6 ‘Behold, I will bring to it ahealth and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an babundance of peace and truth.

7 ‘I will arestore the 1fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will brebuild them as they were at first.

8 ‘I will acleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me.

9 ‘1It will be to Me a aname of joy, praise and glory before ball the nations of the earth which will hear of all the cgood that I do for them, and they will dfear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’

10 “Thus says the Lord, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a awaste, without man and without beast,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are bdesolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast,

11 the voice of ajoy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,

“bGive thanks to the Lord of hosts,

For the Lord is good,

For His lovingkindness is everlasting”;

and of those who bring a cthank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the 1fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

12 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, awithout man or beast, and in all its cities, a 1habitation of shepherds who rest their bflocks.

13 ‘In the acities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again bpass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the Lord.

The Davidic Kingdom

14 ‘Behold, adays are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bfulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

15 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause a arighteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute bjustice and righteousness on the earth.

16 ‘In those days aJudah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the bLord is our righteousness.’

17 “For thus says the Lord, ‘1David shall anever lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;

18 1and the aLevitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to bprepare sacrifices 2continually.’ ”

19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

20 “Thus says the Lord, ‘If you can abreak My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time,

21 then aMy covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers.

22 ‘As the ahost of heaven cannot be counted and the bsand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will cmultiply the 1descendants of David My servant and the dLevites who minister to Me.’ ”

23 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

24 “Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The atwo families which the Lord chose, He has brejected them’? Thus they cdespise My people, no longer are they as a nation 1in their sight.

25 “Thus says the Lord, ‘If My acovenant for day and night stand not, and the 1fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have bnot established,

26 then I would areject the 1descendants of Jacob and David My servant, 2not taking from his 1descendants brulers over the 1descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will crestore their 3fortunes and will have dmercy on them.’ ”