Jer 6, Jer 33 | ESV | STEP | Flee for safety , O people of Benjamin , from the midst of Jerusalem ! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa , and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem , for disaster looms out of the north , and great destruction .

1 Flee for safety, ^aO people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in ^bTekoa,
and raise a signal on ^cBeth-haccherem,
for disaster looms ^dout of the north,
and great destruction.
2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
^ethe daughter of Zion. ^{▼▼Or I have likened the daughter of Zion to the loveliest pasture}
3 ^gShepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
^hthey shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4 ⁱ“Prepare war against her;
arise, and let us attack ^jat noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let us attack by night
and destroy her palaces!”
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts:
^k“Cut down her trees;
^lcast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be ^mpunished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 ⁿAs a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
^oviolence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
^plest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you ^qa desolation,
an uninhabited land.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
^r“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10 ^sTo whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
^tBehold, their ears are uncircumcised,
^uthey cannot listen;
behold, ^vthe word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
^wI am weary of holding it in.
^x“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
^yboth husband and wife ^zshall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 ^aaTheir houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,”

declares the Lord.
13 ^ab“For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone ^acis greedy for unjust gain;
and from ^adprophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ^ae‘Peace, peace,’
^afwhen there is no peace.
15 ^agWere they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
^ahat the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”

says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for ^aithe ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
^ajand find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 ^akI set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to ^althe sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ^am‘We will not pay attention.’
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
^anthe fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 ^aoWhat use to me is ^apfrankincense that comes from ^aqSheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
^arYour burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
^as‘Behold, I will lay before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.’”
22 Thus says the Lord:
^at“Behold, a people is coming ^aufrom the north country,
a great nation is stirring from ^avthe farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are ^awcruel and have no mercy;
^axthe sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24 We have heard the report of it;
^ayour hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
^azpain as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
^baterror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, ^bbput on sackcloth,
and ^bcroll in ashes;
^bdmake mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27 “I have made you ^bea tester of metals among my people,
that you may know and ^bftest their ways.
28 ^bgThey are all stubbornly rebellious,
^bhgoing about with slanders;
they are ^bibronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
29 The ^bjbellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
^bkin vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 ^blRejected silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them.”

Jeremiah 33

The Lord Promises Peace

1 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still ^bmshut up in the court of the guard: 2 “Thus says ^bnthe Lord who made the earth, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew it} the Lord who formed it to establish it— ^bpthe Lord is his name: 3 ^bqCall to me and I will answer you, ^brand 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 ^bsthe siege mounds and against the sword: 5 They are coming in ^btto 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 ^bvin my anger and my wrath, ^bwfor I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil. 6 ^bxBehold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. 7 ^byI will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, ^bzand rebuild them as they were ^caat first. 8 ^cbI will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, ^ccand I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. 9 ^cdAnd 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 ^cffear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.

10 “Thus says the Lord: In this place ^cgof 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 ^chthe 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 ^cithank offerings to the house of the Lord:

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

12 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^clIn this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be ^cmhabitations of shepherds ^cnresting their flocks. 13 ^coIn the cities of the hill country, ^cpin the cities of the Shephelah, ^cqand in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, ^crthe places about Jerusalem, ^csand in the cities of Judah, ^ctflocks shall again pass under the hands ^cuof the one who counts them, says the Lord.

The Lord’s Eternal Covenant with David

14 ^cv“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when ^cwI 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 ^cxBranch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, ^cyand Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ^cz‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

17 “For thus says the Lord: ^daDavid shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 ^dband 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 ^dc“Thus says the Lord: ^ddIf you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, ^deso that day and night will not come at their appointed time, 21 ^dfthen 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 ^dgthe host of heaven cannot be numbered and ^dhthe 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: ^diIf 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. ^djFor I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.”