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 a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, 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 it, 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, which you do not know.’

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 have been pulled down to fortify against the siege mounds and 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 come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to fill their places with the dead bodies of men whom I will slay in My anger and My fury, all for whose wickedness I have hidden My face from this city.

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 bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace 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 captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first.

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

I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed 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.’

Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that 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: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, 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 voice of those who will say: “Praise the Lord of hosts, For the Lord is good, For His mercy endures forever”— and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the 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 a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.

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 mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass 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, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to 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 I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

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 will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

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 lack 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 priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’” The Permanence of God’s Covenant

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 will 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 My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the 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 heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants 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 considered what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the Lord has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus they have despised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them.

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 is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and 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 I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.’”