Restoration of Israel

30 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Writed in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 3 The dayse are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bringf my people Israel and Judah back from captivitya and restoreg them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

4 These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5 “This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘Cries of fearh are heard—

terror, not peace.

6 Ask and see:

Can a man bear children?

Then why do I see every strong man

with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,i

every face turned deathly pale?j

7 How awful that dayk will be!

No other will be like it.

It will be a time of troublel for Jacob,

but he will be savedm out of it.

8 “ ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,

‘I will break the yoken off their necks

and will tear off their bonds;o

no longer will foreigners enslave them.p

9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God

and Davidq their king,r

whom I will raise up for them.

10 “ ‘So do not be afraid,s Jacob my servant;t

do not be dismayed, Israel,’

declares the Lord.

‘I will surely saveu you out of a distant place,

your descendants from the land of their exile.

Jacob will again have peace and security,v

and no one will make him afraid.w

11 I am with youx and will save you,’

declares the Lord.

‘Though I completely destroy all the nations

among which I scatter you,

I will not completely destroyy you.

I will disciplinez you but only in due measure;

I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’a

12 “This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘Your woundb is incurable,

your injury beyond healing.c

13 There is no one to plead your cause,d

no remedy for your sore,

no healinge for you.

14 All your alliesf have forgotten you;

they care nothing for you.

I have struck you as an enemyg would

and punished you as would the cruel,h

because your guilt is so great

and your sinsi so many.

15 Why do you cry out over your wound,

your pain that has no cure?j

Because of your great guilt and many sins

I have done these things to you.k

16 “ ‘But all who devourl you will be devoured;

all your enemies will go into exile.m

Those who plundern you will be plundered;

all who make spoil of you I will despoil.

17 But I will restore you to health

and healo your wounds,’

declares the Lord,

‘because you are called an outcast,p

Zion for whom no one cares.’q

18 “This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘I will restore the fortunesr of Jacob’s tentss

and have compassiont on his dwellings;

the city will be rebuiltu on her ruins,

and the palace will stand in its proper place.

19 From them will come songsv of thanksgivingw

and the sound of rejoicing.x

I will add to their numbers,y

and they will not be decreased;

I will bring them honor,z

and they will not be disdained.

20 Their childrena will be as in days of old,

and their community will be establishedb before me;

I will punishc all who oppress them.

21 Their leaderd will be one of their own;

their ruler will arise from among them.e

I will bring him nearf and he will come close to me—

for who is he who will devote himself

to be close to me?’

declares the Lord.

22 “ ‘So you will be my people,g

and I will be your God.h’ ”

23 See, the stormi of the Lord

will burst out in wrath,

a driving wind swirling down

on the heads of the wicked.

24 The fierce angerj of the Lord will not turn backk

until he fully accomplishes

the purposes of his heart.

In days to come

you will understandl this.

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the Godm of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

2 This is what the Lord says:

“The people who survive the sword

will find favorn in the wilderness;

I will come to give resto to Israel.”

3 The Lord appeared to us in the past,a saying:

“I have lovedp you with an everlasting love;

I have drawnq you with unfailing kindness.

4 I will build you up again,

and you, Virginr Israel, will be rebuilt.s

Again you will take up your timbrelst

and go out to danceu with the joyful.v

5 Again you will plantw vineyards

on the hills of Samaria;x

the farmers will plant them

and enjoy their fruit.y

6 There will be a day when watchmenz cry out

on the hills of Ephraim,

‘Come, let us go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God.’ ”a

7 This is what the Lord says:

“Singb with joy for Jacob;

shout for the foremostc of the nations.

Make your praises heard, and say,

‘Lord, saved your people,

the remnante of Israel.’

8 See, I will bring them from the land of the northf

and gatherg them from the ends of the earth.

Among them will be the blindh and the lame,i

expectant mothers and women in labor;

a great throng will return.

9 They will come with weeping;j

they will pray as I bring them back.

I will leadk them beside streams of waterl

on a levelm path where they will not stumble,

because I am Israel’s father,n

and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

10 “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;

proclaim it in distant coastlands:o

‘He who scatteredp Israel will gatherq them

and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’r

11 For the Lord will deliver Jacob

and redeems them from the hand of those strongert than they.

12 They will come and shout for joyu on the heightsv of Zion;

they will rejoice in the bountyw of the Lord—

the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,x

the young of the flocksy and herds.

They will be like a well-watered garden,z

and they will sorrowa no more.

13 Then young women will dance and be glad,

young men and old as well.

I will turn their mourningb into gladness;

I will give them comfortc and joyd instead of sorrow.

14 I will satisfye the priestsf with abundance,

and my people will be filled with my bounty,g”

declares the Lord.

15 This is what the Lord says:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,h

mourning and great weeping,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted,i

because they are no more.”j

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Restrain your voice from weeping

and your eyes from tears,k

for your work will be rewarded,l”

declares the Lord.

“They will returnm from the land of the enemy.

17 So there is hopen for your descendants,”

declares the Lord.

“Your childreno will return to their own land.

18 “I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:

‘You disciplinedp me like an unruly calf,q

and I have been disciplined.

Restorer me, and I will return,

because you are the Lord my God.

19 After I strayed,s

I repented;

after I came to understand,

I beatt my breast.

I was ashamedu and humiliated

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’v

20 Is not Ephraim my dear son,

the childw in whom I delight?

Though I often speak against him,

I still rememberx him.

Therefore my heart yearns for him;

I have great compassiony for him,”

declares the Lord.

21 “Set up road signs;

put up guideposts.z

Take note of the highway,a

the road that you take.

Return,b Virginc Israel,

return to your towns.

22 How long will you wander,d

unfaithfule Daughter Israel?

The Lord will create a new thingf on earth—

the woman will return tob g the man.”

23 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity,c h the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord blessi you, you prosperous city,j you sacred mountain.’k 24 People will livel together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks.m 25 I will refresh the wearyn and satisfy the faint.”o

26 At this I awokep and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.

27 “The days are coming,”q declares the Lord, “when I will plantr the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28 Just as I watcheds over them to uproott and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster,u so I will watch over them to build and to plant,”v declares the Lord. 29 “In those days people will no longer say,

‘The parentsw have eaten sour grapes,

and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’x

30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin;y whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will make a new covenantz

with the people of Israel

and with the people of Judah.

32 It will not be like the covenanta

I made with their ancestorsb

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,c

because they broke my covenant,

though I was a husbandd tod them,e”

declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel

after that time,” declares the Lord.

“I will put my law in their mindse

and write it on their hearts.f

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.g

34 No longer will they teachh their neighbor,

or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all knowi me,

from the least of them to the greatest,”

declares the Lord.

“For I will forgivej their wickedness

and will remember their sinsk no more.”

35 This is what the Lord says,

he who appointsl the sun

to shine by day,

who decrees the moon and stars

to shine by night,m

who stirs up the sean

so that its waves roaro—

the Lord Almighty is his name:p

36 “Only if these decreesq vanish from my sight,”

declares the Lord,

“will Israelr ever cease

being a nation before me.”

37 This is what the Lord says:

“Only if the heavens above can be measureds

and the foundations of the earth below be searched out

will I rejectt all the descendants of Israel

because of all they have done,”

declares the Lord.

38 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuiltu for me from the Tower of Hananelv to the Corner Gate.w 39 The measuring linex will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valleyy where dead bodiesz and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valleya on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate,b will be holyc to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”