Add parallel Print Page Options

THE SCROLL OF COMFORT

Healing and restoration for my people

30 Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: Write down in a scroll all the words I have spoken to you. The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will bring back my people Israel and Judah from captivity,[a] says the Lord. I will bring them home to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it. Here are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

The Lord proclaims:
I[b] hear screams of panic and terror;
    no one is safe.
Ask and see:
    Can men bear children?
Then why do I see every man
    bent over in pain,[c] as if he’s in labor?
    Why have all turned pale?
That day is awful, beyond words.
    A time of unspeakable pain
        for my people Jacob.
    But they will be delivered from it.

At that time, I will break the yoke off their[d] necks and remove their[e] shackles. Foreigners will no longer enslave them, declares the Lord of heavenly forces. They will serve the Lord their God and the king whom I will raise up for them from David’s family.

10 So don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
    declares the Lord,
        Don’t lose hope, Israel.
I will deliver you from faraway places
    and your children from the land of their exile.
        My people Jacob will again be safe and sound,
            with no one harassing them.
11 I am with you and will rescue you,
    declares the Lord.
I will put an end to all the nations
    where I have scattered you.
But I won’t put an end to you.
    I won’t let you remain unpunished:
        I will discipline you as you deserve.

12 This is what the Lord says:
Your injury is incurable;
    your illness is grave.
13 No one comes to your aid;
    no one attends to your wound;
        your disease is incurable.
14 All your lovers disregard you;
    they write you off as a lost cause,
    because I have dealt harshly with you
        as an enemy would,
    because your guilt is great
            and your sins are many.
15 Why cry out for relief from your pain?
    Your wound is incurable.
I have done these things to you,
    because your guilt is great
        and your sins are many.

16 Yet all who ravage you will be ravaged;
    all who oppress you will go into exile.
Those who rob you will be robbed,
    and all who plunder you will be plundered.
17 I will restore your health,
    and I will heal your wounds,
        declares the Lord,
    because you were labeled an outcast,
        “Zion, the lost cause.”

18 The Lord proclaims:
I will restore Jacob’s tents
    and have pity on their birthplace.
Their city will be rebuilt on its ruins
    and the palace in its rightful place.
19 There will be laughter
    and songs of thanks.
I will add to their numbers
    so they don’t dwindle away.
I will honor them
    so they aren’t humiliated.
20 Their children will thrive as they did long ago,
    and their community will be established before me.
        I will punish their oppressors.
21 They will have their own leader;
    their ruler will come from among them.
I will let him approach me,
    and he will draw near.
Who would dare approach me
    unless I let them come?
        declares the Lord.
22 You will be my people,
    and I will be your God.

23 Look! The Lord’s anger breaks out like a violent storm,
    a fierce wind that strikes the heads of the wicked.
24 The Lord’s fierce anger won’t turn back
    until God’s[f] purposes are entirely accomplished.
In the days to come,
    you will understand what this means.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 30:3 Or restore the fortunes
  2. Jeremiah 30:5 Or We
  3. Jeremiah 30:6 Or with his hands on his groin
  4. Jeremiah 30:8 Or your
  5. Jeremiah 30:8 Or your
  6. Jeremiah 30:24 Or his or its

Restoration of Israel

30 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write(A) in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days(B) are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring(C) my people Israel and Judah back from captivity[a] and restore(D) them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: “This is what the Lord says:

“‘Cries of fear(E) are heard—
    terror, not peace.
Ask and see:
    Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,(F)
    every face turned deathly pale?(G)
How awful that day(H) will be!
    No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble(I) for Jacob,
    but he will be saved(J) out of it.

“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
    ‘I will break the yoke(K) off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;(L)
    no longer will foreigners enslave them.(M)
Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
    and David(N) their king,(O)
    whom I will raise up for them.

10 “‘So do not be afraid,(P) Jacob my servant;(Q)
    do not be dismayed, Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will surely save(R) you out of a distant place,
    your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,(S)
    and no one will make him afraid.(T)
11 I am with you(U) and will save you,’
    declares the Lord.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
    among which I scatter you,
    I will not completely destroy(V) you.
I will discipline(W) you but only in due measure;
    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’(X)

12 “This is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wound(Y) is incurable,
    your injury beyond healing.(Z)
13 There is no one to plead your cause,(AA)
    no remedy for your sore,
    no healing(AB) for you.
14 All your allies(AC) have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy(AD) would
    and punished you as would the cruel,(AE)
because your guilt is so great
    and your sins(AF) so many.
15 Why do you cry out over your wound,
    your pain that has no cure?(AG)
Because of your great guilt and many sins
    I have done these things to you.(AH)

16 “‘But all who devour(AI) you will be devoured;
    all your enemies will go into exile.(AJ)
Those who plunder(AK) you will be plundered;
    all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
17 But I will restore you to health
    and heal(AL) your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,(AM)
    Zion for whom no one cares.’(AN)

18 “This is what the Lord says:

“‘I will restore the fortunes(AO) of Jacob’s tents(AP)
    and have compassion(AQ) on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt(AR) on her ruins,
    and the palace will stand in its proper place.
19 From them will come songs(AS) of thanksgiving(AT)
    and the sound of rejoicing.(AU)
I will add to their numbers,(AV)
    and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor,(AW)
    and they will not be disdained.
20 Their children(AX) will be as in days of old,
    and their community will be established(AY) before me;
    I will punish(AZ) all who oppress them.
21 Their leader(BA) will be one of their own;
    their ruler will arise from among them.(BB)
I will bring him near(BC) and he will come close to me—
    for who is he who will devote himself
    to be close to me?’
declares the Lord.
22 “‘So you will be my people,(BD)
    and I will be your God.(BE)’”

23 See, the storm(BF) of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a driving wind swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger(BG) of the Lord will not turn back(BH)
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand(BI) this.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 30:3 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.

For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.

For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.

Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:

But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.

11 For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

12 For thus saith the Lord, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.

13 There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.

14 All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.

15 Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.

16 Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.

17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.

18 Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.

19 And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

20 Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.

21 And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord.

22 And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

23 Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.

24 The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he hath done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.