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¹ THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,² Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Write all the words that I have spoken to you in a book.³ For behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will bring back the captives of my people Israel and Judah, says the LORD; and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers and they shall possess it.⁴ And these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah.⁵ Thus says the LORD: We have heard a sound of trembling and of fear; and there is no peace.⁶ Ask now and see: Can a male bear a child? Wherefore do I observe every man with his hands on his loins, like a woman in travail, and all faces turned into paleness?⁷ Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; but he shall be saved out of it.⁸ For it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon from off your neck, and I will cut off your bonds, and strangers shall no more enslave them;⁹ But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰ Therefore fear not, O my servant Jacob, says the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel; for, lo, I will save you from afar and your offspring from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall hurt him.¹¹ Fear not, O my servant Jacob, says the LORD, for I am with you to save you, says the LORD; for I will make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered you, yet I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you justly, and will not declare you innocent.¹² For thus says the LORD: Your wound is grievous, and your affliction is severe.¹³ There is none to plead your cause or to succor you and heal you.¹⁴ All your friends have forgotten you; they seek your life; for I have smitten you with the wound of an enemy, with a severe chastisement because of the multitude of your iniquities, and because your sins were increased and you would not repent.¹⁵ Why do you lament over your wound? Your wound is painful because of the multitude of your iniquities; and because your sins were increased, I have done these things to you.¹⁶ Therefore, all who devour you shall be devoured; and all your enemies, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and those who trample over you shall be trampled over, and all those who plunder you I will give for a prey.¹⁷ For I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says the LORD; because they have called you an outcast, saying, This is Zion who had no avenger.

¹⁸ Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacobs tents, and I will do to him as of old, and have mercy on his dwelling places; the city shall be built upon its own hill, and the temple shall be established after the former manner thereof.¹⁹ And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who sing; and I will multiply them, and they shall not decrease; I will also make them mighty, and they shall not be weak.²⁰ Their children also shall be as of old, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all who oppress them.²¹ And their king shall be one of themselves, and their governors shall come forth from among themselves; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach to me; for I will turn his heart towards me, says the LORD.²² And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.²³ Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goes forth with fury, a tornado; it shall rest upon the head of the wicked.²⁴ The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed his orders and until he has performed the intents of his heart; in the latter days you shall understand this.