 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 observed what, this people, have spoken saying, The two families which Yahweh did choose, he hath even cast them off? And so, my people, they despise, as though they could not again become a nation in their sight!

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 Yahweh, If my covenant of day and night, the ordinances of the heavens and the earth, I did not appoint,

26 The seed of Jacob also and of David my servant, might I cast off so as not to take of his seed as rulers unto the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, —For I will bring back them of their captivity, and will have compassion upon them.