Jeremiah 33

1 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah a second time — and he [is] yet detained in the court of the prison — saying:

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

2 Thus said Jehovah its maker, Jehovah its former, at establishing it, Jehovah [is] His name:

Thus said the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and you shall declare to all the Jews, and to all that come to worship in the house of the Lord, all the words which I commanded you to speak to them; abate not one word.

3 Call unto Me, and I do answer thee, yea, I declare to thee great and fenced things — thou hast not known them.

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 said Jehovah, God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, that are broken down for the mounts, and for the tool;

And you shall say, Thus said the Lord; If you will not listen to me, to walk in my statutes which I set before you,

5 they are coming in to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the carcases of men, whom I have smitten in Mine anger, and in My fury, and [for] whom I have hidden My face from this city, because of all their evil:

to listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send to you early in the morning; yes, I sent them, but you listened not to me;

6 Lo, I am increasing to it health and cure, And have healed them, and revealed to them The abundance of peace 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 have turned back the captivity of Judah, And the captivity of Israel, And I have built 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 cleansed them from all their iniquity, That they have sinned against Me, And I have pardoned all their iniquities, That they have sinned against Me, And that they 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 And it hath been to Me for a name of joy, For praise, and for beauty, to all nations of the earth, Who hear of all the good that I am doing them, And they have feared, And they have trembled for all the good, And for all the peace, that I am doing to it.

You shall surely die, because you have 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 said Jehovah: Again heard in this place of which ye are saying, Waste it [is], without man and without beast, In cities of Judah, and in streets of Jerusalem, That are desolated, without man, And without inhabitant, and without 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 Is a voice of joy and a voice of gladness, Voice of bridegroom, and voice of bride, The voice of those saying, Thank Jehovah of Hosts, for Jehovah [is] good, For His kindness [is] to the age, Who are bringing in thanksgiving to the house of Jehovah, For I turn back the captivity of the land, As at the first, said Jehovah.

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 you have heard with your ears.

12 Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Again there is in this place — that is waste, Without man and beast, And in all its cities — a habitation of shepherds, Causing the flock 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 you have heard.

13 In the cities of the hill-country, In the cities of the low country, And in the cities of the south, And in the land of Benjamin, And in the suburbs of Jerusalem, And in the cities of Judah, Again doth the flock pass by under the hands of the numberer, said Jehovah.

And now amend your ways and your works, and listen 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, an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have established the good word That I spake unto 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, I cause to shoot up to David a shoot of righteousness, And he hath done judgment and righteousness in the earth.

But know for a certainty, that if you kill me, you 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 is Judah saved, And Jerusalem doth dwell confidently, And this [is] he whom Jehovah proclaimeth to her: '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 said Jehovah: 'Not cut off to David is one sitting on 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 And to the priests — the Levites, Not cut off from before Me is one, Causing a burnt-offering to ascend, And perfuming a present, and making sacrifice — all the days.'

Michaeas the Morathite lived in the days of Ezekias king of Juda, and said to all the people of Juda, Thus says the Lord; Sion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become a desolation, and the mountain of the house shall be a thicket of trees.

19 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,

Did Ezekias and all Juda in any way kill 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 said Jehovah: If ye do break My covenant of the day, And My covenant of the night, So that they are not daily and nightly 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 Also My covenant is broken with David My servant, So that he hath not a son reigning on his throne, And with the Levites the priests, My ministers.

And king Joakim and all the princes heard all his words, and sought to kill him; and Urias heard [it] and went into Egypt.

22 As the host of the heavens is not numbered, Nor the sand of the sea measured, So I multiply the seed of David My servant, And the Levites My ministers.'

And the king sent men into Egypt;

23 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying:

and they brought him thence, and brought him into the king; and he struck him with the sword, and cast him into the sepulchre of the children of his people.

24 'Hast thou not considered what this people have spoken, saying: The two families on which Jehovah fixed, He doth reject them, And my people they despise — So that they are no more a people before them!

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 said Jehovah: If My covenant [is] not daily and nightly, The statutes of heaven and earth I have not appointed —

26 Also the seed of Jacob, and David My servant, I reject, Against taking from his seed rulers For the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, For I turn back [to] their captivity, and have pitied them.'