Jeremiah 30
English Standard Version
Restoration for Israel and Judah
30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: (A)Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 (B)For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, (C)when I will restore (D)the fortunes of my people, (E)Israel and Judah, says the Lord, (F)and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”
4 These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning (G)Israel and Judah:
5 “Thus says the Lord:
We have heard a cry of panic,
of terror, and no peace.
6 Ask now, and see,
can a man bear a child?
(H)Why then do I see every man
with his hands on his stomach (I)like a woman in labor?
(J)Why has every face turned pale?
7 Alas! (K)That day is so great
(L)there is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
yet he shall be saved out of it.
8 “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will (M)break his (N)yoke from off your neck, and I will (O)burst your bonds, (P)and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.[a] 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and (Q)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 (R)“Then fear not, (S)O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,
nor be dismayed, O Israel;
for behold, (T)I will save you from far away,
(U)and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
(V)Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
11 (W)For I am with you to save you,
declares the Lord;
(X)I will make a full end of all the nations
among whom I scattered you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
(Y)I will (Z)discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
12 “For thus says the Lord:
(AA)Your hurt is incurable,
(AB)and your wound is grievous.
13 There is none to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
(AC)no healing for you.
14 (AD)All your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of (AE)an enemy,
the punishment (AF)of a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
(AG)because your sins are flagrant.
15 (AH)Why do you cry out over your hurt?
(AI)Your pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
(AJ)because your sins are flagrant,
I have done these things to you.
16 (AK)Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
and (AL)all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
(AM)those who plunder you shall be plundered,
(AN)and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
17 (AO)For I will restore (AP)health to you,
and (AQ)your wounds I will heal,
declares the Lord,
because (AR)they have called you an outcast:
(AS)‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’
18 “Thus says the Lord:
Behold, (AT)I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt on (AU)its mound,
and the palace shall stand where it used to be.
19 (AV)Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
and the voices of those who celebrate.
(AW)I will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
20 (AX)Their children shall be as they were of old,
and their congregation shall be established before me,
and I will punish all who oppress them.
21 (AY)Their prince shall be one of themselves;
(AZ)their ruler shall come out from their midst;
(BA)I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,
(BB)for who would dare of himself to approach me?
declares the Lord.
22 (BC)And you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.”
23 (BD)Behold (BE)the storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
24 (BF)The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intentions of his mind.
(BG)In the latter days you will understand this.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 30:8 Or serve him
Jeremiah 30
The Voice
The words of Jeremiah are often dark prophecies of destruction, for Judah willingly betrayed and disobeyed God. Clearly, a major aspect of his call is foreshadowing the coming judgment of God. But in the following oracles, Jeremiah delivers a strong message of hope to those in exile. The next three chapters are often called the “Book of Consolation.” Tucked in the middle of vivid declarations of God’s punishment of the unjust, these promises speak of hope and restoration. These, too, are part of the prophet’s message.
30 The word of the Eternal again came to Jeremiah.
Eternal One: 2 Write in a book all the words I, the Eternal, the God of Israel, have said to you. 3 Look! the days are coming when I will restore the fortunes of My people—both Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to the land I gave their ancestors, and they will again possess it.
4 So says the Eternal in a message about Israel and Judah.
5 Eternal One: A cry of fear is heard—
it is the sound of panic, not of peace.
6 Ask and see for yourself:
can a man give birth to a child?
Then why do I see strong men clutching themselves,
their hands on their abdomens as if they are in labor?
Why has every face paled, looking sickly?
7 I will tell you why:
for that great and awesome day is like no other.
It will be a time of suffering for Jacob’s descendants;
still they will be rescued from it.
8 For on that day of deliverance, declares the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, I will break Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke off their necks and tear off their shackles; no longer will foreigners force them into slavery. 9 Instead, they will serve the Eternal their God, and I will raise up a descendant of David their king to rule over them.
10 So do not be afraid, O Jacob, My servant;
do not be troubled, O Israel.
For I, the Eternal One, promise to liberate you from that distant place,
to bring your children home from where they are in exile.
Jacob will return home to peace and quiet,
and no one will make him afraid,
11 Because I am with you, and I will deliver you.
I will completely destroy all the nations where I have scattered you,
But I will not destroy you completely.
I will discipline you, but My discipline will be just.
I will not let you go unpunished.
12 Your wound is incurable;
your shattered pieces are beyond repair.
13 There is no one to plead your case—
no healing for your injury,
no relief for your affliction.
14 All of those allies you loved have forgotten about you;
they care nothing about you.
For I have struck you as an enemy would
and punished you like the cruelest of foes.
Why? Because your sins abound
and your evil actions are abundant and brazen.
15 Why do you cry out over this wound,
this pain that won’t go away?
I have done these things to you because your sins abound
and your wicked acts are abundant and brazen.
16 But all those who devour you will be devoured.
Exile awaits each of your enemies.
Those who plunder you will be turned into plunder,
and all who prey upon you will be turned into prey.
17 For I will make you well again and heal your wounds
I, the Eternal One, declare to you,
Because they have called you an outcast:
“Look, it is Zion, the one for whom no one cares.”
18 I, the Eternal, have this to say: Look, I will bring back those from captivity.
I will show mercy to Jacob’s tents and dwellings;
From the ruins I will rebuild Jerusalem,
and the palace will once again stand where it belongs.
19 Songs of joy and gratitude will rise from the people.
I will bless My people and increase their numbers; nothing will diminish them.
I will honor them in the presence of others;
no one will despise them.
20 Their children will live as they did long ago,
their community will be established again before My watchful eyes,
And I will punish anyone who tries to harm them.
21 The prince who leads them will come from among Jacob’s descendants;
their ruler will be one of their own.
I will draw him near to Me, and he will delight to come close,
for he will devote himself to remain close by My side.
22 And as before, you will be My people,
and I will be your God.
23 Behold, the storm of the Eternal’s wrath will now break open,
swirling down out of the sky like a whirlwind onto the heads of the wicked.
24 The Eternal’s anger will not relent until He has carried out His most fervent plans.
You will understand all of this in the days to come.
Jeremiah 30
New Century Version
Promises of Hope
30 These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 2 The Lord, the God of Israel, said: “Jeremiah, write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 3 The days will come when I will bring Israel and Judah back from captivity,” says the Lord. “I will return them to the land I gave their ancestors, and they will own it!” says the Lord.
4 The Lord spoke this message about the people of Israel and Judah: 5 This is what the Lord said:
“We hear people crying from fear.
They are afraid; there is no peace.
6 Ask this question, and consider it:
A man cannot have a baby.
So why do I see every strong man
holding his stomach in pain like a woman having a baby?
Why is everyone’s face turning white like a dead man’s face?
7 This will be a terrible day!
There will never be another time like this.
This is a time of great trouble for the people of Jacob,
but they will be saved from it.”
8 The Lord All-Powerful says, “At that time
I will break the yoke from their necks
and tear off the ropes that hold them.
Foreign people will never again make my people slaves.
9 They will serve the Lord their God
and David their king,
whom I will send to them.
10 “So people of Jacob, my servants, don’t be afraid.
Israel, don’t be frightened,” says the Lord.
“I will soon save you from that faraway place where you are captives.
I will save your family from that land.
The people of Jacob will be safe and have peace again;
there will be no enemy to frighten them.
11 I am with you and will save you,”
says the Lord.
“I will completely destroy all those nations
where I scattered you,
but I will not completely destroy you.
I will punish you fairly,
but I will still punish you.”
12 This is what the Lord said:
“You people have a wound that cannot be cured;
your injury will not heal.
13 There is no one to argue your case
and no cure for your sores.
So you will not be healed.
14 All those nations who were your friends have forgotten you.
They don’t care about you.
I have hurt you as an enemy would.
I punished you very hard,
because your guilt was so great
and your sins were so many.
15 Why are you crying out about your injury?
There is no cure for your pain.
I did these things to you because of your great guilt,
because of your many sins.
16 But all those nations that destroyed you will now be destroyed.
All your enemies will become captives in other lands.
Those who stole from you will have their own things stolen.
Those who took things from you in war will have their own things taken.
17 I will bring back your health
and heal your injuries,” says the Lord,
“because other people forced you away.
They said about you, ‘No one cares about Jerusalem!’”
18 This is what the Lord said:
“I will soon make the tents of Jacob’s people as they used to be,
and I will have pity on Israel’s houses.
The city will be rebuilt on its hill of ruins,
and the king’s palace will stand in its proper place.
19 People in those places will sing songs of praise.
There will be the sound of laughter.
I will give them many children
so their number will not be small.
I will bring honor to them
so no one will look down on them.
20 Their descendants will be as they were in the old days.
I will set them up as a strong people before me,
and I will punish the nations who have hurt them.
21 One of their own people will lead them;
their ruler will come from among them.
He will come near to me when I invite him.
Who would dare to come to me uninvited?” says the Lord.
22 “So you will be my people,
and I will be your God.”
23 Look! It is a storm from the Lord!
He is angry and has gone out to punish the people.
Punishment will come like a storm
crashing down on the evil people.
24 The Lord will stay angry
until he finishes punishing the people.
He will stay angry
until he finishes the punishment he planned.
When that day comes,
you will understand this.
Jeremiah 30
New Living Translation
Promises of Deliverance
30 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah. 3 For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
4 This is the message the Lord gave concerning Israel and Judah. 5 This is what the Lord says:
“I hear cries of fear;
there is terror and no peace.
6 Now let me ask you a question:
Do men give birth to babies?
Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced,
hands pressed against their sides
like a woman in labor?
7 In all history there has never been such a time of terror.
It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel.[a]
Yet in the end they will be saved!
8 For in that day,”
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
“I will break the yoke from their necks
and snap their chains.
Foreigners will no longer be their masters.
9 For my people will serve the Lord their God
and their king descended from David—
the king I will raise up for them.
10 “So do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant;
do not be dismayed, Israel,”
says the Lord.
“For I will bring you home again from distant lands,
and your children will return from their exile.
Israel will return to a life of peace and quiet,
and no one will terrorize them.
11 For I am with you and will save you,”
says the Lord.
“I will completely destroy the nations where I have scattered you,
but I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you, but with justice;
I cannot let you go unpunished.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Your injury is incurable—
a terrible wound.
13 There is no one to help you
or to bind up your injury.
No medicine can heal you.
14 All your lovers—your allies—have left you
and do not care about you anymore.
I have wounded you cruelly,
as though I were your enemy.
For your sins are many,
and your guilt is great.
15 Why do you protest your punishment—
this wound that has no cure?
I have had to punish you
because your sins are many
and your guilt is great.
16 “But all who devour you will be devoured,
and all your enemies will be sent into exile.
All who plunder you will be plundered,
and all who attack you will be attacked.
17 I will give you back your health
and heal your wounds,” says the Lord.
“For you are called an outcast—
‘Jerusalem[b] for whom no one cares.’”
18 This is what the Lord says:
“When I bring Israel home again from captivity
and restore their fortunes,
Jerusalem will be rebuilt on its ruins,
and the palace reconstructed as before.
19 There will be joy and songs of thanksgiving,
and I will multiply my people, not diminish them;
I will honor them, not despise them.
20 Their children will prosper as they did long ago.
I will establish them as a nation before me,
and I will punish anyone who hurts them.
21 They will have their own ruler again,
and he will come from their own people.
I will invite him to approach me,” says the Lord,
“for who would dare to come unless invited?
22 You will be my people,
and I will be your God.”
23 Look! The Lord’s anger bursts out like a storm,
a driving wind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not diminish
until it has finished all he has planned.
In the days to come
you will understand all this.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
