Jeremiah 32:16-33:13

English Standard Version

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

¹⁶“After I had given the deed of purchase to ^(A)Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ¹⁷‘Ah, Lord God! It is ^(B)you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by ^(C)your outstretched arm! ^(D)Nothing is too hard for you. ¹⁸^(E)You show steadfast love to thousands, ^(F)but you repay the guilt of fathers ^(G)to their children after them, O great and ^(H)mighty God, whose name is the ^(I)Lord of hosts, ¹⁹^(J)great in counsel and ^(K)mighty in deed, ^(L)whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, ^(M)rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. ²⁰You have shown ^(N)signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, ^(O)and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. ²¹^(P)You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and ^(Q)outstretched arm, ^(R)and with great terror. ²²And you gave them this land, ^(S)which you swore to their fathers to give them, ^(T)a land flowing with milk and honey. ²³And they entered and took possession of it. ^(U)But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. ²⁴Behold, ^(V)the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and ^(W)because of sword and famine and pestilence ^(X)the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. ²⁵Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, ^(Y)“Buy the field for money ^(Z)and get witnesses”—though ^(AA)the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”

²⁶The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁷“Behold, I am the Lord, ^(AB)the God of all flesh. ^(AC)Is anything too hard for me? ²⁸Therefore, thus says the Lord: ^(AD)Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. ²⁹The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city ^(AE)shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, ^(AF)with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal ^(AG)and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, ^(AH)to provoke me to anger. ³⁰For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight ^(AI)from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but ^(AJ)provoke me to anger ^(AK)by the work of their hands, declares the Lord. ³¹This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, ^(AL)so that I will remove it from my sight ³²because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—^(AM)their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³³^(AN)They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them ^(AO)persistently, they have not listened ^(AP)to receive instruction. ³⁴They set up ^(AQ)their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. ³⁵They built the high places of Baal ^(AR)in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, ^(AS)to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, ^(AT)though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do ^(AU)this abomination, ^(AV)to cause Judah to sin.

They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God

³⁶“Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ^(AW)‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: ³⁷^(AX)Behold, I will gather them from all the countries ^(AY)to which I drove them in ^(AZ)my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, ^(BA)and I will make them dwell in safety. ³⁸^(BB)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ³⁹^(BC)I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, ^(BD)for their own good and the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰^(BE)I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. ^(BF)And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. ⁴¹^(BG)I will rejoice in doing them good, ^(BH)and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

⁴²“For thus says the Lord: ^(BI)Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. ⁴³^(BJ)Fields shall be bought in this land ^(BK)of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; ^(BL)it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ⁴⁴Fields shall be bought for money, and ^(BM)deeds shall be signed and ^(BN)sealed and ^(BO)witnessed, ^(BP)in the land of Benjamin, ^(BQ)in the places about Jerusalem, ^(BR)and in the cities of Judah, ^(BS)in the cities of the hill country, ^(BT)in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for ^(BU)I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”

The Lord Promises Peace

33 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still ^(BV)shut up in the court of the guard: ²“Thus says ^(BW)the Lord who made the earth,^[a] the Lord who formed it to establish it—^(BX)the Lord is his name: ³^(BY)Call to me and I will answer you, ^(BZ)and will tell you great and hidden things that 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 that were torn down to make a defense against ^(CA)the siege mounds and against the sword: ⁵They are coming in ^(CB)to fight against the Chaldeans and to fill them^[b] with the dead bodies of men whom I shall strike down ^(CC)in my anger and my wrath, ^(CD)for I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil. ⁶^(CE)Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. ⁷^(CF)I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, ^(CG)and rebuild them as they were ^(CH)at first. ⁸^(CI)I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, ^(CJ)and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. ⁹^(CK)And this city^[c] 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 ^(CL)fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.

¹⁰“Thus says the Lord: In this place ^(CM)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 ¹¹^(CN)the 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 ^(CO)thank offerings to the house of the Lord:

^(CP)“‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
for the Lord is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!’

^(CQ)For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.

¹²“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(CR)In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be ^(CS)habitations of shepherds ^(CT)resting their flocks. ¹³^(CU)In the cities of the hill country, ^(CV)in the cities of the Shephelah, ^(CW)and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, ^(CX)the places about Jerusalem, ^(CY)and in the cities of Judah, ^(CZ)flocks shall again pass under the hands ^(DA)of the one who counts them, says the Lord.