Restoration Promised Again
1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still locked up in the court of the guard, saying, 2 “The Lord who does it, the Lord who forms it to establish it—the Lord is his name, says: 3 ‘Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great and difficult things, which you do not know.
4 For the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the houses of this city and concerning the palaces of the kings of Judah, which are broken down to make a defense against the siege ramps and against the sword, 5 while men come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have killed in my anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hidden my face from this city.
6 Nevertheless I will bring it health and healing, and I will heal them, and I will reveal to them abundance of peace and truth. 7 I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return and will build them, as at the first. 8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against me. I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against me and by which they have transgressed against me.
9 This city will be to me a name of joy, for praise, and for glory, before all the nations of the earth, which will hear all the good that I do to them, and will fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I provide to it.’ ”
10 The Lord says: Yet again there will be heard in this place, about which you say: It is waste, without man and without animal, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal. 11 The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,
Give thanks to the Lord of Hosts,
for the Lord is good.
His loving kindness endures forever,
who bring thanksgiving
into the house of the Lord.
For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed as it was at first,’ says the Lord.
12 The Lord of Hosts says: Yet again there will be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal and in all its cities, a place for shepherds and their flocks to lie down. 13 In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the Lord.’ ”
The Covenant with David
14 “The days are coming,” says the Lord, “that I will fulfill the good which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.
15 In those days and at that time,
I will cause a Branch of righteousness
to sprout up for David.
He will execute justice and righteousness in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved,
and Jerusalem will dwell safely.
This is the name by which she will be called:
God our righteousness.’
17 For the Lord says: David will never lack having a man sit on the throne of the house of Israel. 18 The Levitical priests will not lack a man to offer burnt offerings before me, to burn grain offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.”
19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 “The Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night, so that there will not be day and night at their appointed time, 21 then may my covenant also be broken with David my servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 22 As heavens’ armies cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant and the Levites who minister to me.’ ”
23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Do not consider what this people has spoken, saying, ‘Has the Lord cast off the two families which he chose?’ Thus they despise my people, that they should no longer be a nation before them.”
25 The Lord says: “If my covenant of day and night fails, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, 26 then I will also cast away the offspring of Jacob and of David my servant so that I will not take of his offspring to be rulers over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore them and will have compassion on them.”