Jeremiah 33
33
The Lord Promises To Give the Land Back to His People
1-2I was still being held prisoner in the courtyard of the palace guards when the Lord told me:
I am the Lord, and I created the whole world.#33.1,2 the whole world: One ancient translation; Hebrew “it.” 3Ask me, and I will tell you things that you don't know and can't find out.
4-5Many of the houses in Jerusalem and some of the buildings at the royal palace have been torn down to be used in repairing the walls to keep out the Babylonian attackers.#33.4,5 have been torn down … Babylonian attackers: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Now there are empty spaces where the buildings once stood. But I am furious, and these spaces will be filled with the bodies of the people I kill. The people of Jerusalem will cry out to me for help, but they are evil, and I will ignore their prayers.
6Then someday, I will heal this place and my people as well, and let them enjoy unending peace.#33.6 let them enjoy unending peace: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. 7I will give this land to Israel and Judah once again, and I will make them as strong as they were before. 8They sinned and rebelled against me, but I will forgive them and take away their guilt. 9When that happens, all nations on earth will see the good things I have done for Jerusalem, and how I have given it complete peace. The nations will celebrate and praise and honor me, but they will also tremble with fear because of the powerful things I have done.
10Jeremiah, you say that this land is a desert without people or animals, and for now, you are right. The towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are deserted, and people and animals are nowhere to be seen. But someday you will hear 11#1 Ch 16.34; 2 Ch 5.11-13; 7.3; Ezra 3.11; Ps 100.5; 106.1; 107.1; 118.1; 136.1. happy voices and the sounds of parties and wedding celebrations. And when people come to my temple to offer sacrifices to thank me, you will hear them say:
“We praise you,
Lord All-Powerful!
You are good to us,
and your love never fails.”
The land will once again be productive. 12-13Now it is empty, without people or animals. But when that time comes, shepherds will take care of their flocks in pastures near every town in the hill country, in the foothills to the west, in the Southern Desert, in the land of the Benjamin tribe, and around Jerusalem and the towns of Judah.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord's Wonderful Promise
14 #
Jr 23.5,6. The Lord said:
I made a wonderful promise to Israel and Judah,#33.14 Israel and Judah: See the note at 2.4. and the days are coming when I will keep it.
15I promise that the time will come
when I will appoint a king
from the family of David,
a king who will be honest
and rule with justice.
16In those days,
Judah will be safe;
Jerusalem will have peace
and will be named,
“The Lord Gives Justice.”
17 #
2 S 7.12-16; 1 K 2.4; 1 Ch 17.11-14. The king of Israel will be one of David's descendants, 18#Nu 3.5-10. and there will always be priests from the Levi tribe serving at my altar and offering sacrifices to please me and to give thanks.#33.18 sacrifices to please me and to give thanks: See the notes at 14.12.
19Then the Lord told me:
20I, the Lord, have an agreement with day and night, so they always come at the right time. You can't break the agreement I made with them, 21and you can't break the agreements I have made with David's family and with the priests from the Levi tribe who serve at my altar. A descendant of David will always rule as king of Israel, 22and there will be more descendants of David and of the priests from the Levi tribe than stars in the sky or grains of sand on the beach.
23The Lord also said:
24You've heard foreigners insult my people by saying, “The Lord chose Israel and Judah, but now he has rejected them, and they are no longer a nation.”
25Jeremiah, I will never break my agreement with the day and the night or let the sky and the earth stop obeying my commands. 26In the same way, I will never reject the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or break my promise that they will always have a descendant of David as their king. I will be kind to my people Israel, and they will be successful again.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 33
33
1The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: 2“Thus says the Lord who made the earth,#33.2 Gk: Heb it the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: 3Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things which you have not known. 4For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah which were torn down to make a defense against the siege mounds and before the sword:#33.4 Heb obscure 5The Chaldeans are coming in to fight#33.5 Cn: Heb They are coming in to fight against the Chaldeans and to fill them with the dead bodies of men whom I shall smite in my anger and my wrath, for I have hidden my face from this city because of all their wickedness. 6Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance#33.6 Heb uncertain of prosperity and security. 7I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. 8I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. 9And this city#33.9 Heb and it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them; they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.
10“Thus says the Lord: In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast,’ in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again 11the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord:
‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
for the Lord is good,
for his steadfast love endures for ever!’
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.
12“Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks. 13In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the Lord.
14“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15#Jer 23.5; Is 4.2; Zech 3.8; 6.12. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring forth for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
17“For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn cereal offerings, and to make sacrifices for ever.”
19The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20“Thus says the Lord: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, 21then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. 22As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”
23The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24“Have you not observed what these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two families which he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. 25Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the ordinances of heaven and earth, 26then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his descendants to rule over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes, and will have mercy upon them.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America