Jeremiah 33

¹ Jeremiah was stil confined to the Court of the Guard when the word of Yahweh came to him a secondtime, as follows,

² 'Yahweh who made the earth, who formed it and set it firm -- Yahweh is his name -- says this,

³ "Call to me and I wil answer you; I wil tell you great secrets of which you know nothing.

⁴ For this is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says about the houses of this city and the palaces of the kingsof Judah which are about to be destroyed by means of the earthworks and the sword;

⁵ about those now fighting the Chaldaeans, only to fill the city with corpses, those whom I haveslaughtered in my furious anger, those whose wickedness has made me hide my face from this city:

⁶ Look, I shal bring them remedy and cure; I shal cure them and reveal a new order of peace and loyaltyto them.

⁷ I shal bring back the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel and shal rebuild them as before.

⁸ I shal cleanse them of al their guilt, by which they have offended me, I shal forgive al their guiltyactions, by which they have offended me and rebelled against me.

⁹ And, for me, Jerusalem wil become a name of joy and praise and pride for all the nations on earth tosee; when they hear of al the prosperity that I shal give, they wil be seized with fear and trembling at al theprosperity and the peace that I provide for it."

¹⁰ 'Yahweh says this, "In this place of which you now say: It is a ruin, without human or animal, in thetowns of Judah and desolate streets of Jerusalem where there is neither human nor animal, once more wil beheard

¹¹ shouts of rejoicing and mirth, the voices of bridegroom and bride, and the singing of those who bringthanksgiving sacrifices to the Temple of Yahweh: Give thanks to Yahweh Sabaoth, for Yahweh is good, for hisfaithful love is everlasting. For I shal bring back the country's captives, as before, Yahweh says."

¹² 'Yahweh Sabaoth says this, "In this ruinous place, without human or animal, in al its towns, onceagain there wil be pastures for the shepherds to rest their flocks.

¹³ In the towns of the highlands, of the lowlands and the Negeb, in the territory of Benjamin, in thedistricts round Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, once again the flocks shal pass under the hand ofsomeone who counts them, Yahweh says.

¹⁴ "Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shal fulfil the promise of happiness I made tothe House of Israel and the House of Judah:

¹⁵ In those days and at that time, I shal make an upright Branch grow for David, who wil do what is just and upright in the country.

¹⁶ In those days Judah will triumph and Israel live in safety. And this is the name the city will be cal ed:Yahweh-is-our-Saving-Justice."

¹⁷ 'For Yahweh says this, "David wil never lack a male descendant to occupy the throne of the House ofIsrael,

¹⁸ nor will the levitical priests ever lack male descendants to stand before me and offer the burntoffering, to burn the cereal offering and offer sacrifice every day." '

¹⁹ The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah as fol ows,

²⁰ 'Yahweh says this, "If you could break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night sothat day and night do not come at their due time,

²¹ then my covenant with David my servant might also be broken and he would have no son to reign onhis throne, and so also might my covenant with the levitical priests, who are my ministers.

²² As surely as the array of heaven cannot be counted, nor the sand of the sea be measured, so surelyshall I increase the heirs of David my servant and the Levites who minister to me." '

²³ The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah as fol ows,

²⁴ 'Have you not noticed what these people say, "The two families which Yahweh chose he has nowrejected"? So they despise my people, whom they no longer think of as a nation.

²⁵ Yahweh says this, "If I have not created day and night and fixed the laws governing heaven and earth,

²⁶ why, then I shal reject the descendants of Jacob and of David my servant and cease to choose rulersfrom his descendants for the heirs of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! For I shal bring back their captives and takepity on them." '