Category: Jeremiah

[31:23] The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, “When I restore the people to their land, they will once again say in the land of Judah and in its towns, ‘May the Lord bless the sacred hill of Jerusalem, the holy place where he lives.’

[31:24] People will live in Judah and in all its towns, and there will be farmers, and shepherds with their flocks.

[31:25] I will refresh those who are weary and will satisfy with food everyone who is weak from hunger.

[31:26] So then, people will say, ‘I went to sleep and woke up refreshed.’

[31:27] “I, the Lord, say that the time is coming when I will fill the land of Israel and Judah with people and animals.

[31:28] And just as I took care to uproot, to pull down, to overthrow, to destroy, and to demolish them, so I will take care to plant them and to build them up.

[31:29] When that time comes, people will no longer say, ‘The parents ate the sour grapes, But the children got the sour taste.’

[31:30] Instead, those who eat sour grapes will have their own teeth set on edge; and everyone will die because of their own sin.”

[31:31] The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

[31:32] It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant.

[31:33] The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

[31:34] None of them will have to teach a neighbor to know the Lord, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[31:35] The Lord provides the sun for light by day, the moon and the stars to shine at night. He stirs up the sea and makes it roar; his name is the Lord Almighty.

[31:36] He promises that as long as the natural order lasts, so long will Israel be a nation.

[31:37] If one day the sky could be measured and the foundations of the earth explored, only then would he reject the people of Israel because of all they have done. The Lord has spoken.

[31:38] “The time is coming,” says the Lord, “when all of Jerusalem will be rebuilt as my city, from Hananel Tower west to the Corner Gate.

[31:39] And the boundary line will continue from there on the west to the hill of Gareb and then around to Goah.

[31:40] The entire valley, where the dead are buried and garbage is dumped, and all the fields above Kidron Brook as far as the Horse Gate to the east, will be sacred to me. The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”

[32:1] The Lord spoke to me in the tenth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, which was also the eighteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia.

[32:2] At that time the army of the king of Babylonia was attacking Jerusalem, and I was locked up in the courtyard of the royal palace.

[32:3] King Zedekiah had imprisoned me there and had accused me of announcing that the Lord had said, “I am going to let the king of Babylonia capture this city,

[32:4] and King Zedekiah will not escape. He will be handed over to the king of Babylonia; he will see him face-to-face and will speak to him in person.

[32:5] Zedekiah will be taken to Babylonia, and he will remain there until I deal with him. Even if he fights the Babylonians, he will not be successful. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[32:6] The Lord told me

[32:7] that Hanamel, my uncle Shallum's son, would come to me with the request to buy his field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, because I was his nearest relative and had the right to buy it for myself.

[32:8] Then, just as the Lord had said, Hanamel came to me there in the courtyard and asked me to buy the field. So I knew that the Lord had really spoken to me.

[32:9] I bought the field from Hanamel and weighed out the money to him; the price came to seventeen pieces of silver.

[32:10] I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the money on scales.

[32:11] Then I took both copies of the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the contract and its conditions, and the open copy—

[32:12] and gave them to Baruch, the son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence of Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase and of the people who were sitting in the courtyard.

[32:13] Before them all I said to Baruch,

[32:14] “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has ordered you to take these deeds, both the sealed deed of purchase and the open copy, and to place them in a clay jar, so that they may be preserved for years to come.

[32:15] The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has said that houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”

[32:16] After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch, I prayed,

[32:17] “Sovereign Lord, you made the earth and the sky by your great power and might; nothing is too difficult for you.

[32:18] You have shown constant love to thousands, but you also punish people for the sins of their parents. You are a great and powerful God; you are the Lord Almighty.

[32:19] You make wise plans and do mighty things; you see everything that people do, and you reward them according to their actions.

[32:20] Long ago you performed miracles and wonders in Egypt, and you have continued to perform them to this day, both in Israel and among all the other nations, so that you are now known everywhere.

[32:21] By means of miracles and wonders that terrified our enemies, you used your power and might to bring your people Israel out of Egypt.

[32:22] You gave them this rich and fertile land, as you had promised their ancestors.

[32:23] But when they came into this land and took possession of it, they did not obey your commands or live according to your teaching; they did nothing that you had ordered them to do. And so you brought all this destruction on them.

[32:24] “The Babylonians have built siege mounds around the city to capture it, and they are attacking. War, starvation, and disease will make the city fall into their hands. You can see that all you have said has come true.

[32:25] Yet, Sovereign Lord, you are the one who ordered me to buy the field in the presence of witnesses, even though the city is about to be captured by the Babylonians.”

[32:26] Then the Lord said to me,

[32:27] “I am the Lord, the God of all people. Nothing is too difficult for me.

[32:28] I am going to give this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army; they will capture it

[32:29] and set it on fire. They will burn it down, together with the houses where people have made me angry by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out wine offerings to other gods.

[32:30] From the very beginning of their history the people of Israel and the people of Judah have displeased me and made me angry by what they have done.

[32:31] The people of this city have made me angry and furious from the day it was built. I have decided to destroy it

[32:32] because of all the evil that has been done by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, together with their kings and leaders, their priests and prophets.

[32:33] They turned their backs on me; and though I kept on teaching them, they would not listen and learn.

[32:34] They even placed their disgusting idols in the Temple built for my worship, and they have defiled it.

[32:35] They have built altars to Baal in Hinnom Valley, to sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. I did not command them to do this, and it did not even enter my mind that they would do such a thing and make the people of Judah sin.”

[32:36] The Lord, the God of Israel, said to me, “Jeremiah, the people are saying that war, starvation, and disease will make this city fall into the hands of the king of Babylonia. Now listen to what else I have to say.

[32:37] I am going to gather the people from all the countries where I have scattered them in my anger and fury, and I am going to bring them back to this place and let them live here in safety.

[32:38] Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.

[32:39] I will give them a single purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and the good of their descendants.

[32:40] I will make an eternal covenant with them. I will never stop doing good things for them, and I will make them fear me with all their heart, so that they will never turn away from me.

[32:41] I will take pleasure in doing good things for them, and I will establish them permanently in this land.

[32:42] “Just as I have brought this disaster on these people, so I am going to give them all the good things that I have promised.

[32:43] The people are saying that this land will be like a desert where neither people nor animals live, and that it will be given over to the Babylonians. But fields will once again be bought in this land.

[32:44] People will buy them, and the deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will take place in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, and in the towns in the hill country, in the foothills, and in southern Judah. I will restore the people to their land. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[33:1] While I was still in prison in the courtyard, the Lord's message came to me again.

[33:2] The Lord, who made the earth, who formed it and set it in place, spoke to me. He whose name is the Lord said,

[33:3] “Call to me, and I will answer you; I will tell you wonderful and marvelous things that you know nothing about.

[33:4] I, the Lord, the God of Israel, say that the houses of Jerusalem and the royal palace of Judah will be torn down as a result of the siege and the attack.

[33:5] Some will fight against the Babylonians, who will fill the houses with the corpses of those whom I am going to strike down in my anger and fury. I have turned away from this city because of the evil things that its people have done.

[33:6] But I will heal this city and its people and restore them to health. I will show them abundant peace and security.

[33:7] I will make Judah and Israel prosperous, and I will rebuild them as they were before.

[33:8] I will purify them from the sins that they have committed against me, and I will forgive their sins and their rebellion.

[33:9] Jerusalem will be a source of joy, honor, and pride to me; and every nation in the world will fear and tremble when they hear about the good things that I do for the people of Jerusalem and about the prosperity that I bring to the city.”

[33:10] The Lord said, “People are saying that this place is like a desert, that it has no people or animals living in it. And they are right; the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are empty; no people or animals live there. But in these places you will hear again

[33:11] the shouts of gladness and joy and the happy sounds of wedding feasts. You will hear people sing as they bring thank offerings to my Temple; they will say, ‘Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, because he is good and his love is eternal.’ I will make this land as prosperous as it was before. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[33:12] The Lord Almighty said, “In this land that is like a desert and where no people or animals live, there will once again be pastures where shepherds can take their sheep.

[33:13] In the towns in the hill country, in the foothills, and in southern Judah, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, shepherds will once again count their sheep. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[33:14] The Lord said, “The time is coming when I will fulfill the promise that I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

[33:15] At that time I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will do what is right and just throughout the land.

[33:16] The people of Judah and of Jerusalem will be rescued and will live in safety. The city will be called ‘The Lord Our Salvation.’

[33:17] I, the Lord, promise that there will always be a descendant of David to be king of Israel

[33:18] and that there will always be priests from the tribe of Levi to serve me and to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrifices.”

[33:19] The Lord said to me,

[33:20] “I have made a covenant with the day and with the night, so that they always come at their proper times; and that covenant can never be broken.

[33:21] In the same way I have made a covenant with my servant David that he would always have a descendant to be king, and I have made a covenant with the priests from the tribe of Levi that they would always serve me; and those covenants can never be broken.

[33:22] I will increase the number of descendants of my servant David and the number of priests from the tribe of Levi, so that it will be as impossible to count them as it is to count the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore.”

[33:23] The Lord said to me,

[33:24] “Have you noticed how people are saying that I have rejected Israel and Judah, the two families that I chose? And so they look with contempt on my people and no longer consider them a nation.

[33:25] But I, the Lord, have a covenant with day and night, and I have made the laws that control earth and sky.

[33:26] And just as surely as I have done this, so I will maintain my covenant with Jacob's descendants and with my servant David. I will choose one of David's descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will be merciful to my people and make them prosperous again.”

[34:1] The Lord spoke to me when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army, supported by troops from all the nations and races that were subject to him, were attacking Jerusalem and its nearby towns.

[34:2] The Lord, the God of Israel, told me to go and say to King Zedekiah of Judah, “I, the Lord, will hand this city over to the king of Babylonia, and he will burn it down.

[34:3] You will not escape; you will be captured and handed over to him. You will see him face-to-face and talk to him in person; then you will go to Babylonia.

[34:4] Zedekiah, listen to what I say about you. You will not be killed in battle.

[34:5] You will die in peace, and as people burned incense when they buried your ancestors, who were kings before you, in the same way they will burn incense for you. They will mourn over you and say, ‘Our king is dead!’ I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[34:6] Then I gave this message to King Zedekiah in Jerusalem

[34:7] while the army of the king of Babylonia was attacking the city. The army was also attacking Lachish and Azekah, the only other fortified cities left in Judah.

[34:8] King Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem had made an agreement to set free

[34:9] their Hebrew slaves, both male and female, so that no one would have an Israelite as a slave.

[34:10] All the people and their leaders agreed to free their slaves and never to enslave them again. They did set them free,

[34:11] but later they changed their minds, took them back, and forced them to become slaves again.

[34:12] Then the Lord,

[34:13] the God of Israel, told me to say to the people: “I made a covenant with your ancestors when I rescued them from Egypt and set them free from slavery. I told them that

[34:14] every seven years they were to set free any Hebrew slave who had served them for six years. But your ancestors would not pay any attention to me or listen to what I said.

[34:15] Just a few days ago you changed your minds and did what pleased me. All of you agreed to set all Israelites free, and you made a covenant in my presence, in the Temple where I am worshiped.

[34:16] But then you changed your minds again and dishonored me. All of you took back the slaves whom you had set free as they desired, and you forced them into slavery again.

[34:17] So now, I, the Lord, say that you have disobeyed me; you have not given all Israelites their freedom. Very well, then, I will give you freedom: the freedom to die by war, disease, and starvation. I will make every nation in the world horrified at what I do to you.

[34:20] I will hand them over to their enemies, who want to kill them, and their corpses will be eaten by birds and wild animals.

[34:21] I will also hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials to those who want to kill them. I will hand them over to the Babylonian army, which has stopped its attack against you.

[34:22] I will give the order, and they will return to this city. They will attack it, capture it, and burn it down. I will make the towns of Judah like a desert where no one lives. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

[35:1] When Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me,

[35:2] “Go to the members of the Rechabite clan and talk to them. Then bring them into one of the rooms in the Temple and offer them some wine.”

[35:3] So I took the entire Rechabite clan—Jaazaniah (the son of another Jeremiah, who was Habazziniah's son) and all his brothers and sons—

[35:4] and brought them to the Temple. I took them into the room of the disciples of the prophet Hanan son of Igdaliah. This room was above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, an important official in the Temple, and near the rooms of the other officials.

[35:5] Then I placed cups and bowls full of wine before the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Have some wine.”

[35:6] But they answered, “We do not drink wine. Our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab told us that neither we nor our descendants were ever to drink any wine.

[35:7] He also told us not to build houses or farm the land and not to plant vineyards or buy them. He commanded us always to live in tents, so that we might remain in this land where we live like strangers.

[35:8] We have obeyed all the instructions that Jonadab gave us. We ourselves never drink wine, and neither do our wives, our sons, or our daughters.

[35:11] But when King Nebuchadnezzar invaded the country, we decided to come to Jerusalem to get away from the Babylonian and Syrian armies. That is why we are living in Jerusalem.”

[35:14] Jonadab's descendants have obeyed his command not to drink wine, and to this very day none of them drink any. But I have kept on speaking to you, and you have not obeyed me.

[35:15] I have continued to send you all my servants the prophets, and they have told you to give up your evil ways and to do what is right. They warned you not to worship and serve other gods, so that you could go on living in the land that I gave you and your ancestors. But you would not listen to me or pay any attention to me.

[35:16] Jonadab's descendants have obeyed the command that their ancestor gave them, but you people have not obeyed me.

[35:17] So now, I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, will bring on you people of Judah and of Jerusalem all the destruction that I promised. I will do this because you would not listen when I spoke to you, and you would not answer when I called you.”

[35:18] Then I told the Rechabite clan that the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, had said, “You have obeyed the command that your ancestor Jonadab gave you; you have followed all his instructions, and you have done everything he commanded you.

[35:19] So I, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, promise that Jonadab son of Rechab will always have a male descendant to serve me.”

[36:1] In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me,

[36:2] “Get a scroll and write on it everything that I have told you about Israel and Judah and all the nations. Write everything that I have told you from the time I first spoke to you, when Josiah was king, up to the present.

[36:3] Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the destruction that I intend to bring on them, they will turn from their evil ways. Then I will forgive their wickedness and their sins.”

[36:4] So I called Baruch son of Neriah and dictated to him everything that the Lord had said to me. And Baruch wrote it all down on a scroll.

[36:5] Then I gave Baruch the following instructions: “I am no longer allowed to go into the Temple.

[36:6] But I want you to go there the next time the people are fasting. You are to read the scroll aloud, so that they will hear everything that the Lord has said to me and that I have dictated to you. Do this where everyone can hear you, including the people of Judah who have come in from their towns.

[36:7] Perhaps they will pray to the Lord and turn from their evil ways, because the Lord has threatened this people with his terrible anger and fury.”

[36:8] So Baruch read the Lord's words in the Temple exactly as I had told him to do.

[36:9] In the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, the people fasted to gain the Lord's favor. The fast was kept by all who lived in Jerusalem and by all who came there from the towns of Judah.

[36:10] Then, while all the people were listening, Baruch read from the scroll everything that I had said. He did this in the Temple, from the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan, the court secretary. His room was in the upper court near the entrance of the New Gate of the Temple.

[36:11] Micaiah, the son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan, heard Baruch read from the scroll what the Lord had said.

[36:12] Then he went to the royal palace, to the room of the court secretary, where all the officials were in session. Elishama, the court secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were there.

[36:13] Micaiah told them everything that he had heard Baruch read to the people.

[36:14] Then the officials sent Jehudi (the son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah, and great-grandson of Cushi) to tell Baruch to bring the scroll that he had read to the people. Baruch brought them the scroll.

[36:15] “Sit down,” they said, “and read the scroll to us.” So Baruch did.

[36:16] After he had read it, they turned to one another in alarm and said to Baruch, “We must report this to the king.”

[36:17] Then they asked him, “Tell us, now, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it to you?”

[36:18] Baruch answered, “Jeremiah dictated every word of it to me, and I wrote it down in ink on this scroll.”

[36:19] Then they told him, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. Don't let anyone know where you are.”