The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 33

 The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 33

1 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, saying:

2 “This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is my name:

3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

4 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah that have been overthrown by the batons and the sword:

5 “They have come to fight against the Chaldeans, but I will fill them with the dead bodies of men whom I have struck down in my anger and wrath. For I have hidden my face from this city because of all its wickedness.

6 I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal them and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”

7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and I will rebuild them as they were at the beginning.

8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they have sinned against me, and I will forgive 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, a praise, and a glory before all the nations of the earth, who hear of all the good that I do for it; and they will be amazed and troubled because of all the good and all the peace that I give to it.

10 Thus says the Lord: In this place (of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast”), in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, which are desolate, without man, without inhabitants, and without beast, it will again be heard.

11 The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, and the voice of those who say, “Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his mercy endures forever,” and of those who bring praise to the house of the Lord; for I will restore the fortunes of the land as at the beginning, says the Lord.

12 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “In this place, which is desolate, without man or beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place for shepherds, who shall make their flocks lie down.

13 In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the plains, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the outskirts of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass under the hands of the counters, says the Lord.

14 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will fulfill the good word that I spoke to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.

17 For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel.

18 Nor shall the Levitical priests lack a man before me to offer burnt offerings and burn grain offerings and sacrifices continually.’”

19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:

20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed times,

21 then my covenant with David my servant can also be broken, so that he will not have a descendant to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests who minister before me.

22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me.’

23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah again:

24 “Have you not seen what this people says: ‘The two generations the Lord chose he has now rejected’? They despise my people as though they were not a people to them.”

25 Thus says the Lord: If my covenant of day and night does not stand, and I have not established the ordinances of heaven and earth,

26 then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and of David my servant, so that I will not take from his seed one who will rule over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.