Jeremiah 33
1 Moreover Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still locked up in the court of the guard, 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 “Yahweh who does it, Yahweh who forms it to establish it—Yahweh is his name, says:
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 to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great and difficult things, which you don’t know.’
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 Yahweh, the God of Israel, says concerning the houses of this city and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are broken down to make a defense against the mounds and against 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 ‘While men come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have killed in my anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hidden 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 healing, and I will cure them; and I will reveal to them 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 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel, 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 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against me. I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against me and by which 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 This city will be to me for a name of joy, for praise, and for glory, before all the nations of the earth, which will hear all the good that I do to them, and will fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I provide to 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 Yahweh says: “Yet again there will be heard in this place, about which you say, ‘It is waste, without man and without animal, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal,’
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 those who say, ‘Give thanks to Yahweh of Armies, for Yahweh is good, for his loving kindness endures forever;’ who bring thanksgiving into Yahweh’s house. For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed as at the first,” says Yahweh.
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 Yahweh of Armies says: “Yet again there will be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a 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 hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of him who counts them,” says Yahweh.
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,” says Yahweh, “that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning 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, I will cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David. He will execute justice 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 Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. This is the name by which she will be called: Yahweh 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 Yahweh says: “David will never lack a man to sit on 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 The Levitical priests won’t lack a man before me to offer burnt offerings, to burn meal 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 Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying,
A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:
20 “Yahweh says: ‘If you can break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night, so that there will not be day and night in their time,
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 my covenant could also be broken with David my servant, that he won’t have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levitical 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 army of the sky can’t be counted, and the sand of the sea can’t be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant and the Levites who minister to 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 Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying,
Another message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:
24 “Don’t consider what this people has spoken, saying, ‘Has Yahweh cast off the two families which he chose?’ Thus they despise 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 Yahweh says: “If my covenant of day and night fails, 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 I will also cast away the offspring of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his offspring to be rulers over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will cause their captivity to be reversed and will 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.
