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Jeremiah 30-32
The Message
Jeremiah 30-32
The Message
Don’t Despair, Israel
30 1-2 This is the Message Jeremiah received from God: “God’s Message, the God of Israel: ‘Write everything I tell you in a book.
3 “‘Look. The time is coming when I will turn everything around for my people, both Israel and Judah. I, God, say so. I’ll bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors, and they’ll take up ownership again.’”
4 This is the way God put it to Israel and Judah:
5-7 “God’s Message:
“‘Cries of panic are being heard.
The peace has been shattered.
Ask around! Look around!
Can men bear babies?
So why do I see all these he-men
holding their bellies like women in labor,
Faces contorted,
pale as death?
The blackest of days,
no day like it ever!
A time of deep trouble for Jacob—
but he’ll come out of it alive.
8-9 “‘And then I’ll enter the darkness.
I’ll break the yoke from their necks,
Cut them loose from the harness.
No more slave labor to foreigners!
They’ll serve their God
and the David-King I’ll establish for them.
10-11 “‘So fear no more, Jacob, dear servant.
Don’t despair, Israel.
Look up! I’ll save you out of faraway places,
I’ll bring your children back from exile.
Jacob will come back and find life good,
safe and secure.
I’ll be with you. I’ll save you.
I’ll finish off all the godless nations
Among which I’ve scattered you,
but I won’t finish you off.
I’ll punish you, but fairly.
I won’t send you off with just a slap on the wrist.’
12-15 “This is God’s Message:
“‘You’re a burned-out case,
as good as dead.
Everyone has given up on you.
You’re hopeless.
All your fair-weather friends have skipped town
without giving you a second thought.
But I delivered the knockout blow,
a punishment you will never forget,
Because of the enormity of your guilt,
the endless list of your sins.
So why all this self-pity, licking your wounds?
You deserve all this, and more.
Because of the enormity of your guilt,
the endless list of your sins,
I’ve done all this to you.
16-17 “‘Everyone who hurt you will be hurt;
your enemies will end up as slaves.
Your plunderers will be plundered;
your looters will become loot.
As for you, I’ll come with healing,
curing the incurable,
Because they all gave up on you
and dismissed you as hopeless—
that good-for-nothing Zion.’
18-21 “Again, God’s Message:
“‘I’ll turn things around for Jacob.
I’ll compassionately come in and rebuild homes.
The town will be rebuilt on its old foundations;
the mansions will be splendid again.
Thanksgivings will pour out of the windows;
laughter will spill through the doors.
Things will get better and better.
Depression days are over.
They’ll thrive, they’ll flourish.
The days of contempt will be over.
They’ll look forward to having children again,
to being a community in which I take pride.
I’ll punish anyone who hurts them,
and their prince will come from their own ranks.
One of their own people shall be their leader.
Their ruler will come from their own ranks.
I’ll grant him free and easy access to me.
Would anyone dare to do that on his own,
to enter my presence uninvited?’ God’s Decree.
22 “‘And that’s it: You’ll be my very own people,
I’ll be your very own God.’”
23-24 Look out! God’s hurricane is let loose,
his hurricane blast,
Spinning the heads of the wicked like dust devils!
God’s raging anger won’t let up
Until he’s made a clean sweep
completing the job he began.
When the job’s done
you’ll see it’s been well done.
* * *
31 “And when that happens”—God’s Decree—
“it will be plain as the sun at high noon:
I’ll be the God of every man, woman, and child in Israel
and they shall be my very own people.”
* * *
2-6 This is the way God put it:
“They found grace out in the desert,
these people who survived the killing.
Israel, out looking for a place to rest,
met God out looking for them!”
God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will.
Expect love, love, and more love!
And so now I’ll start over with you and build you up again,
dear virgin Israel.
You’ll resume your singing,
grabbing tambourines and joining the dance.
You’ll go back to your old work of planting vineyards
on the Samaritan hillsides,
And sit back and enjoy the fruit—
oh, how you’ll enjoy those harvests!
The time’s coming when watchmen will call out
from the hilltops of Ephraim:
‘On your feet! Let’s go to Zion,
go to meet our God!’”
* * *
7 Oh yes, God says so:
“Shout for joy at the top of your lungs for Jacob!
Announce the good news to the number-one nation!
Raise cheers! Sing praises. Say,
‘God has saved his people,
saved the core of Israel.’
8 “Watch what comes next:
“I’ll bring my people back
from the north country
And gather them up from the ends of the earth,
gather those who’ve gone blind
And those who are lame and limping,
gather pregnant women,
Even the mothers whose birth pangs have started,
bring them all back, a huge crowd!
9 “Watch them come! They’ll come weeping for joy
as I take their hands and lead them,
Lead them to fresh flowing brooks,
lead them along smooth, uncluttered paths.
Yes, it’s because I’m Israel’s Father
and Ephraim’s my firstborn son!
10-14 “Hear this, nations! God’s Message!
Broadcast this all over the world!
Tell them, ‘The One who scattered Israel
will gather them together again.
From now on he’ll keep a careful eye on them,
like a shepherd with his flock.’
I, God, will pay a stiff ransom price for Jacob;
I’ll free him from the grip of the Babylonian bully.
The people will climb up Zion’s slopes shouting with joy,
their faces beaming because of God’s bounty—
Grain and wine and oil,
flocks of sheep, herds of cattle.
Their lives will be like a well-watered garden,
never again left to dry up.
Young women will dance and be happy,
young men and old men will join in.
I’ll convert their weeping into laughter,
lavishing comfort, invading their grief with joy.
I’ll make sure that their priests get three square meals a day
and that my people have more than enough.’” God’s Decree.
* * *
15-17 Again, God’s Message:
“Listen to this! Laments coming out of Ramah,
wild and bitter weeping.
It’s Rachel weeping for her children,
Rachel refusing all solace.
Her children are gone,
gone—long gone into exile.”
But God says, “Stop your incessant weeping,
hold back your tears.
Collect wages from your grief work.” God’s Decree.
“They’ll be coming back home!
There’s hope for your children.” God’s Decree.
18-19 “I’ve heard the contrition of Ephraim.
Yes, I’ve heard it clearly, saying,
‘You trained me well.
You broke me, a wild yearling horse, to the saddle.
Now put me, trained and obedient, to use.
You are my God.
After those years of running loose, I repented.
After you trained me to obedience,
I was ashamed of my past, my wild, unruly past.
Humiliated, I beat on my chest.
Will I ever live this down?’
20 “Oh! Ephraim is my dear, dear son,
my child in whom I take pleasure!
Every time I mention his name,
my heart bursts with longing for him!
Everything in me cries out for him.
Softly and tenderly I wait for him.” God’s Decree.
21-22 “Set up signposts to mark your trip home.
Get a good map.
Study the road conditions.
The road out is the road back.
Come back, dear virgin Israel,
come back to your hometowns.
How long will you flit here and there, indecisive?
How long before you make up your fickle mind?
God will create a new thing in this land:
A transformed woman will embrace the transforming God!”
* * *
23-24 A Message from Israel’s God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “When I’ve turned everything around and brought my people back, the old expressions will be heard on the streets: ‘God bless you!’ . . . ‘O True Home!’ . . . ‘O Holy Mountain!’ All Judah’s people, whether in town or country, will get along just fine with each other.
25 I’ll refresh tired bodies;
I’ll restore tired souls.
26 Just then I woke up and looked around—what a pleasant and satisfying sleep!
* * *
27-28 “Be ready. The time’s coming”—God’s Decree—“when I will plant people and animals in Israel and Judah, just as a farmer plants seed. And in the same way that earlier I relentlessly pulled up and tore down, took apart and demolished, so now I am sticking with them as they start over, building and planting.
29 “When that time comes you won’t hear the old proverb anymore,
Parents ate the green apples,
their children got the stomachache.
30 “No, each person will pay for his own sin. You eat green apples, you’re the one who gets sick.
* * *
31-32 “That’s right. The time is coming when I will make a brand-new covenant with Israel and Judah. It won’t be a repeat of the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant even though I did my part as their Master.” God’s Decree.
33-34 “This is the brand-new covenant that I will make with Israel when the time comes. I will put my law within them—write it on their hearts!—and be their God. And they will be my people. They will no longer go around setting up schools to teach each other about God. They’ll know me firsthand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow. I’ll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I’ll forget they ever sinned!” God’s Decree.
If This Ordered Cosmos Ever Fell to Pieces
35 God’s Message, from the God who lights up the day with sun and
brightens the night with moon and stars,
Who whips the ocean into a billowy froth,
whose name is God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
36 “If this ordered cosmos ever fell to pieces,
fell into chaos before me”—God’s Decree—
“Then and only then might Israel fall apart
and disappear as a nation before me.”
* * *
37 God’s Message:
“If the skies could be measured with a yardstick
and the earth explored to its core,
Then and only then would I turn my back on Israel,
disgusted with all they’ve done.” God’s Decree.
* * *
38-40 “The time is coming”—it’s God’s Decree—“when God’s city will be rebuilt, rebuilt all the way from the Citadel of Hanamel to the Corner Gate. The master plan will extend west to Gareb Hill and then around to Goath. The whole valley to the south where incinerated corpses are dumped—a death valley if there ever was one!—and all the terraced fields out to the Brook Kidron on the east as far north as the Horse Gate will be consecrated to me as a holy place.
“This city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”
Killing and Disease Are on Our Doorstep
32 1-5 The Message Jeremiah received from God in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah. It was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was holding Jerusalem under siege. Jeremiah was shut up in jail in the royal palace. Zedekiah, king of Judah, had locked him up, complaining, “How dare you preach, saying, ‘God says, I’m warning you: I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon and he will take it over. Zedekiah king of Judah will be handed over to the Chaldeans right along with the city. He will be handed over to the king of Babylon and forced to face the music. He’ll be hauled off to Babylon where he’ll stay until I deal with him. God’s Decree. Fight against the Babylonians all you want—it won’t get you anywhere.’”
6-7 Jeremiah said, “God’s Message came to me like this: Prepare yourself! Hanamel, your uncle Shallum’s son, is on his way to see you. He is going to say, ‘Buy my field in Anathoth. You have the legal right to buy it.’
8 “And sure enough, just as God had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me while I was in jail and said, ‘Buy my field in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, for you have the legal right to keep it in the family. Buy it. Take it over.’
“That did it. I knew it was God’s Message.
9-12 “So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I paid him seventeen silver shekels. I followed all the proper procedures: In the presence of witnesses I wrote out the bill of sale, sealed it, and weighed out the money on the scales. Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy that contained the contract and its conditions and also the open copy—and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. All this took place in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who had signed the deed, as the Jews who were at the jail that day looked on.
13-15 “Then, in front of all of them, I told Baruch, ‘These are orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: Take these documents—both the sealed and the open deeds—and put them for safekeeping in a pottery jar. For God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Life is going to return to normal. Homes and fields and vineyards are again going to be bought in this country.”’
16-19 “And then, having handed over the legal documents to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to God, ‘Dear God, my Master, you created earth and sky by your great power—by merely stretching out your arm! There is nothing you can’t do. You’re loyal in your steadfast love to thousands upon thousands—but you also make children live with the fallout from their parents’ sins. Great and powerful God, named God-of-the-Angel-Armies, determined in purpose and relentless in following through, you see everything that men and women do and respond appropriately to the way they live, to the things they do.
20-23 “‘You performed signs and wonders in the country of Egypt and continue to do so right into the present, right here in Israel and everywhere else, too. You’ve made a reputation for yourself that doesn’t diminish. You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders—a powerful deliverance!—by merely stretching out your arm. You gave them this land and solemnly promised to their ancestors a bountiful and fertile land. But when they entered the land and took it over, they didn’t listen to you. They didn’t do what you commanded. They wouldn’t listen to a thing you told them. And so you brought this disaster on them.
24-25 “‘Oh, look at the siege ramps already set in place to take the city. Killing and starvation and disease are on our doorstep. The Babylonians are attacking! The Word you spoke is coming to pass—it’s daily news! And yet you, God, the Master, even though it is certain that the city will be turned over to the Babylonians, also told me, Buy the field. Pay for it in cash. And make sure there are witnesses.’”
* * *
26-30 Then God’s Message came again to Jeremiah: “Stay alert! I am God, the God of everything living. Is there anything I can’t do? So listen to God’s Message: No doubt about it, I’m handing this city over to the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He’ll take it. The attacking Chaldeans will break through and burn the city down: All those houses whose roofs were used as altars for offerings to Baal and the worship of who knows how many other gods provoked me. It isn’t as if this were the first time they had provoked me. The people of Israel and Judah have been doing this for a long time—doing what I hate, making me angry by the way they live.” God’s Decree.
31-35 “This city has made me angry from the day they built it, and now I’ve had my fill. I’m destroying it. I can’t stand to look any longer at the wicked lives of the people of Israel and Judah, deliberately making me angry, the whole lot of them—kings and leaders and priests and preachers, in the country and in the city. They’ve turned their backs on me—won’t even look me in the face!—even though I took great pains to teach them how to live. They refused to listen, refused to be taught. Why, they even set up obscene god and goddess statues in the Temple built in my honor—an outrageous desecration! And then they went out and built shrines to the god Baal in the valley of Hinnom, where they burned their children in sacrifice to the god Molech—I can hardly conceive of such evil!—turning the whole country into one huge act of sin.
* * *
36 “But there is also this Message from me, the God of Israel, to this city of which you have said, ‘In killing and starvation and disease this city will be delivered up to the king of Babylon’:
37-40 “‘Watch for this! I will collect them from all the countries to which I will have driven them in my anger and rage and indignation. Yes, I’ll bring them all back to this place and let them live here in peace. They will be my people, I will be their God. I’ll make them of one mind and heart, always honoring me, so that they can live good and whole lives, they and their children after them. What’s more, I’ll make a covenant with them that will last forever, a covenant to stick with them no matter what, and work for their good. I’ll fill their hearts with a deep respect for me so they’ll not even think of turning away from me.
41 “‘Oh how I’ll rejoice in them! Oh how I’ll delight in doing good things for them! Heart and soul, I’ll plant them in this country and keep them here!’
42-44 “Yes, this is God’s Message: ‘I will certainly bring this huge catastrophe on this people, but I will also usher in a wonderful life of prosperity. I promise. Fields are going to be bought here again, yes, in this very country that you assume is going to end up desolate—gone to the dogs, unlivable, wrecked by the Babylonians. Yes, people will buy farms again, and legally, with deeds of purchase, sealed documents, proper witnesses—and right here in the territory of Benjamin, and in the area around Jerusalem, around the villages of Judah and the hill country, the Shephelah and the Negev. I will restore everything that was lost.’ God’s Decree.”
Jeremiah 30-32
New International Version
Jeremiah 30-32
New International Version
Restoration of Israel
30 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write(A) in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 3 The days(B) are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring(C) my people Israel and Judah back from captivity[a] and restore(D) them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”
4 These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5 “This is what the Lord says:
“‘Cries of fear(E) are heard—
terror, not peace.
6 Ask and see:
Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,(F)
every face turned deathly pale?(G)
7 How awful that day(H) will be!
No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble(I) for Jacob,
but he will be saved(J) out of it.
8 “‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
‘I will break the yoke(K) off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;(L)
no longer will foreigners enslave them.(M)
9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
and David(N) their king,(O)
whom I will raise up for them.
10 “‘So do not be afraid,(P) Jacob my servant;(Q)
do not be dismayed, Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will surely save(R) you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,(S)
and no one will make him afraid.(T)
11 I am with you(U) and will save you,’
declares the Lord.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy(V) you.
I will discipline(W) you but only in due measure;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’(X)
12 “This is what the Lord says:
“‘Your wound(Y) is incurable,
your injury beyond healing.(Z)
13 There is no one to plead your cause,(AA)
no remedy for your sore,
no healing(AB) for you.
14 All your allies(AC) have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy(AD) would
and punished you as would the cruel,(AE)
because your guilt is so great
and your sins(AF) so many.
15 Why do you cry out over your wound,
your pain that has no cure?(AG)
Because of your great guilt and many sins
I have done these things to you.(AH)
16 “‘But all who devour(AI) you will be devoured;
all your enemies will go into exile.(AJ)
Those who plunder(AK) you will be plundered;
all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
17 But I will restore you to health
and heal(AL) your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,(AM)
Zion for whom no one cares.’(AN)
18 “This is what the Lord says:
“‘I will restore the fortunes(AO) of Jacob’s tents(AP)
and have compassion(AQ) on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt(AR) on her ruins,
and the palace will stand in its proper place.
19 From them will come songs(AS) of thanksgiving(AT)
and the sound of rejoicing.(AU)
I will add to their numbers,(AV)
and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor,(AW)
and they will not be disdained.
20 Their children(AX) will be as in days of old,
and their community will be established(AY) before me;
I will punish(AZ) all who oppress them.
21 Their leader(BA) will be one of their own;
their ruler will arise from among them.(BB)
I will bring him near(BC) and he will come close to me—
for who is he who will devote himself
to be close to me?’
declares the Lord.
22 “‘So you will be my people,(BD)
and I will be your God.(BE)’”
23 See, the storm(BF) of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a driving wind swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger(BG) of the Lord will not turn back(BH)
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand(BI) this.
31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God(BJ) of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
2 This is what the Lord says:
“The people who survive the sword
will find favor(BK) in the wilderness;
I will come to give rest(BL) to Israel.”
3 The Lord appeared to us in the past,[b] saying:
“I have loved(BM) you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn(BN) you with unfailing kindness.
4 I will build you up again,
and you, Virgin(BO) Israel, will be rebuilt.(BP)
Again you will take up your timbrels(BQ)
and go out to dance(BR) with the joyful.(BS)
5 Again you will plant(BT) vineyards
on the hills of Samaria;(BU)
the farmers will plant them
and enjoy their fruit.(BV)
6 There will be a day when watchmen(BW) cry out
on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’”(BX)
7 This is what the Lord says:
“Sing(BY) with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost(BZ) of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
‘Lord, save(CA) your people,
the remnant(CB) of Israel.’
8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north(CC)
and gather(CD) them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind(CE) and the lame,(CF)
expectant mothers and women in labor;
a great throng will return.
9 They will come with weeping;(CG)
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead(CH) them beside streams of water(CI)
on a level(CJ) path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,(CK)
and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;
proclaim it in distant coastlands:(CL)
‘He who scattered(CM) Israel will gather(CN) them
and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’(CO)
11 For the Lord will deliver Jacob
and redeem(CP) them from the hand of those stronger(CQ) than they.
12 They will come and shout for joy(CR) on the heights(CS) of Zion;
they will rejoice in the bounty(CT) of the Lord—
the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,(CU)
the young of the flocks(CV) and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,(CW)
and they will sorrow(CX) no more.
13 Then young women will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning(CY) into gladness;
I will give them comfort(CZ) and joy(DA) instead of sorrow.
14 I will satisfy(DB) the priests(DC) with abundance,
and my people will be filled with my bounty,(DD)”
declares the Lord.
15 This is what the Lord says:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,(DE)
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,(DF)
because they are no more.”(DG)
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Restrain your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,(DH)
for your work will be rewarded,(DI)”
declares the Lord.
“They will return(DJ) from the land of the enemy.
17 So there is hope(DK) for your descendants,”
declares the Lord.
“Your children(DL) will return to their own land.
18 “I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
‘You disciplined(DM) me like an unruly calf,(DN)
and I have been disciplined.
Restore(DO) me, and I will return,
because you are the Lord my God.
19 After I strayed,(DP)
I repented;
after I came to understand,
I beat(DQ) my breast.
I was ashamed(DR) and humiliated
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’(DS)
20 Is not Ephraim my dear son,
the child(DT) in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
I still remember(DU) him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I have great compassion(DV) for him,”
declares the Lord.
21 “Set up road signs;
put up guideposts.(DW)
Take note of the highway,(DX)
the road that you take.
Return,(DY) Virgin(DZ) Israel,
return to your towns.
22 How long will you wander,(EA)
unfaithful(EB) Daughter Israel?
The Lord will create a new thing(EC) on earth—
the woman will return to[c](ED) the man.”
23 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity,[d](EE) the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless(EF) you, you prosperous city,(EG) you sacred mountain.’(EH) 24 People will live(EI) together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks.(EJ) 25 I will refresh the weary(EK) and satisfy the faint.”(EL)
26 At this I awoke(EM) and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.
27 “The days are coming,”(EN) declares the Lord, “when I will plant(EO) the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28 Just as I watched(EP) over them to uproot(EQ) and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster,(ER) so I will watch over them to build and to plant,”(ES) declares the Lord. 29 “In those days people will no longer say,
30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin;(EV) whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant(EW)
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant(EX)
I made with their ancestors(EY)
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,(EZ)
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband(FA) to[e] them,[f]”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds(FB)
and write it on their hearts.(FC)
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.(FD)
34 No longer will they teach(FE) their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know(FF) me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive(FG) their wickedness
and will remember their sins(FH) no more.”
35 This is what the Lord says,
he who appoints(FI) the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,(FJ)
who stirs up the sea(FK)
so that its waves roar(FL)—
the Lord Almighty is his name:(FM)
36 “Only if these decrees(FN) vanish from my sight,”
declares the Lord,
“will Israel(FO) ever cease
being a nation before me.”
37 This is what the Lord says:
“Only if the heavens above can be measured(FP)
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject(FQ) all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the Lord.
38 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt(FR) for me from the Tower of Hananel(FS) to the Corner Gate.(FT) 39 The measuring line(FU) will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley(FV) where dead bodies(FW) and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley(FX) on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate,(FY) will be holy(FZ) to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”
Jeremiah Buys a Field
32 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth(GA) year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth(GB) year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging(GC) Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined(GD) in the courtyard of the guard(GE) in the royal palace of Judah.
3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy(GF) as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture(GG) it. 4 Zedekiah(GH) king of Judah will not escape(GI) the Babylonians[g](GJ) but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5 He will take(GK) Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him,(GL) declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”(GM)
6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth,(GN) because as nearest relative it is your right and duty(GO) to buy it.’
8 “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field(GP) at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’
“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; 9 so I bought the field(GQ) at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels[h] of silver.(GR) 10 I signed and sealed the deed,(GS) had it witnessed,(GT) and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— 12 and I gave this deed to Baruch(GU) son of Neriah,(GV) the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.
13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed(GW) and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’(GX)
16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch(GY) son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:
17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord,(GZ) you have made the heavens and the earth(HA) by your great power and outstretched arm.(HB) Nothing is too hard(HC) for you. 18 You show love(HD) to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps(HE) of their children(HF) after them. Great and mighty God,(HG) whose name is the Lord Almighty,(HH) 19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.(HI) Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind;(HJ) you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.(HK) 20 You performed signs and wonders(HL) in Egypt(HM) and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown(HN) that is still yours. 21 You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand(HO) and an outstretched arm(HP) and with great terror.(HQ) 22 You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.(HR) 23 They came in and took possession(HS) of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law;(HT) they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster(HU) on them.
24 “See how the siege ramps(HV) are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague,(HW) the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said(HX) has happened,(HY) as you now see. 25 And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field(HZ) with silver and have the transaction witnessed.(IA)’”
26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.(IB) Is anything too hard for me?(IC) 28 Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar(ID) king of Babylon, who will capture it.(IE) 29 The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down,(IF) along with the houses(IG) where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings(IH) to other gods.(II)
30 “The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth;(IJ) indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger(IK) with what their hands have made,(IL) declares the Lord. 31 From the day it was built until now, this city(IM) has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove(IN) it from my sight. 32 The people of Israel and Judah have provoked(IO) me by all the evil(IP) they have done—they, their kings and officials,(IQ) their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. 33 They turned their backs(IR) to me and not their faces; though I taught(IS) them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.(IT) 34 They set up their vile images(IU) in the house that bears my Name(IV) and defiled(IW) it. 35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom(IX) to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek,(IY) though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind(IZ)—that they should do such a detestable(JA) thing and so make Judah sin.(JB)
36 “You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague(JC) it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather(JD) them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger(JE) and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.(JF) 38 They will be my people,(JG) and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness(JH) of heart and action, so that they will always fear(JI) me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant(JJ) with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire(JK) them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.(JL) 41 I will rejoice(JM) in doing them good(JN) and will assuredly plant(JO) them in this land with all my heart and soul.(JP)
42 “This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity(JQ) on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised(JR) them. 43 Once more fields will be bought(JS) in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate(JT) waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’ 44 Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds(JU) will be signed, sealed and witnessed(JV) in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev,(JW) because I will restore(JX) their fortunes,[i] declares the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 30:3 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah
- Jeremiah 31:3 Or Lord has appeared to us from afar
- Jeremiah 31:22 Or will protect
- Jeremiah 31:23 Or I restore their fortunes
- Jeremiah 31:32 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac / and I turned away from
- Jeremiah 31:32 Or was their master
- Jeremiah 32:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 5, 24, 25, 28, 29 and 43
- Jeremiah 32:9 That is, about 7 ounces or about 200 grams
- Jeremiah 32:44 Or will bring them back from captivity
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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