Jeremiah 33
1 While I was still being guarded in the courtyard of the palace, Yahweh gave me this second message:
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still shut up in the place of the armed watchmen, saying,
2 “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.
These are the words of the Lord, who is doing it, the Lord who is forming it, to make it certain; the Lord is his name;
3 Call out to me, and [then] I will tell you great and wonderful things that you have not known [before].’
Let your cry come to me, and I will give you an answer, and let you see great things and secret things of which you had no knowledge.
4 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.
For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said about the houses of this town and the houses of the kings of Judah, which have been broken down to make earthworks and ...;
5 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.
... and to make them full of the dead bodies of men whom I have put to death in my wrath and in my passion, and because of whose evil-doing I have kept my face covered from this town.
6 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.
See, I will make it healthy and well again, I will even make them well; I will let them see peace and good faith in full measure.
7 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.
And I will let the fate of Judah and of Israel be changed, building them up as at first.
8 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.
And I will make them clean from all their sin, with which they have been sinning against me; I will have forgiveness for all their sins, with which they have been sinning against me, and with which they have done evil against me.
9 [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.’
And this town will be to me for a name of joy, for a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth, who, hearing of all the good which I am doing for them, will be shaking with fear because of all the good and the peace which I am doing for it.
10 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,
This is what the Lord has said: There will again be sounding in this place, of which you say, It is a waste, without man and without beast; even in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem which are waste and unpeopled, without man and without beast,
11 [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.’
Happy sounds, the voice of joy, the voice of the newly-married man and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who say, Give praise to the Lord of armies, for the Lord is good, for his mercy is unchanging for ever: the voices of those who go with praise into the house of the Lord. For I will let the land come back to its first condition, says the Lord.
12 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.
This is what the Lord of armies has said: Again there will be in this place, which is a waste, without man and without beast, and in all its towns, a resting-place where the keepers of sheep will make their flocks take rest.
13 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.
In the towns of the hill-country, in the towns of the lowland, and in the towns of the South and in the land of Benjamin and in the country round Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, the flocks will again go under the hand of him who is numbering them, says the Lord.
14 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].
See, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will give effect to the good word which I have said about the people of Israel and the people of Judah.
15 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.
In those days and at that time, I will let a Branch of righteousness come up for David; and he will be a judge in righteousness in the land.
16 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’.
In those days, Judah will have salvation and Jerusalem will be safe: and this is the name which will be given to her: The Lord is our righteousness.
17 And this is [also] what [I], Yahweh, say: ‘There will be descendants of King David ruling [MTY] Israel forever.
For the Lord has said, David will never be without a man to take his place on the seat of the kingdom of Israel;
18 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.’”
And the priests and the Levites will never be without a man to come before me, offering burned offerings and perfumes and meal offerings and offerings of beasts at all times.
19 [Then] Yahweh gave me this message:
And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
20 “This is what [I], Yahweh, say: ‘[You] certainly cannot annul my promise/agreement to cause nighttime to follow daytime each day.
The Lord has said: If it is possible for my agreement of the day and the night to be broken, so that day and night no longer come at their fixed times,
21 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.
Then my agreement with my servant David may be broken, so that he no longer has a son to take his place on the seat of the kingdom; and my agreement with the Levites, the priests, my servants.
22 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.’”
As it is not possible for the army of heaven to be numbered, or the sand of the sea measured, so will I make the seed of my servant David, and the Levites my servants.
23 Yahweh gave another message to me. He said,
And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
24 “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.
Have you taken note of what these people have said, The two families, which the Lord took for himself, he has given up? This they say, looking down on my people as being, in their eyes, no longer a nation.
25 But this is what I say: ‘I will not change my laws that control the day and the night, the sky and the earth.
The Lord has said, If I have not made day and night, and if the limits of heaven and earth have not been fixed by me,
26 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.’”
Then I will give up caring for the seed of Jacob and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will let their fate be changed and will have mercy on them.
