1 ARST Yahweh gave Jeremiah another message. He said, BSB BSB: This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
2 ARST “I, Yahweh, the God of Israel am telling you to write down everything that I have said to you. BSB BSB: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.
3 ARST I want you to know that some day I will free my people, the people of Israel and Judah, from being slaves in Babylon. I will bring them back to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and this land will belong to them again. That will surely happen because I, Yahweh, have said it.” BSB BSB: For behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore from captivity My people Israel and Judah, declares the LORD. I will restore them to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’”
4 ARST Yahweh gave to me another message concerning the people of Israel and Judah. BSB BSB: These are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah.
5 ARST This is what he said:“I hear people screaming because they are terrified; there is no peace in the land. BSB BSB: Yes, this is what the LORD says: “A cry of panic is heard—a cry of terror, not of peace.
6 ARST But think about this: Men certainly do not give birth to babies. Therefore, why do strong men stand there, with their faces very white, with their hands pressed against their stomachs, like women who are about to give birth to babies? BSB BSB: Ask now, and see: Can a male give birth? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor and every face turned pale?
7 ARST Terrible things will soon happen; That will be a terrible day! There has never been such a time. It will be a time when my Israelite people will experience great trouble, but finally they will be saved from their sufferings.” BSB BSB: How awful that day will be! None will be like it! It is the time of Jacob’s distress, but he will be saved out of it.
8 ARST Yahweh, commander of the angel armies, says this:“At that time it will be as though I will sever the ropes that are around my people, and I will free them from being slaves. People in other countries will no longer enslave them. BSB BSB: On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will break the yoke off their necks and tear off their bonds, and no longer will strangers enslave them.
9 ARST My people will again serve me, Yahweh, their God, and they will serve a king who is a descendant of King David; and I will appoint this king for them. BSB BSB: Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 ARST So, you people of Israel who serve me, do not be dismayed now, because some day I will bring you back from distant places; I will bring your descendants back home from the land where they had been exiled. Then you Israelite people will again live peacefully and safely, and there will not be any nation that will cause you to be terrified. BSB BSB: As for you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return to quiet and ease, with no one to make him afraid.
11 ARST I, Yahweh, say that I will be with you and will rescue you; I will completely destroy the nations to which I have scattered you. But I will not completely destroy you. I will punish you for your many sins, but I will punish you only as severely as you deserve: I would be doing wrong if I did not to punish you at all.” BSB BSB: For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”
12 ARST Yahweh also says this:“You have suffered very much; it is as though you have a terrible wound that cannot be cured. BSB BSB: For this is what the LORD says: “Your injury is incurable; your wound is grievous.
13 ARST There is no one to help you, no one to put a bandage on your wound. There is no medicine that will heal you. BSB BSB: There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sores, no recovery for you.
14 ARST All your allies have deserted you and they do not want to help you anymore. It is true that I have punished you severely, like your enemies would wound you, because you have committed many sins and you are very guilty. BSB BSB: All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer seek you, for I have struck you as an enemy would, with the discipline of someone cruel, because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins.
15 ARST Because that is true, why do you protest about my punishing you, as though I had caused a wound that could not be cured? It was necessary for me to punish you, because you had committed many sins and you were very guilty. BSB BSB: Why do you cry out over your wound? Your pain has no cure! Because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins I have done these things to you.
16 ARST But some day all those who are trying to destroy you will be destroyed; all your enemies will be exiled to other nations. All those who have stolen things from you will have their valuable possessions stolen, and all those who attack you will be attacked. BSB BSB: Nevertheless, all who devour you will be devoured, and all your adversaries—every one of them—will go off into exile. Those who plundered you will be plundered, and all who raided you will be raided.
17 ARST Everyone says that you are outcasts, and that you live in Jerusalem, a city that no one cares about.” But Yahweh says,“I will heal your injuries and cause you to be healthy again.” BSB BSB: But I will restore your health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD, because they call you an outcast, Zion, for whom no one cares.”
18 ARST This is what Yahweh says:“I will bring the people of Israel back from the lands to which they were taken and enable them to possess their land and their houses again. When that happens, Jerusalem will be rebuilt on top of its ruins, and the king’ s palace will be rebuilt as a place of justice. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be rebuilt on her own ruins, and the palace will stand in its rightful place.
19 ARST People will again sing joyfully to thank me, and I will cause there to be more people in Jerusalem, not fewer; I will cause them to be honored, not despised. BSB BSB: Thanksgiving will proceed from them, a sound of celebration. I will multiply them, and they will not be decreased; I will honor them, and they will not be belittled.
20 ARST Their children will prosper like they did before. I will cause them to be a group of people who worship me, and I will punish any nation that oppresses them. BSB BSB: Their children will be as in days of old, and their congregation will be established before Me; and I will punish all their oppressors.
21 ARST One of their own people will be their king, and I will invite him to come close to me to worship me, because no one would dare to come close to me if I did not invite him. BSB BSB: Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own to approach Me?” declares the LORD.
22 ARST You Israelite people will be my people, and I will be your God.” BSB BSB: “And you will be My people, and I will be your God.”
23 ARST Yahweh will punish your enemies; it will be like a great storm; it will come down like a whirlwind, swirling around the heads of wicked people. BSB BSB: Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
24 ARST He will not stop being angry until he completely accomplishes all that he has planned. In the future, you will understand all of this clearly. BSB BSB: The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.