Blessing and Restoration.

       Set up road markers for yourself;
          make yourself guideposts.
       Concentrate your thoughts on the road,
          the route along which you traveled.
       Return, O virgin Israel;
          come back to these towns of yours.
       How long will you wander aimlessly,
          O rebellious daughter?
       For THE LORD has created something new
              on the earth:
          a woman must strengthen a man.

       Thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: In the land of Judah and in its towns, they will once again use these words when I restore their fortunes,

       "May THE LORD bless you,
          O holy mountain,
          abode of righteousness."

       And in the land of Judah and all its towns, the farmers and those who care for the flocks will dwell together. For I will provide the weary with all they need, and I will restore the strength of all those who have grown faint with hunger.
       At this moment I awakened and looked around, and I realized that my sleep had been pleasant.
       The days are coming, says THE LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of men and the seed of animals. And as I once watched over them to uproot and pull down, to demolish, destroy, and inflict disaster, so now I will watch over them to build and to plant, says THE LORD. In those days they will no longer say,

       "The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
          and the children's teeth are set on edge."

For each one will die for his own sins. The teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes will be set on edge.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 31, VERSES 21 - 30

The New Covenant.

       The days are coming, says THE LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. However, it will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt, a covenant that they broke even though I was their master.

       However, this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says THE LORD. I will establish MY law in their minds and inscribe it in their hearts. I will be their GOD, and they will be MY people. No longer will there be any need for them to teach one another, or to say to one another, "Know THE LORD," because they will all know ME, says THE LORD, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their iniquity and no longer remember their sin.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 31, VERSES 31 - 34

Assurance of GOD's Promise

       Thus says THE LORD:

          who provides us with the sun to light our

              day

          and the moon and the stars to shine at night,

       who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar,

          and whose name is THE LORD OF

              HOSTS:

       If this established order were ever to cease

          in MY presence, says THE LORD,

       then the race of Israel would cease forever

          to be a nation before ME.

       Thus says THE LORD:

          Only if the heavens above can be measured

          and the foundations of the earth below can

              be fathomed

       will I reject the entire race of Israel

          because of all they have done, says THE

              LORD.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 31, VERSES 35 - 37

Jerusalem Rebuilt.

       The days are coming, says THE LORD, when this city will be rebuilt for THE LORD, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The measuring line will then be stretched from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. The entire valley, with its corpses and ashes, and all the fields sloping toward the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be sacred to THE LORD. Never again will that city be uprooted or destroyed.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 31, VERSES 38 - 40

Promise of Restoration.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from THE LORD in the tenth year of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah had been imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard that was attached to the royal palace.
       King Zedekiah had ordered Jeremiah to be confined there, saying, "Why do you continue to prophesy in this manner? According to you, this is what THE LORD says, 'I intend to hand over this city to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Nor will King Zedekiah of Judah escape the clutches of the Chaldeans; rather, he will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will speak with him face to face and behold him with his own eyes. Then Zedekiah will be taken to Babylon, where he will remain until I am ready to deal with him. If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will experience no success.'"
       Jeremiah replied: This word of THE LORD was delivered to me: Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you and say, "Purchase for yourself my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. As my closest relative, you have the first right of redemption." Then, just as THE LORD had foretold, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, "Buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of redemption and possession is yours as next of kin. Therefore, purchase it for yourself." I then knew that this was the word of THE LORD.
       Therefore, I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out the money to him--seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, had it witnessed, and weighed the money on the scales. Then I took the deed of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the unsealed one, and handed them over to Baruch, the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase and of all the Judeans who then happened to be sitting in the courtyard of the guard.
       In their presence I gave the following instructions to Baruch: Thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: Take the documents of the deed of purchase, both the sealed and the unsealed copies, and place them in an earthenware jar so that they may be preserved for a long period of time. For thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.
       After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah, I offered this prayer to THE LORD, "Ah, LORD GOD, YOU made the heavens and the earth by YOUR great power and YOUR outstretched arm. Nothing is impossible for YOU. YOU show YOUR steadfast love to thousands, but YOU permit children to be punished for the guilt of their parents, O GREAT AND MIGHTY GOD whose name is THE LORD OF HOSTS. Great in counsel and mighty in deed, YOUR eyes observe closely all the ways of men, rewarding each one according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve.
       "YOU performed marvelous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and YOU have continued to do so in Israel and among all mankind, gaining renown that continues to this very day. With a mighty hand and outstretched arm YOU led YOUR people out of Egypt amid signs and wonders and great terror.
       "YOU gave them this land which YOU had promised with an oath to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. They entered and took possession of it, but they did not obey YOU or live in accordance with YOUR law. And since they refused to do what YOU had commanded, YOU permitted all these disasters to befall them.
       "Behold, the siege-works are already in position to force YOUR people into submission, and the city, a victim of sword, famine, and pestilence, will be handed over to the Chaldeans who are attacking it. What YOU threatened has come to pass, as YOU YOURSELF can see. And yet, LORD GOD, YOU YOURSELF told me, 'Purchase the field with money and summon witnesses.' However, the city has already succumbed to the power of the Chaldeans."
       Then this word of THE LORD came to Jeremiah: I AM THE LORD, THE GOD OF ALL MANKIND. Is anything impossible for ME to accomplish? Therefore, thus says THE LORD: I intend to hand over this city to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he will take it. While attacking this city, the Chaldeans will enter it, set it on fire, and burn it to the ground, along with the houses on whose roofs the people provoked ME to anger by burning incense to Baal and by pouring out libations to other gods.
       From their youth the people of Israel and the people of Judah have done nothing but evil in MY sight. Indeed the people of Israel have done nothing but provoke ME with the works of their hands, says THE LORD. From the day this city was built until today, it has so aroused MY anger and MY wrath that I intend to remove it from MY sight, because of all the evil that the people of Israel and the people of Judah have perpetrated to provoke ME. They have turned their backs to ME, not their faces, and although I continued to teach them, they would not listen or accept correction.
       They defiled the house that bears MY name by setting up within it their loathsome idols. They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to immolate their sons and daughters to Molech. I gave them no command to do so, nor did the thought ever enter MY mind that they would do such an abominable deed and thereby cause Judah to sin.
       Now, therefore, thus says THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, in regard to this city about which you say, "It has been handed over into the power of the king of Babylon by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence:" Behold, I am determined to gather them together from all the lands to which I banished them in MY furious anger and intense wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live there in peace. They will be MY people, and I will be their GOD. I will grant them unity of heart and unity of conduct so that they will fear ME always, for their own good as well as for the good of their children after them.
       I will make an everlasting covenant with them never to cease ensuring their welfare, and I will put the fear of ME into their hearts so that they will never turn away from ME. I will delight in doing good to them, and I will plant them firmly in this land with all MY heart and soul.
       For thus says THE LORD: Just as I afflicted this people with such great calamity, so I will grant them all the good things I have promised them. Once again fields will be purchased in this land about which you are saying, "It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been handed over to the Chaldeans." Fields will be purchased with money; deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin, in the districts around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, of the hill country, of the foothills, and of the Negeb. For I will restore their fortunes, says THE LORD.


JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 32

Jerusalem Restored.

While Jeremiah was still imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard, the word of THE LORD came to him a second time: Thus says THE LORD who made the earth, who formed and established it--THE LORD is HIS name: Call to ME and I will answer you and reveal to you great and mysterious secrets about which you are unaware. For thus says THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, about the houses of this city and the palaces of the kings of Judah which are in the process of being destroyed by siege-works and the sword in the battle against the Chaldeans: The houses will be filled with the corpses of those whom I will strike down in MY anger and rage, those whose wickedness has caused ME to hide MY face from this city.

       Nevertheless, I intend to treat and assuage the wounds of this city. I will heal the people and grant them an abundance of peace and prosperity. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild them as they were formerly. I will cleanse them of all the guilt they incurred by their sins against me, and I will forgive them for their offenses by which they sinned and rebelled against ME. Then Jerusalem will become for ME a name of joy and praise and pride for all the nations of the earth to behold. When they learn of all the good that I will do for her, they will be overcome with fear and trembling because of all the peace and prosperity I have provided.

       Thus says THE LORD: In this place about which you say, "It is a wasteland, without men or animals," and in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are now deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will once again be heard the cries of joy and the cries of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, and the joyful sounds of those who bring thank offerings to THE LORD, saying,

       "Give thanks to THE LORD OF HOSTS,

          for THE LORD is good;

          HIS love endures forever."

For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were once before, says THE LORD.

       Thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS: In this place that is now a wasteland, without men or animals, and in all its towns, there will again be pastures in which shepherds can rest their flocks. In the towns of the hill country, of the foothills, and of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, in the districts around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says THE LORD.

       The days are coming, says THE LORD, when I will fulfill the promise of blessings I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:

       In those days and at that time

          I will cause a righteous branch

       to spring up from the line of David

          HE will do what is just and upright in the

              land

       In those days Judah will be saved

          and Jerusalem will live in safety.

       This is the name by which the city will be

              called:

          "THE LORD Our Righteousness."

       For thus says THE LORD: Never will David lack a male descendant to succeed to the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have available one of their number to stand before ME to present burnt offerings, to burn cereal offerings, and to offer sacrifices each day.

       The word of THE LORD came to Jeremiah: Thus says THE LORD: If you could break MY covenant with the day and MY covenant with the night so that day and night would no longer occur at their appointed time, then MY covenant with MY servant David could also be broken so that he would not have a son to reign on his throne, and MY covenant with the Levites who minister as priests to ME could also be broken. Just as the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be counted, so I will increase the descendants of MY servant David and of the Levites who minister to ME.

       This word of THE LORD came to Jeremiah: Have you not noticed what these people say, "The two families that were chosen by THE LORD have been rejected by HIM"? As a result, they look upon MY people with such contempt that they no longer regard them as a nation.

       Thus says THE LORD: If I had not established MY covenant with day and night and fixed the laws governing heaven and earth, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and of MY servant David and not choose any of David's descendants to serve as rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have mercy upon them.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 33

Zedekiah Condemned.

While Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and his entire army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the people in the empire he ruled were waging war against Jerusalem and all its towns, this word came to Jeremiah from THE LORD: Go forth to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and say to him: Thus says THE LORD: I intend to hand over this city to the king of Babylon, and he will order that it be burned to the ground. And you yourself will not escape his clutches, for there is no doubt that you will be captured and delivered into his hands. With your own eyes you will see the king of Babylon, and he will speak with you face to face. Then you will go to Babylon.
       But even so, listen to the promise of THE LORD to you, Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what THE LORD promises in your regard: You will not die by the sword. Rather, you will die a peaceful death. And just as the people burned spices in honor of your ancestors, the kings who preceded you, so they will mourn your passing and burn spices for you, as they lament, "Alas, O king." I MYSELF have made this promise, says THE LORD.
       The prophet Jeremiah revealed all these things to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in Jerusalem while the army of the king of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and the remaining cities of Judah that were left, Lachish and Azekah, for these were the only fortified cities of Judah that were still standing.


JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 34, VERSES 1 - 7

The Broken Promise.

       This word came to Jeremiah from THE LORD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to issue a proclamation of freedom for their slaves. Everyone who had Hebrew slaves, whether male or female, was to grant them freedom, and no one would be allowed to keep a fellow Jew in the state of slavery.

       All of the officials and the people who entered into this agreement, swearing that they would set free their male and female slaves so that they would not again be enslaved, obeyed and granted them their freedom. Afterward, however, they changed their minds and once again forced back into slavery those to whom they had granted their freedom.

       Then this word of THE LORD came to Jeremiah: Thus says THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: I made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying, "Every seventh year each one of you must set free any Hebrew who has sold himself to you as a slave and has served you for six years."

       Your fathers, however, did not listen to ME or obey ME. Recently you repented and did what is right in MY sight by proclaiming that freedom was to be given to your brethren and even making a covenant with ME in the house that bears MY name. Now, however, you have renounced that agreement and profaned MY name when each of you took back the male and female slaves to whom you had granted freedom and forced them once again to be your slaves.

       Therefore, thus says THE LORD: Inasmuch as you have not obeyed ME and refused to grant deliverance to your neighbors and kinsmen, now I will proclaim deliverance for you--deliverance to the sword, to plague, and to famine. I will make you an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. As for those who have violated MY covenant and refused to observe the terms of the covenant to which they agreed in MY presence, I will treat them like the calf which they cut in two and then passed between its pieces. The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf will be handed over to their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the animals of the earth.

       As for Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his officials, I will hand them over to their enemies who seek their lives and to the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you. I will issue the command, says THE LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will attack it and capture it and burn it to the ground. And I will turn the towns of Judah into a desolate wasteland where no one dwells.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 34, VERSES 8 - 22

Faithfulness of the Rechabites.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from THE LORD in the days of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah: Go forth to the clan of the Rechabites and speak to them. Have them accompany you into one of the rooms of the house of THE LORD and offer them wine to drink.

       Therefore, I took Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his brothers and all his sons, the entire clan of the Rechabites, and I brought them into the house of THE LORD, to the room of the sons of Hanan, son of Igdaliah, the man of GOD. This room adjoins the chamber of the princes and is above the room of Maaserah, the son of Shallum, the guardian of the threshold.

       Then I set pitchers full of wine and some cups before the Rechabites, and I said to them, "Have some wine to drink." However, they replied, "We never drink wine. Our ancestor Jonadab, the son of Rechab, gave us this command, 'Neither you nor your children will ever drink wine. Nor will you build houses or sow seed or plant vineyards or even own them. Rather, you will dwell in tents all the days of your life, so that you may live for a long time on the land where you are sojourners.'

       "We have carefully followed all the commands given to us by our ancestor Jonadab, the son of Rechab. Throughout our lives we have never consumed wine, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters. We have not built houses to live in, and we have no vineyards or fields or seed. On the contrary, we have lived in tents and scrupulously obeyed everything commanded by our father Jonadab. But when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, invaded this land, we said, 'Let us go to Jerusalem so that we may escape the armies of the Chaldeans and the Arameans.' That is the reason why we are living in Jerusalem."

       Then the word of THE LORD came to Jeremiah: Thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: Go forth and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Will you never come to your senses and obey MY words? says THE LORD. The command of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, to his descendants never to drink wine has been observed to this very day; in obedience to their ancestor, they have drunk no wine. But despite the fact that I have repeated this command to you countless times, you have not obeyed ME.

       I have continued to send to you all MY servants the prophets who warned you repeatedly, "Turn back, every one of you, from your evil conduct, and cease to follow other gods to serve them. Then you will continue to live in the land that I gave to you and your ancestors." But you did not pay attention and you refused to listen to ME. The descendants of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have honored the command that their ancestors gave them. You, however, have not heeded MY warnings.

       Therefore, thus says THE LORD, THE GOD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: I am determined to bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem every disaster with which I threatened them because they would not listen when I spoke to them and did not answer when I called to them.

       However, to the clan of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, "Thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: Because you have obeyed the command of your father Jonadab, followed all of his instructions, and did everything that he ordered you to do, therefore, thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: There will never fail to be a descendant of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, to stand before ME forever."

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 35

Baruch Writes the Prophecies on a Scroll.

In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah, this word came to Jeremiah from THE LORD: Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you against Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day when I first spoke to you, during the reign of Josiah, until today. Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disasters that I intend to inflict upon them, they will all turn back from their evil ways. Then I will forgive their wickedness and their sins.

       Then Jeremiah summoned Baruch, the son of Neriah, and dictated everything that THE LORD had spoken to him so that Baruch might write it all on a scroll. He also gave Baruch the following instruction. "Inasmuch as I am prevented from entering the house of THE LORD, you yourself must go there, and on a fast day, in the hearing of all the people in THE LORD's house, you shall read from the scroll the words of THE LORD that you wrote at my dictation.

       "You shall read them also in the hearing of all the people of Judah who travel there from their towns. Perhaps they will then plead before THE LORD, and all of them will turn from their evil ways. For great is the anger and wrath that THE LORD has threatened against this people." Then Baruch, the son of Neriah, prepared to do everything that the prophet Jeremiah had ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of THE LORD in THE LORD's house.

       In the ninth month of the fifth year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah, a fast before THE LORD was proclaimed for all the people of Jerusalem and all those who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem. Then Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the room of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper court, at the entrance of the New Gate of THE LORD's house, in the hearing of all the people.

       When Micaiah, the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of THE LORD that had been read from the scroll, he went down to the king's palace and entered the scribe's chamber, where all the officials were in session: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah, the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan, the son of Achbor, Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah, the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.

       After Micaiah had reported to them all that he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll to the people, the officials then sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shemaliah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, "Come to us and bring with you the scroll that you read publicly to the people." Holding the scroll in his hand, Baruch, the son of Neriah, came into their presence.

       "Sit down," they said to him, "and read it to us." Baruch read it to them, and when they had heard all the words, they turned to one another in alarm and said to Baruch, "We must certainly report this to the king."

       They then asked Baruch, "Please tell us how you came to write all these words. Were they dictated to you by Jeremiah?" Baruch replied, "Jeremiah dictated all these words, and I wrote them down in ink on the scroll." Then the officials said to Baruch, "You and Jeremiah must go into hiding, and be extremely careful not to let anyone know where you are."

       Leaving the scroll in the room of Elishama the scribe, the officials then went to the court of the king, and they reported all that had occured. The king sent Jehudi for the scroll, and he brought it from the room of Elishama the scribe and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him.

       Since it was the ninth month of the year, the king was sitting in his winter residence, and there was a fire burning in a brazier in front of him. Each time Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king would cut them off with a scribe's knife and throw them into the fire in the brazier until the entire scroll was finally consumed in the brazier's flames.

       However, despite hearing all these words, neither the king nor any of his officials showed the slightest alarm, nor did they tear their garments. And although Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he refused to listen to them. Then the king ordered his son Jerahmeel, and Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. However, THE LORD had hidden them.

       After the king had burned the scroll with all the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation, this word of THE LORD came to Jeremiah: Take another scroll and inscribe on it everything that was written on the first scroll which King Jehoiakim of Judah has burned. Also state clearly to Jehoiakim, the king of Judah: Thus says THE LORD: You have dared to burn that scroll, saying: Why did you write in it that the king of Babylon without question will come and destroy this land and leave it devoid of men and animals?

       Therefore, thus says THE LORD about King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no descendant to succeed him on the throne of David, and his dead body will be exposed to the blazing heat of the day and icy frost at night. I will punish him and his offspring and his attendants for their wickedness, and I will bring down on them and on the citizens of Jerusalem and on the people of Judah all the disasters with which I threatened them, because they paid no heed to MY warnings.

       Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at Jeremiah's dictation all the words of the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah had burned in the fire, in addition to many more words than there had been previously.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 36