Jeremiah 33

1 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still confined to the atrium of the prison, saying:

A second message came from the Lord to Jeremiah while he was still being held in the guard's courtyard of the guard.

2 “Thus says the Lord, who will prepare, and form, and accomplish it; the Lord is his name.

This is what the Lord says, the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who shaped it and set it in place, the Lord is his name:

3 Cry out to me and I will heed you. And I will announce to you great things, things that are certain, though you do not know them.

Call out to me, and I will answer you, explaining to you amazing, hidden things about which you don't have any idea.

4 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to the houses of this city, and to the houses of the king of Judah, which have been destroyed, and to the fortifications, and to the sword

For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about Jerusalem's houses and the palaces of the kings of Judah that were demolished for materials to be used to defend against the siege ramps and the enemy attacks.

5 of those who have arrived, so that they may fight with the Chaldeans, and so that they may have their fill of the dead bodies of the men whom I have struck down in my fury and in my indignation, concealing my face from this city, because of all their wickedness:

They come to fight the Babylonians but will only fill those houses with the dead bodies of those I'm going to kill in my furious anger. I have given up on this city because of all its wickedness.

6 Behold, I will lead over them scars and health, and I will cure them. And I will reveal to them an invocation of peace and truth.

But even so, in the future I will restore and repair it, and I will heal its people and give them lasting peace and safety.

7 And I will convert the turning away of Judah and the turning away of Jerusalem. And I will build them up, just as from the beginning.

I will bring Judah and Israel back from exile and will make them as strong as before.

8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they have sinned against me. And I will forgive all their iniquities, by which they have offended against me and have despised me.

I will wash away all their sins that they committed against me, and I will forgive all their guilt from when they sinned in rebelling against me.

9 And this will be for me: a name, and a joy, and a praise, and an exultation, among all the nations of the earth who will hear about all the good things that I will accomplish for them. And they will be afraid and troubled over all these good things, and over all the peace, that I will accomplish for them.

Then this city will bring me a glorious reputation, celebrated and praised by all the nations of the earth who get to hear of all the good things I do for it. They will tremble, amazed at how much good I have done for it, how I have made it so prosperous.

10 Thus says the Lord: Still shall there be heard in this place, (which you say is desolate, because there is neither man nor beast, ) and in the cities of Judah and outside of Jerusalem, (which are desolate, without man, and without an inhabitant and without cattle, )

This is what the Lord says: You call this place “a wasteland where there's no people or animals.” Well, here in the towns of Judah and in the empty streets of Jerusalem where no people or animals live, one day

11 the voice of gladness and the voice of rejoicing, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: ‘Confess to the Lord of hosts! For the Lord is good! For his mercy is eternal!’ and the voice of those fulfilling their vows in the house of the Lord. For I will lead back the turning away of the land, just as from the beginning, says the Lord.”

the sounds of joy and celebration will be heard there again, the happy voices of bride and bridegroom, and the shouts of praise of those bringing thank offerings to the Lord's Temple, saying: “Thank the Lord Almighty! For the Lord is good; his trustworthy love lasts endures forever.” For I will bring the land back from its “captivity” too, says the Lord.

12 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Still shall there be in this place, (which is desolate without man and without beast, ) and in all of its cities: a habitation for the shepherds giving rest to their flocks.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: In this wasteland where there's no people or animals, and in all its towns, once again there'll be pastures where shepherds can take their flocks.

13 For even in the cities on the mountains, and in the cities on the plains, and in the cities that are toward the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and all around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, still shall the flocks travel by the hand of him who numbers them, says the Lord.

In all the towns, whether in the hill country, or the foothills, or the Negev, or the land of Benjamin or the towns around Jerusalem, or throughout the cities of Judah, flocks will once again be counted by their shepherds, says the Lord.

14 Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the good word that I have spoken to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

Look! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will keep my promise to do good to the people of Israel and Judah.

15 In those days and at that time, I will cause the seedling of justice to spring up from David, and he will accomplish judgment and justice upon the earth.

At that time, right there and then, I will give you a good king from the line of David. He will do what is just and right throughout the country.

16 In those days, Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in confidence. And this is the name that they will call him: ‘The Lord, our Just One.’

This is when Judah will be saved, and the people of Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name he will be called: The Lord Who Makes Us Right.

17 For thus says the Lord: There shall not cease to be a man from David sitting upon the throne of the house of Israel.

This is what the Lord says: David will always have a descendant who will be king of Israel,

18 And there shall not cease to be a man from the priests and from the Levites before my face, who offers holocausts, and burns sacrifices, and kills victims, for days without end.”

and the Levitical priests will always have a descendant to present burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrifices to me.

19 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:

20 “Thus says the Lord: If my covenant with the day is able to be nullified, or my covenant with the night, such that there would be no day and no night in their time,

This is what the Lord says: If you were able to break my agreement with the day and with the night, so that they wouldn't come at the right time,

21 then, too, my covenant with David, my servant, may be nullified, such that he would not have a son who reigns upon his throne, with both the Levites and the priests as my ministers.

only then would my agreement be broken with David my servant and with the Levites who serve as my priests, so that David would not have a descendant to rule on his throne.

22 Just as the stars of heaven are not able to be numbered, and the sand of the sea is not able to be measured, so will I multiply the offspring of David, my servant, and the Levites, my ministers.”

In the same way that the stars of heaven can't be counted, and the sand on the seashore can't be measured, that's how many times I will multiply the number of my servant David's descendants and the Levites who serve me.

23 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

Another message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:

24 “Have you not seen what this people has spoken? They say: ‘The two families which the Lord had chosen have been rejected.’ And so they have despised my people, as if they were no longer a nation in their sight.

Have you heard what people are saying: “The Lord chose two families, but now he's rejected them”? So they look down on my people and don't consider them worthy of being called a nation.

25 Thus says the Lord: If I have not established my covenant with the day and the night, and my laws over heaven and earth,

This is what the Lord says: Just as I can't break my agreement with the day and the night and the laws that regulate heaven and earth,

26 then truly I will also cast aside the offspring of Jacob, and of David, my servant, so that I do not take up any of his offspring to be leaders over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will lead back their turning away, and I will take pity on them.”

so I can't reject the descendants of Jacob and of my servant David, and I can't fail to make his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will bring them back from exile and I will be kind to them.