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Restoration Promised for Israel and Judah

The word that came to Jeremiah from the L ord: ²Thus says the L ord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. ³For the days are surely coming, says the L ord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the L ord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors and they shall take possession of it.

⁴ These are the words that the L ord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

Thus says the L ord:

We have heard a cry of panic,

of terror, and no peace.

Ask now, and see,

can a man bear a child?

Why then do I see every man

with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor?

Why has every face turned pale?

Alas! that day is so great

there is none like it;

it is a time of distress for Jacob;

yet he shall be rescued from it.

⁸ On that day, says the L ord of hosts, I will break the yoke from off his neck, and I will burst his bonds, and strangers shall no more make a servant of him. ⁹But they shall serve the L ord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

But as for you, have no fear, my servant Jacob, says the L ord,

and do not be dismayed, O Israel;

for I am going to save you from far away,

and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and no one shall make him afraid.

For I am with you, says the L ord, to save you;

I will make an end of all the nations

among which I scattered you,

but of you I will not make an end.

I will chastise you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

For thus says the L ord:

Your hurt is incurable,

your wound is grievous.

There is no one to uphold your cause,

no medicine for your wound,

no healing for you.

All your lovers have forgotten you;

they care nothing for you;

for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy,

the punishment of a merciless foe,

because your guilt is great,

because your sins are so numerous.

Why do you cry out over your hurt?

Your pain is incurable.

Because your guilt is great,

because your sins are so numerous,

I have done these things to you.

Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,

and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;

those who plunder you shall be plundered,

and all who prey on you I will make a prey.

For I will restore health to you,

and your wounds I will heal,

says the L ord,

because they have called you an outcast:

“It is Zion; no one cares for her!”

Thus says the L ord:

I am going to restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob,

and have compassion on his dwellings;

the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound,

and the citadel set on its rightful site.

Out of them shall come thanksgiving,

and the sound of merrymakers.

I will make them many, and they shall not be few;

I will make them honored, and they shall not be disdained.

Their children shall be as of old,

their congregation shall be established before me;

and I will punish all who oppress them.

Their prince shall be one of their own,

their ruler shall come from their midst;

I will bring him near, and he shall approach me,

for who would otherwise dare to approach me?

says the L ord.

And you shall be my people,

and I will be your God.

Look, the storm of the L ord!

Wrath has gone forth,

a whirling tempest;

it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

The fierce anger of the L ord will not turn back

until he has executed and accomplished

the intents of his mind.

In the latter days you will understand this.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Both Jews and Christians pervert this passage, for they apply it to the time of the Messiah; and when they hardly agree as to any other part of Scripture, they are wonderfully united here; but, as I have said, they depart very far from the real meaning of the Prophet.

They all consider this as a prophecy referring to the time of the Messiah; but were any one wisely to view the whole context, he would readily agree with me that the Prophet includes here the sum of the doctrine which the people had previously heard from his mouth. In the first clause he shews that he had spoken of God’s vengeance, which rested on the people. But it is briefly that this clause touches on that point, because the object was chiefly to alleviate the sorrow of the afflicted people; for the reason ought ever to be borne in mind why the Prophet had been ordered to commit to writing the substance of what he had taught, which was, to supply with some comfort the exiles, when they had found out by experience that they had been extremely perverse, having for so long a time never changed nor turned to repentance. The Prophet had before spoken at large of the vices of the people, and many times condemned their obstinacy, and also pointed out the grievous and dreadful punishment that awaited them. The Prophet then had in many a discourse reproved the people, and had been commanded daily to repeat the same thing, though not for his own sake, nor mainly for the sake of those of his own age, or of the old. But after God had destroyed the Temple and the city, his object was to sustain their distressed minds, which must have otherwise been overwhelmed with despair. This, then, is the reason why the Prophet here touches but slightly on the vengeance which awaited the people. There is, however, as we shall see, great force in this brevity; but he is much fuller as to the second part, and for this end, that the people might not succumb under their calamities, but hope in the midst of death, and even begin to hope while suffering the punishment which they deserved.