1 W hile Jeremiah was still shut up in the open space of the prison, the Word of the Lord came to him a second time, saying,

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard, saying,

2 “ This is what the Lord says Who made the earth. The Lord made it to last. The Lord is His name.

Thus says the Lord Who made, the Lord Who formed it to establish it—the Lord is His name:

3 ‘ Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will show you great and wonderful things which you do not know.’

Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).

4 F or this is what the Lord God of Israel says about the houses of this city and about the houses of the kings of Judah which have been torn down to make a strong wall to help in the battle against the Babylonians.

For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and the houses of the kings of Judah which are torn down to make a defense against the siege mounds and before the sword:

5 S ome will come to fight with the Babylonians, and they will fill the houses with the dead bodies of men whom I have killed in My anger. I will hide My face from this city because of all their sin.

They are coming in to fight against the Chaldeans, and they will be filled with the dead bodies of men whom I shall slay in My anger and My wrath; for I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness.

6 S ee, I will make it well again, and I will heal them. I will let them have much peace and truth.

Behold, I will lay upon it health and healing, and I will cure them and will reveal to them the abundance of peace (prosperity, security, stability) and truth.

7 I will return the land to Judah and to Israel, and I will help them to become as they were before.

And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to be reversed and will rebuild them as they were at first.

8 I will make them clean from all the sins they have done against Me. I will forgive all their sins against Me.

And I will cleanse them from all the guilt and iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will forgive all their guilt and iniquities by which they have sinned and rebelled against Me.

9 T his city will make My name known. It will be to Me joy, praise and shining-greatness before all the nations of the earth that hear of all the good that I do for them. And they will fear and shake because of all the good and all the peace that I give it.’

And shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth that hear of all the good I do for it, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace, prosperity, security, and stability I provide for it.

10 “ This is what the Lord says: ‘You say of this place, “It is a waste, without man or animal.” Yet in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are laid waste, with no man or animal living in them, there will again be heard

Thus says the Lord: Yet again there shall be heard in this place of which you say, It is a desolate waste, without man and without beast—even in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast—

11 t he voice of joy and the voice of happiness. In this place will be heard the voice of the man to be married and the voice of the bride, and the voice of those who say, “Give thanks to the Lord of All, for the Lord is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever.” And here will be heard the voice of those who bring a gift of thanks into the house of the Lord. For I will bring them back to the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.

the voice of joy 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 sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of the Lord, Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good; for His mercy and kindness and steadfast love endure forever! For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed and return to be as it was at first, says the Lord.

12 “ The Lord of All says, ‘This place is now a waste, without man or animal. Yet there will again be shepherds living in this place and in all its cities who can care for their sheep.

Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be dwellings and pastures of shepherds resting their flocks.

13 I n the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the valley, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the land around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the Lord.

In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South (the Negeb), in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah shall flocks pass again under the hands of him who counts them, says the Lord.

14 ‘ See, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will do what I promised to the people of Israel and the people of Judah.

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the good promise I have made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

15 I n those days and at that time I will cause a right and good Branch of David to rise up. And He will do what is fair and right and good on the earth.

In those days and at that time will I cause a righteous Branch to grow up to David; and He shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

16 I n those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will be safe. And this is the name it will be called: The Lord makes us right and good.’

In those days Judah shall be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this is the name by which it will be called, The Lord is Our Righteousness (our Rightness, our Justice).

17 F or the Lord says, ‘David will never be without a man to sit on the throne of the people of Israel.

For thus says the Lord: David shall never fail a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel,

18 A nd the Levite religious leaders will never be without a man before Me to give burnt gifts, to burn grain gifts, and to make gifts ready on the altar all the time.’”

Nor shall the Levitical priests fail a man to offer burnt offerings before Me and to burn cereal offerings and to make sacrifices continually (all day long).

19 T he Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

20 “ This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break My agreement with the day and night, so that day and night will not come at their set time,

Thus says the Lord: If you can break My covenant with the day, and My covenant with the night, so that there should not be day and night in their season,

21 t hen My agreement may also be broken with David My servant, that he will not have a son to rule on his throne. And then My agreement may be broken with My servants, the Levite religious leaders.

Then can also My covenant be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers.

22 T he stars of heaven cannot be numbered, and the sand of the sea cannot be weighed. In the same way I will make the children of David My servant many, as well as the Levites who serve Me.’”

As the host of the heavens cannot be numbered nor the sand of the sea be measured, so will I multiply the offspring of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.

23 T he Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

24 “ Have you not heard what these people are saying? They say, ‘The Lord has turned away from the two families He had chosen.’ So they hate My people. They are no longer a nation in their eyes.

Have you not noticed that these people are saying, The Lord has cast off the two families which He chose? Thus My people have despised, so that they are no more a nation in their sight.

25 T his is what the Lord says: ‘If I do not keep My agreement with day and night and the laws of heaven and earth,

Thus says the Lord: If My covenant with day and night does not stand, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of the heavens and the earth,

26 t hen I will turn away from the children of Jacob and David My servant. Then I will not choose one of his children to rule over the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will bring them back to their land and will have loving-pity on them.’”

Then will I also cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant and will not choose one of his offspring to be ruler over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captivity to be reversed, and I will have mercy, kindness, and steadfast love on and for them.