Jeremiah 30:1–31:25
Restoration of Israel and Judah
30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that aI will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. b‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ”
4 Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah.
‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of 1fear, and not of peace.
Whether a 2man is ever in 3labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
cLike a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
7 dAlas! For that day is great,
eSo that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.
8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
9 But they shall serve the Lord their God,
And fDavid their king,
Whom I will graise up for them.
10 ‘Therefore hdo not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord,
‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your seed ifrom the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet,
And no one shall make him afraid.
11 For I am with jyou,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;
kThough I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,
lYet I will not make a complete end of you.
But I will correct you min justice,
And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’
n‘Your affliction is incurable,
Your wound is severe.
13 There is no one to plead your cause,
That you may be bound up;
oYou have no healing medicines.
14 pAll your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded you with the wound qof an enemy,
With the chastisement rof a cruel one,
For the multitude of your iniquities,
sBecause your sins have increased.
15 Why tdo you cry about your affliction?
Your sorrow is incurable.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased,
I have done these things to you.
16 ‘Therefore all those who devour you ushall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into vcaptivity;
Those who plunder you shall become wplunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a xprey.
17 yFor I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.” ’
‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
And zhave mercy on his dwelling places;
The city shall be built upon its own 4mound,
And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.
19 Then aout of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
bI will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
20 Their children also shall be cas before,
And their congregation shall be established before Me;
And I will punish all who oppress them.
21 Their nobles shall be from among them,
dAnd their governor shall come from their midst;
Then I will ecause him to draw near,
And he shall approach Me;
For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.
22 ‘You shall be fMy people,
And I will be your God.’ ”
23 Behold, the gwhirlwind of the Lord—
Goes forth with fury,
A 5continuing whirlwind;
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not return until He has done it,
And until He has performed the intents of His heart.
hIn the latter days you will consider it.
31 “At athe same time,” says the Lord, b“I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when cI went to give him rest.”
3 The Lord has appeared 1of old to me, saying:
“Yes, dI have loved you with ean everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have fdrawn you.
4 Again gI will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your htambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
5 iYou shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;
The planters shall plant and 2eat them as ordinary food.
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
j‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’ ”
k“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O Lord, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel!’
8 Behold, I will bring them lfrom the north country,
And mgather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
9 nThey shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk oby the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My pfirstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the 3isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel qwill gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For rthe Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him sfrom the hand of one stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in tthe height of Zion,
Streaming to uthe goodness of the Lord
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a vwell-watered garden,
wAnd they shall sorrow no more at all.
13 “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together;
For I will turn their mourning to joy,
Will comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
14 I will 4satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”
15 Thus says the Lord:
x“A voice was heard in yRamah,
Lamentation and bitter zweeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because athey are no more.”
“Refrain your voice from bweeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 There is chope in your future, says the Lord,
That your children shall come back to their own border.
18 “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have dchastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
eRestore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 Surely, fafter my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was gashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
hTherefore My 5heart yearns for him;
iI will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.
Make landmarks;
jSet your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
6Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.
22 How long will you kgad about,
O you lbacksliding daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: m‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and nmountain of holiness!’ 24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and oin all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. 25 For I have 7satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”