Study Desk

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: '^(C1)Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.

'For behold, ^(C1)days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will ^(C2)restore the fortunes of My people ^(C3)Israel and Judah.' The LORD says, 'I will also ^(C4)bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.'"

Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

"For this is what the LORD says: '^(F1)I have heard a sound of ^(C1)terror, Of fear, and there is no peace.

-'Ask now, and see If a male can give birth. Why do I see every man With his hands on his waist, ^(C1)as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale?

-'Woe, for that ^(C1)day is great, There is ^(C2)none like it; And it is the time of Jacob's ^(C3)distress, Yet he will be ^(C4)saved from it.

'It shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of armies, 'that I will ^(C1)break his yoke from ^(F1)their necks and will tear to pieces ^(F2)their ^(C2)restraints; and strangers will no longer ^(C3)make ^(F3)them their slaves.

'But they shall serve the LORD their God and ^(C1)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

-'And ^(C1)do not fear, Jacob My servant,' declares the LORD, 'And do not be dismayed, Israel; For behold, I am going to save you ^(C2)from far away, And your ^(F1)descendants from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return and be ^(C3)at peace, without anxiety, And ^(C4)no one will make him afraid.

-'For ^(C1)I am with you,' declares the LORD, 'to save you; For I will completely ^(C2)destroy all the nations where I have scattered you, Only I will ^(C3)not destroy you completely. But I will ^(C4)discipline you fairly And will by no means leave you unpunished.'

"For this is what the LORD says: 'Your broken limb is irreparable, And your ^(C1)wound is incurable.

-'There is no one to plead your cause; No healing for your sore, ^(C1)No recovery for you.

-'All your ^(C1)lovers have forgotten you, They do not seek you; For I have ^(C2)wounded you with the wound of an enemy, With the ^(C3)punishment of a ^(C4)cruel one, Because your ^(C5)wrongdoing is great, And your ^(C6)sins are numerous.

-'Why do you cry out over your injury? Your pain is incurable. Because your wrongdoing is great And your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you.

-'Therefore all who ^(C1)devour you will be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, ^(C2)will go into captivity; And those who plunder you will become plunder, And all who plunder you I will turn into plunder.

-'For I will ^(F1)restore you to ^(F2)(C1)health And I will heal you of your wounds,' declares the LORD, 'Because they have called you an ^(C2)outcast, saying: "It is Zion; no one ^(F3)cares for her."'

"This is what the LORD says: 'Behold, I will ^(C1)restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob And ^(C2)have compassion on his dwellings; And the ^(C3)city will be rebuilt on its ruins, And the ^(C4)palace will stand on its rightful place.

-'From them will come a ^(C1)song of thanksgiving And the voices of those who ^(F1)(C2)celebrate; And I will ^(C3)multiply them and they will not decrease; I will ^(C4)honor them and they will not be insignificant.

-'^(F1)Their children also will be as before, And ^(F2)their congregation will be ^(C1)established before Me; And I will punish all ^(F2)their oppressors.

-'^(F1)Their ^(C1)leader shall be one of them, And ^(F1)their ruler will come out from ^(F1)their midst; And I will ^(C2)bring him near and he shall approach Me; For ^(F2)who would dare to risk his life to ^(C3)approach Me?' declares the LORD.

'You shall be ^(C1)My people, And I will be your God.'"

Behold, the ^(C1)tempest of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, A ^(F1)sweeping tempest; It will whirl upon the head of the wicked.

The ^(C1)fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and accomplished The intent of His heart. In the ^(C2)latter days you will understand this.

"At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the ^(C1)God of all the ^(C2)families of Israel, and they shall be My people."

This is what the LORD says: "The people who survived the sword ^(C1)Found grace in the wilderness— Israel, when it went to ^(C2)find its rest."

The LORD appeared to ^(F1)him ^(F2)long ago, saying, "I have ^(C1)loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you out with ^(C2)kindness.

-"^(C1)I will build you again and you will be rebuilt, Virgin of Israel! You will ^(F1)take up your ^(C2)tambourines again, And go out to the dances of the ^(C3)revelers.

-"Again you will ^(C1)plant vineyards On the ^(F1)hills of Samaria; The planters will plant And will ^(F2)enjoy the fruit.

-"For there will be a day when watchmen On the hills of Ephraim call out, 'Arise, and ^(C1)let's go up to Zion, To the LORD our God.'"

For this is what the LORD says: "^(C1)Sing aloud with joy for Jacob, And be joyful with the ^(F1)(C2)chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, 'LORD, ^(C3)save Your people, The ^(C4)remnant of Israel!'

-"Behold, I am ^(C1)bringing them from the north country, And I will ^(C2)gather them from the remote parts of the earth, Among them those who are ^(C3)blind and those who ^(C4)limp, The pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together; They will return here as a great assembly.

-"^(C1)They will come with weeping, And by pleading I will bring them; I will lead them by ^(C2)streams of waters, On a straight path on which they will ^(C3)not stumble; For I am a ^(C4)father to Israel, And Ephraim is ^(C5)My firstborn."

Hear the word of the LORD, you nations, And declare it in the ^(C1)coastlands far away, And say, "He who scattered Israel will ^(C2)gather him, And He will keep him as a ^(C3)shepherd keeps his flock."

For the LORD has ^(C1)ransomed Jacob And redeemed him from the hand of him who was ^(C2)stronger than he.

"They will ^(C1)come and shout for joy on the ^(C2)height of Zion, And they will be ^(C3)radiant over the ^(F1)bounty of the LORD— Over the ^(C4)grain, the new wine, the oil, And over the young of the ^(C5)flock and the herd. And their life will be like a ^(C6)watered garden, And they will ^(C7)never languish again.

-"Then the virgin will rejoice in the ^(C1)dance, And the young men and the old together; For I will ^(C2)turn their mourning into joy And comfort them, and give them ^(C3)joy for their sorrow.

-"I will refresh the soul of the priests with ^(F1)abundance, And My people will be ^(C1)satisfied with My goodness," declares the LORD.

This is what the LORD says: "^(C1)A voice is heard in ^(C2)Ramah, Lamenting and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She ^(C3)refuses to be comforted for her children, Because ^(C4)they are no more."

This is what the LORD says: "^(C1)Restrain your voice from weeping And your eyes from tears; For your ^(C2)work will be rewarded," declares the LORD, "And they will ^(C3)return from the land of the enemy.

-"There is ^(C1)hope for your future," declares the LORD, "And your children will return to their own territory.

-"I have certainly heard Ephraim ^(C1)grieving, 'You have ^(C2)disciplined me, and I was corrected, Like an untrained ^(C3)calf; ^(C4)Bring me back that I may be restored, For You are the LORD my God.

-'For after I turned back, I ^(C1)repented; And after I was instructed, I ^(F1)(C2)slapped my thigh; I was ^(C3)ashamed and also humiliated Because I bore the shame of my youth.'

-"Is ^(C1)Ephraim My dear son? Is he a delightful child? Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him; Therefore My ^(F1)(C2)heart yearns for him; I will certainly ^(C3)have mercy on him," declares the LORD.

"Set up roadmarks for yourself, Place guideposts for yourself; ^(C1)Direct your ^(F1)mind to the highway, The way by which you went. ^(C2)Return, O virgin of Israel, Return to these your cities.

-"How long will you waver, You ^(C1)rebellious daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth: A woman will shelter a man."

This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I ^(C1)restore their fortunes, 'The LORD bless you, O ^(C2)place of righteousness, O ^(C3)holy hill!'

"Judah and all its cities will ^(C1)live together in it, the farmers and those who travel with flocks.

"^(C1)For I give plenty of water to the weary ones, and ^(F1)refresh everyone who languishes."

At this I ^(C1)awoke and looked, and my ^(C2)sleep had been pleasant to me.

"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will ^(C1)sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of mankind and the seed of animals.

"And just as I have ^(C1)watched over them to ^(C2)uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to ^(C3)build and to plant them," declares the LORD.

"In those days they will no longer say, '^(C1)The fathers have eaten sour grapes, ^(F1)But it is the children's teeth that have become blunt.'

"But ^(C1)everyone will die for his own wrongdoing; each person who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will become blunt.

"^(C1)Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a ^(C2)new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,

not like the ^(C1)covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I ^(C2)took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My ^(C3)covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.

"For ^(C1)this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD: "^(C2)I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and ^(C3)I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

"They will ^(C1)not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all ^(C2)know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will ^(C3)forgive their wrongdoing, and their ^(C4)sin I will no longer remember."

This is what the LORD says, He who ^(C1)gives the sun for light by day And the ^(F1)fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who ^(C2)stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— ^(C3)The LORD of armies is His name:

"^(C1)If ^(F1)this fixed order departs From Me," declares the LORD, "Then the descendants of Israel also will ^(C2)cease To be a nation before Me ^(F2)forever."

This is what the LORD says: "^(C1)If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also ^(C2)reject all the descendants of Israel For everything that they have done," declares the LORD.

"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the ^(C1)city will be rebuilt for the LORD from the ^(C2)Tower of Hananel to the ^(C3)Corner Gate.

"The ^(C1)measuring line will go out farther straight ahead, to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah.

"And ^(C1)the entire valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook ^(C2)Kidron to the corner of the ^(C3)Horse Gate toward the east, shall be ^(C4)holy to the LORD; it will not be uprooted or overthrown ever again."