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VI. Oracles of the Restoration of Israel and Judah

Chapter 30

The Restoration.[a] This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write down on a scroll all the words I have spoken to you.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 30:1–31:40 These two chapters contain salvation oracles that originally expressed the double expectation that the Lord would return the exiled survivors of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and reunite Israel and Judah as one kingdom under a just Davidic king. They were probably composed early in Josiah’s reign (the reference of v. 9), when he took advantage of Assyria’s internal disintegration and asserted control over northern Israel (cf. 2 Kgs 23:15–17). With the destruction of Jerusalem, the oracles were re-worked to include Judah and their fulfillment along with the renewal of the Davidic dynasty became associated with the eschatological “day of the Lord.”

12     For thus says the Lord:
Incurable is your wound,
    grievous your injury;(A)
13 There is none to plead your case,
    no remedy for your running sore,
    no healing for you.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you,
    they do not seek you out.
I struck you as an enemy would strike,
    punishing you cruelly.(B)
15 Why cry out over your wound?
    There is no relief for your pain.
Because of your great guilt,
    your numerous sins,
    I have done this to you.(C)

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18     Thus says the Lord:
See! I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents,
    on his dwellings I will have compassion;
A city shall be rebuilt upon its own ruins,
    a citadel restored where it should be.(A)
19 From them will come praise,
    the sound of people rejoicing.
I will increase them, they will not decrease,
    I will glorify them, they will not be insignificant.(B)
20 His children shall be as of old,
    his assembly shall stand firm in my presence,
    I will punish all his oppressors.(C)
21 His leader[a] shall be one of his own,
    and his ruler shall emerge from his ranks.
He shall approach me when I summon him;
    Why else would he dare
    approach me?—oracle of the Lord.
22 You shall be my people,
    and I will be your God.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 30:21 His leader: cf. v. 9. Approach me: i.e., in the sanctuary of the Temple for worship. This new David is given a priestly function to perform on behalf of the assembly. To approach God on one’s own brings death; cf. Lv 16:1–2.