"The Lord God of Israel says, 'Write everything that I am about to tell you in a scroll.

For I, the Lord, affirm that the time will come when I will reverse the plight of my people, Israel and Judah,' says the Lord. 'I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors and they will take possession of it once again.'"

And these are the words that Jehovah spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.

For what else doth this signify, that I see? Namely, that all strong men smite every man his hand upon his loins, as a woman in the pain of her travail. Who ever saw a man travail with child? Enquire thereafter, and see. Yea, all their faces are marvelous pale.

‘Alas! for that day is great,
There is none like it;
It is the time of Jacob’s [unequaled] trouble,
But he will be saved from it.

‘It shall come about on that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will break the yoke off your neck and I will tear off your bonds and force apart your shackles; and strangers will no longer make slaves of the people [of Israel].

For I, the Lord, affirm that I will be with you and will rescue you. I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you. But I will not completely destroy you. I will indeed discipline you, but only in due measure. I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished."

There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.

All thy lovers have forgotten thee, and care nothing for thee. For I have given thee a cruel stroke, and chastened thee roughly: and that for the multitude of thy misdeeds, for thy sins have had the overhand.

Why do you complain about your injuries, that your pain is incurable? I have done all this to you because your wickedness is so great and your sin is so much.

Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that despoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.

For I will apply a bandage unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith Jehovah; for they have called thee an outcast: This is Zion that no man seeketh after.

And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me; and I will punish all that oppress them.

And their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is he that hath had boldness to approach unto me? saith Jehovah.

At that time I will be the God of all the clans of Israel and they will be my people. I, the Lord, affirm it!"

Thus saith Jehovah, The people that were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.

In a far-off land the Lord will manifest himself to them. He will say to them, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.

I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, so that you will once again be built up. Once again you will take up the tambourine and join in the happy throng of dancers.

For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the hills of Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto Jehovah our God.

Moreover, the Lord says, "Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob. Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard. Then say, 'Lord, rescue your people. Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.'

Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall they return hither.

Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off; and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as shepherd doth his flock.

For Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

The Lord says, "At that time young women will dance and be glad. Young men and old men will rejoice. I will turn their grief into gladness. I will give them comfort and joy in place of their sorrow.

And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

“I have surely heard Ephraim (Israel) moaning and grieving,
‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like a bull unaccustomed to the yoke or an untrained calf;
Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.

Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

Upon this complaint, I thought thus by myself: Is not Ephraim my dear son? Is he not the child, with whom I have had all mirth and pastime? For since the time that I first communed with him, I have him ever in remembrance: therefore my very heart driveth me unto him; gladly and lovingly will I have mercy upon him, sayeth the LORD.

Get the watchman, provide teachers for thee: set thine heart upon the right way, that thou shouldest walk, and turn again, O thou daughter of Israel; turn again to these cities of thine.

How long will you go on turning this way and that, O wandering daughter? for the Lord has made a new thing on the earth, a woman changed into a man.

For thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: It will come thereto, that when I have brought Judah out of captivity, these words shall be heard in the land and in his cities, 'The LORD, which is the fair bridegroom of righteousness, make thee fruitful O thou holy hill!'

And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together, the husbandmen, and they that go about with flocks.

Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.

In the past I saw to it that they were uprooted and torn down, that they were destroyed and demolished. But now I will see to it that they are built up and firmly planted. I, the Lord, affirm it!"

"When that time comes, people will no longer say, 'The parents have eaten sour grapes, but the children's teeth have grown numb.'

But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them," says the Lord.

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people:

The Lord has made a promise to Israel. He promises it as the one who fixed the sun to give light by day and the moon and stars to give light by night. He promises it as the one who stirs up the sea so that its waves roll. He promises it as the one who is known as the Lord who rules over all.

The Lord affirms, "The descendants of Israel will not cease forever to be a nation in my sight. That could only happen if the fixed ordering of the heavenly lights were to cease to operate before me."

The Lord says, "I will not reject all the descendants of Israel because of all that they have done. That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored," says the Lord.

Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the city shall be built to Jehovah from the tower of Hananel unto the gate of the corner.

The boundary line will extend beyond that, straight west from there to the Hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah.

The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown and all the terraced fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far north as the Horse Gate will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. The city will never again be torn down or destroyed."

In the tenth year that Zedekiah was ruling over Judah the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. That was the same as the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

Now at that time, the armies of the king of Babylon were besieging Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse attached to the royal palace of Judah.

For King Zedekiah had confined Jeremiah there after he had reproved him for prophesying as he did. He had asked Jeremiah, "Why do you keep prophesying these things? Why do you keep saying that the Lord says, 'I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon? I will let him capture it.

And Zedekiah shall be carried unto Babylon, and there shall he be, until the time that I visit him, sayeth the LORD. But if thou takest in hand to fight against the Chaldeans, thou shalt not prosper."

‘Behold (listen carefully), Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, “Buy my field that is in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it [in accordance with the law].”’

Now it happened just as the Lord had said! My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse. He said to me, 'Buy my field which is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself.' When this happened, I recognized that the Lord had indeed spoken to me.

“I bought the field that was at Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and weighed out the money for him, seventeen shekels of silver.

So I took the deeds of the purchase, both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, and the unsealed copy;

and I delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel mine uncle's'son , and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the guard.

The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, "Take these documents, both the sealed copy of the deed of purchase and the unsealed copy. Put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for a long time to come."'

For the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, hath determined that houses, fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.'

'O LORD God: It is thou that hast made heaven and earth with thy great power and high arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.

Thou showest mercy upon thousands, thou recompensest the wickedness of the fathers, into the bosom of the children that come after them. Thou art the great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of Hosts:

Great in counsel, and mighty in act, in that Thine eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of Adam, to give to each according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

You did miracles and amazing deeds in the land of Egypt which have had lasting effect. By this means you gained both in Israel and among humankind a renown that lasts to this day.

You kept the promise that you swore on oath to their ancestors. You gave them a land flowing with milk and honey.

But when they came in and took possession of it, they did not obey you or live as you had instructed them. They did not do anything that you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them.

Even now siege ramps have been built up around the city in order to capture it. War, starvation, and disease are sure to make the city fall into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. Lord, you threatened that this would happen. Now you can see that it is already taking place.

The city is sure to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. Yet, in spite of this, you, Lord God, have said to me, "Buy that field with silver and have the transaction legally witnessed."'"

See, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything so hard that I am unable to do it?

The Babylonian soldiers that are attacking this city will break into it and set it on fire. They will burn it down along with the houses where people have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods on their rooftops.

For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith Jehovah.

This will happen because the people of this city have aroused my anger and my wrath since the time they built it until now. They have made me so angry that I am determined to remove it from my sight.

Because of all the evil of the sons of Israel, and of the sons of Judah that they have done, so as to provoke Me -- they, their kings, their heads, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

They put their detestable idols in the house that is called by my name and defiled it.

They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.'

I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for their own good and the good of the children who descend from them.

I will make a lasting covenant with them that I will never stop doing good to them. I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that they will never again turn away from me.

"For I, the Lord, say: 'I will surely bring on these people all the good fortune that I am hereby promising them. I will be just as sure to do that as I have been in bringing all this great disaster on them.

You and your people are saying that this land will become desolate, uninhabited by either people or animals. You are saying that it will be handed over to the Babylonians. But fields will again be bought in this land.

Yea, land shall be bought for money, and evidences made thereupon and sealed before witnesses in the country of Benjamin, and round about Jerusalem: in the cities of Judah; in the cities that are upon the mountains; and in them that lie beneath; yea, and in the cities that are in the desert. For I will bring their prisoners hither again, sayeth the LORD.'"

Thus saith Jehovah that doeth it, Jehovah that formeth it to establish it; Jehovah is his name:

Call unto me that I may answer thee, - and tell thee things great and inaccessible, which thou hast not known.

For thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, that are broken down for the mounts, and for the tool;

The defenders of the city will go out and fight with the Babylonians. But they will only fill those houses and buildings with the dead bodies of the people that I will kill in my anger and my wrath. That will happen because I have decided to turn my back on this city on account of the wicked things they have done.

I will purify them from all the sin that they committed against me. I will forgive all their sins which they committed in rebelling against me.

All the nations will hear about all the good things which I will do to them. This city will bring me fame, honor, and praise before them for the joy that I bring it. The nations will tremble in awe at all the peace and prosperity that I will provide for it.'

"I, the Lord, say: 'You and your people are saying about this place, "It lies in ruins. There are no people or animals in it." That is true. The towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem will soon be desolate, uninhabited either by people or by animals. But happy sounds will again be heard in these places.

Once again there will be sounds of joy and gladness and the glad celebrations of brides and grooms. Once again people will bring their thank offerings to the temple of the Lord and will say, "Give thanks to the Lord who rules over all. For the Lord is good and his unfailing love lasts forever." For I, the Lord, affirm that I will restore the land to what it was in days of old.'

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Again there is in this place -- that is waste, Without man and beast, And in all its cities -- a habitation of shepherds, Causing the flock to lie down.

I, the Lord, say that shepherds will once again count their sheep as they pass into the fold. They will do this in all the towns in the southern hill country, the western foothills, the southern hill country, the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, and the towns of Judah.'

Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.

In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant of David. "'He will do what is just and right in the land.

Under his rule Judah will enjoy safety and Jerusalem will live in security. At that time Jerusalem will be called "The Lord has provided us with justice."

"I, Lord, make the following promise: 'I have made a covenant with the day and with the night that they will always come at their proper times. Only if you people could break that covenant

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

As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

"You have surely noticed what these people are saying, haven't you? They are saying, 'The Lord has rejected the two families of Israel and Judah that he chose.' So they have little regard that my people will ever again be a nation.

This is what the LORD says: "If I had not established my covenant for day and night and the laws that govern the heavens and earth,

then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his sovereignty and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all of its cities:

However, listen to what I, the Lord, promise you, King Zedekiah of Judah. I, the Lord, promise that you will not die in battle or be executed.

You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for [the memory and honor of] your fathers, the former kings who reigned before you, so shall a [ceremonial] burning be made for you; and people will lament (grieve) for you, saying, “Alas, lord (master)!”’ For I have spoken the word,” says the Lord.

when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the remaining cities of Judah, against Lachish and Azekah, for these were the [only] fortified cities among the cities of Judah.