1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 3The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the LORD.”
4These are the words the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5“This is what the LORD says:
5“ ‘Cries of fear are heard—
5terror, not peace.
6Ask and see:
6Can a man bear children?
6Then why do I see every strong man
6with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,
6every face turned deathly pale?
7How awful that day will be!
7No other will be like it.
7It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,
7but he will be saved out of it.
8“ ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty,
8‘I will break the yoke off their necks
8and will tear off their bonds;
8no longer will foreigners enslave them.
9Instead, they will serve the LORD their God
9and David their king,
9whom I will raise up for them.
10“ ‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;
10do not be dismayed, Israel,’
10declares the LORD.
10‘I will surely save you out of a distant place,
10your descendants from the land of their exile.
10Jacob will again have peace and security,
10and no one will make him afraid.
11I am with you and will save you,’
11declares the LORD.
11‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
11among which I scatter you,
11I will not completely destroy you.
11I will discipline you but only in due measure;
11I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’
12“This is what the LORD says:
12“ ‘Your wound is incurable,
12your injury beyond healing.
13There is no one to plead your cause,
13no remedy for your sore,
13no healing for you.
14All your allies have forgotten you;
14they care nothing for you.
14I have struck you as an enemy would
14and punished you as would the cruel,
14because your guilt is so great
14and your sins so many.
15Why do you cry out over your wound,
15your pain that has no cure?
15Because of your great guilt and many sins
15I have done these things to you.
16“ ‘But all who devour you will be devoured;
16all your enemies will go into exile.
16Those who plunder you will be plundered;
16all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
17But I will restore you to health
17and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD,
17‘because you are called an outcast,
17Zion for whom no one cares.’
18“This is what the LORD says:
18“ ‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents
18and have compassion on his dwellings;
18the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,
18and the palace will stand in its proper place.
19From them will come songs of thanksgiving
19and the sound of rejoicing.
19I will add to their numbers,
19and they will not be decreased;
19I will bring them honor,
19and they will not be disdained.
20Their children will be as in days of old,
20and their community will be established before me;
20I will punish all who oppress them.
21Their leader will be one of their own;
21their ruler will arise from among them.
21I will bring him near and he will come close to me—
21for who is he who will devote himself
21to be close to me?’
21declares the LORD.
22‘So you will be my people,
22and I will be your God.’ ”
23See, the storm of the LORD
23will burst out in wrath,
23a driving wind swirling down
23on the heads of the wicked.
24The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back
24until he fully accomplishes
24the purposes of his heart.
24In days to come
24you will understand this.
The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
