Jer 30-33 | ESV | STEP | The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord :

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^aWrite in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 ^bFor behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, ^cwhen I will restore ^dthe fortunes of my people, ^eIsrael and Judah, says the Lord, ^fand I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

4 These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning ^gIsrael and Judah:

5 “Thus says the Lord:
We have heard a cry of panic,
of terror, and no peace.
6 Ask now, and see,
can a man bear a child?
^hWhy then do I see every man
with his hands on his stomach ⁱlike a woman in labor?
^jWhy has every face turned pale?
7 Alas! ^kThat day is so great
^lthere is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
yet he shall be saved out of it.
8 “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will ^mbreak his ⁿyoke from off your neck, and I will ^oburst your bonds, ^pand foreigners shall no more make a servant of him. ^{▼▼Or serve him} 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and ^rDavid their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10 ^s“Then fear not, ^tO Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,
nor be dismayed, O Israel;
for behold, ^uI will save you from far away,
^vand your offspring from the land of their captivity.
^wJacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
11 ^xFor I am with you to save you,

declares the Lord;
^yI will make a full end of all the nations
among whom I scattered you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
^zI will ^aadiscipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
12 “For thus says the Lord:
^abYour hurt is incurable,
^acand your wound is grievous.
13 There is none to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
^adno healing for you.
14 ^aeAll your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of ^afan enemy,
the punishment ^agof a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
^ahbecause your sins are flagrant.
15 ^aiWhy do you cry out over your hurt?
^ajYour pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
^akbecause your sins are flagrant,
I have done these things to you.
16 ^alTherefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
and ^amall your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
^anthose who plunder you shall be plundered,
^aoand all who prey on you I will make a prey.
17 ^apFor I will restore ^aqhealth to you,
and ^aryour wounds I will heal,

declares the Lord,
because ^asthey have called you an outcast:
^at‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’
18 “Thus says the Lord:
Behold, ^auI will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt on ^avits mound,
and the palace shall stand where it used to be.
19 ^awOut of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
and the voices of those who celebrate.
^axI will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
20 ^ayTheir children shall be as they were of old,
and their congregation shall be established before me,
and I will punish all who oppress them.
21 ^azTheir prince shall be one of themselves;
^batheir ruler shall come out from their midst;
^bbI will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,
^bcfor who would dare of himself to approach me?

declares the Lord.
22 ^bdAnd you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.”
23 ^beBehold ^bfthe storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
24 ^bgThe fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intentions of his mind.
^bhIn the latter days you will understand this.

Jeremiah 31

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

1 ^bi“At that time, declares the Lord, ^bjI will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”

2 Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
^bkwhen Israel sought for rest,
3 the Lord appeared to him ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew me} from far away.
^bmI have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore ^bnI have continued ^bomy faithfulness to you.
4 ^bpAgain I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
^bqAgain you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in ^brthe dance of the merrymakers.
5 ^bsAgain you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit.
6 For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
in ^btthe hill country of Ephraim:
^bu‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’”
7 For thus says the Lord:
^bv“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for ^bwthe chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
^bx‘O Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
8 Behold, I will bring them ^byfrom the north country
and ^bzgather them from ^cathe farthest parts of the earth,
among them ^cbthe blind and the lame,
the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
9 ^ccWith weeping they shall come,
^cdand with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them ^cewalk by brooks of water,
^cfin a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for ^cgI am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is ^chmy firstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will ^cigather him,
and will keep him ^cjas a shepherd keeps his flock.’
11 ^ckFor the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and has redeemed him from ^clhands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
^cmand they shall be radiant ^cnover the goodness of the Lord,
^coover the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
^cptheir life shall be like a watered garden,
^cqand they shall languish no more.
13 ^crThen shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
^csI will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 ^ctI will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,

declares the Lord.”
15 Thus says the Lord:
^cu“A voice is heard in ^cvRamah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
^cwRachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
^cxbecause they are no more.”
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,

declares the Lord,
and ^cythey shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 ^czThere is hope for your future,

declares the Lord,
and your children shall come back to their own country.
18 I have heard ^daEphraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;
^dbbring me back that I may be restored,
for you are the Lord my God.
19 For after ^dcI had turned away, I relented,
and after I was instructed, ^ddI struck my thigh;
^deI was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 ^dfIs Ephraim my dear son?
^dgIs he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
^dhTherefore my heart ^{▼▼Hebrew bowels} yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,

declares the Lord.
21 ^dj“Set up road markers for yourself;
make yourself guideposts;
^dkconsider well the highway,
^dlthe road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
return to these your cities.
22 ^dmHow long will you waver,
^dnO faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
a woman encircles a man.”
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, ^dowhen I restore their fortunes:

^dp“‘The Lord bless you, ^dqO habitation of righteousness,
^drO holy hill!’
24 ^dsAnd Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and ^dtthe farmers and those who wander with their flocks. 25 For I will ^dusatisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

27 ^dv“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when ^dwI will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with ^dxthe seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that ^dyas I have watched over them ^dzto pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, ^easo I will watch over them ^ebto build and to plant, declares the Lord. 29 In those days they shall no longer say:

^ec“‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 ^edBut everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

The New Covenant

31 ^ee“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make ^efa new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when ^egI took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, ^ehthough I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 ^eiFor this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: ^ejI will put my law within them, and I will write it ^ekon their hearts. ^elAnd I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ ^emfor they shall all know me, ^enfrom the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For ^eoI will forgive their iniquity, and ^epI will remember their sin no more.”

35 Thus says the Lord,
who ^eqgives the sun for light by day
and ^erthe fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
^esthe Lord of hosts is his name:
36 ^et“If this fixed order departs
from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
from being a nation before me forever.”
37 Thus says the Lord:
“If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
^euthen I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
for all that they have done,

declares the Lord.”
38 ^ev“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord ^ewfrom the Tower of Hananel to ^exthe Corner Gate. 39 ^eyAnd the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40 ^ezThe whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the ^fabrook Kidron, to the corner of ^fbthe Horse Gate toward the east, ^fcshall be sacred to the Lord. ^fdIt shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”

Jeremiah 32

Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^fein the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, ^ffwhich was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet ^fgwas shut up in ^fhthe court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^fiBehold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 ^fjZedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, ^fkbut shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. 5 And ^flhe shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. ^fmThough you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?”

6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ^fn‘Buy my field that is at ^foAnathoth, ^fpfor the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ 8 Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in ^fqthe court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at ^frAnathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

9 “And I bought the field at ^fsAnathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and ^ftweighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 ^fuI signed the deed, ^fvsealed it, ^fwgot witnesses, and ^fxweighed the money on scales. 11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. 12 And I gave the deed of purchase to ^fyBaruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of ^fzthe witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in ^gathe court of the guard. 13 I charged ^gbBaruch in their presence, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and ^gcfields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to ^gdBaruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord God! It is ^geyou who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by ^gfyour outstretched arm! ^ggNothing is too hard for you. 18 ^ghYou show steadfast love to thousands, ^gibut you repay the guilt of fathers ^gjto their children after them, O great and ^gkmighty God, whose name is the ^glLord of hosts, 19 ^gmgreat in counsel and ^gnmighty in deed, ^gowhose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, ^gprewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 20 You have shown ^gqsigns and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, ^grand have made a name for yourself, as at this day. 21 ^gsYou brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and ^gtoutstretched arm, ^guand with great terror. 22 And you gave them this land, ^gvwhich you swore to their fathers to give them, ^gwa land flowing with milk and honey. 23 And they entered and took possession of it. ^gxBut 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. 24 Behold, ^gythe siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and ^gzbecause of sword and famine and pestilence ^hathe 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. 25 Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, ^hb“Buy the field for money ^hcand get witnesses”—though ^hdthe city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”

26 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “Behold, I am the Lord, ^hethe God of all flesh. ^hfIs anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: ^hgBehold, 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. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city ^hhshall come and set this city on fire and burn it, ^hiwith the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal ^hjand drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, ^hkto provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight ^hlfrom their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but ^hmprovoke me to anger ^hnby the work of their hands, declares the Lord. 31 This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, ^hoso that I will remove it from my sight 32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger— ^hptheir kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 ^hqThey have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them ^hrpersistently, they have not listened ^hsto receive instruction. 34 They set up ^httheir abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal ^huin the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, ^hvto offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, ^hwthough I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do ^hxthis abomination, ^hyto 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, ^hz‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: 37 ^iaBehold, I will gather them from all the countries ^ibto which I drove them in ^icmy anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, ^idand I will make them dwell in safety. 38 ^ieAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 ^ifI will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, ^igfor their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 ^ihI will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. ⁱⁱAnd I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 ^ijI will rejoice in doing them good, ^ikand I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

42 “For thus says the Lord: ^ilJust 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 ^imFields shall be bought in this land ⁱⁿof which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; ^ioit is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ 44 Fields shall be bought for money, and ^ipdeeds shall be signed and ^iqsealed and ^irwitnessed, ^isin the land of Benjamin, ^itin the places about Jerusalem, ^iuand in the cities of Judah, ^ivin the cities of the hill country, ^iwin the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for ^ixI will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”

Jeremiah 33

The Lord Promises Peace

1 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still ^iyshut up in the court of the guard: 2 “Thus says ^izthe Lord who made the earth, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew it} the Lord who formed it to establish it— ^jbthe Lord is his name: 3 ^jcCall to me and I will answer you, ^jdand will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. 4 For 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 ^jethe siege mounds and against the sword: 5 They are coming in ^jfto fight against the Chaldeans and to fill them ^{▼▼That is, the torn-down houses} with the dead bodies of men whom I shall strike down ^jhin my anger and my wrath, ^jifor I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil. 6 ^jjBehold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. 7 ^jkI will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, ^jland rebuild them as they were ^jmat first. 8 ^jnI will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, ^joand I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. 9 ^jpAnd this city ^{▼▼Hebrew And it} 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 ^jrfear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.

10 “Thus says the Lord: In this place ^jsof 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 ^jtthe 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 ^juthank offerings to the house of the Lord:

^jv“‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
for the Lord is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!’
^jwFor I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.

12 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^jxIn this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be ^jyhabitations of shepherds ^jzresting their flocks. 13 ^kaIn the cities of the hill country, ^kbin the cities of the Shephelah, ^kcand in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, ^kdthe places about Jerusalem, ^keand in the cities of Judah, ^kfflocks shall again pass under the hands ^kgof the one who counts them, says the Lord.

The Lord’s Eternal Covenant with David

14 ^kh“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when ^kiI will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous ^kjBranch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, ^kkand Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ^kl‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

17 “For thus says the Lord: ^kmDavid shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 ^knand the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.”

19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 ^ko“Thus says the Lord: ^kpIf you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, ^kqso that day and night will not come at their appointed time, 21 ^krthen also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. 22 As ^ksthe host of heaven cannot be numbered and ^ktthe sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”

23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24 “Have you not observed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two clans that he chose’? Thus they have despised my people so that they are no longer a nation in their sight. 25 Thus says the Lord: ^kuIf I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, 26 then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ^kvFor I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.”