This is the message that YAHWEH gave to Jeremiah. YAHWEH, the God of Israel, gave Jeremiah this command: “Write everything I have told you in a book. For I decree that the time is coming when I will restore all that you have lost and bring back my captive people, Israel and Judah,” says YAHWEH. “I will bring them back to possess the land that I gave to their ancestors.”
Then YAHWEH told me to say to Israel and Judah:
“I, YAHWEH, hear the voice of panic,
the screams of terror,
and no sound of peace anywhere.
Now, ask yourself this and carefully consider:
can a man give birth to a child?
Then why do I see each man
gripping his sides like a woman in labor?
How terrible! Why has every face turned pale?
A disaster! A terrible day like no other.
It will be great tribulation for Jacob,
yet he will be saved out of it.
“In that day,” declares YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, “I will break off the yoke from your neck and snap your chains, and foreigners will no longer enslave you. But Israel and Judah will be servants of YAHWEH their God, and I will raise up a king for them from the lineage of David.”
YAHWEH says,
“My servant Jacob, do not fear;
Israel, do not be alarmed.
I will rescue you and your descendants
from that foreign land in which you are held captive.
You will return and live in peace,
safe and secure, with no one to trouble you.
For I am with you and will save you,”
YAHWEH declares.
“Someday, I will bring destruction to all the nations
where I have driven you,
but I will not destroy you.
I will discipline you
but in moderation.
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”
YAHWEH
YAHWEH says:
“Your wound is incurable;
your injuries are so serious, they’re beyond healing.
Everyone has given up on you.
At least for an ulcer there are remedies,
but for you, there’s no cure at all.
All those ‘lovers’ you had
have abandoned you;
they could not care less.
Yes, I struck you with cruel punishment
because of your great guilt and countless sins.
I struck you mercilessly like you were my enemy.
There is no point in crying out over your pain,
for your wound is incurable.
I have treated you like this
because of your great guilt and countless sins.
“But rest assured, all those who devoured you will be devoured;
all your enemies, every one of them, will go into captivity.
Those who devastated you will be devastated,
and all who made you their prey, I will make a prey.
For I, YAHWEH, say to you who were once called ‘Outcast,’
I will heal your wounds.
And to you who were once called ‘Forgotten Zion,’
I will restore your health.”
YAHWEH says:
“See, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
and have compassion on his families.
The city will be rebuilt on its mound
with the city fortress in its rightful place.
Out of them will be heard the joyous songs of thanksgiving
and the raucous shouts of joy.
I will cause them to flourish and not diminish.
I will bring them honor, and they will not be humiliated.
Their descendants will be just like they were before.
Their community will be fixed firmly before me,
and I shall punish all their oppressors.
Their majestic prince will be one of their own.
Their ruler will arise from among them,
and I will give him free and easy access to me.
For who is he who will pledge his heart
to remain close to me?” YAHWEH asks.
“You will be my very own people,
and I shall be your very own God.”
Behold, YAHWEH’s anger is like
the fury of a fearsome whirlwind
about to hit the wicked head-on with gale-force winds.
YAHWEH’s anger will not relent
until he has perfectly carried out what he has in mind.
In the latter days, you will clearly understand this.
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