Jeremiah 30:1-24

The Lord makes promises to his people

1 The Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 2 ‘The Lord, Israel's God, says, “Write all the words that I have spoken in a book.” 3 I, the Lord, tell you this: “The time will come when I will bring back my people from foreign lands. I will bring the people of Israel and Judah back to the land that I gave to their ancestors. It will belong to them.” That is what the Lord says.’

4 The Lord spoke this message about Israel and Judah:

5 The Lord said,

‘People are shouting because they are afraid!

Listen to them!

There is no peace anywhere.

6 Think carefully about this.

Do men ever give birth to babies?

So why are these strong men weak with pain?

They seem like a woman who is giving birth.

All their faces have become white with fear.

7 It will be a time of terrible trouble,

worse than anything that has happened before.

It will be a time of great trouble for Jacob's descendants.

But I will rescue them from their trouble.’

8 The Lord Almighty says this:

‘When that day comes,

I will break the yoke that is around your necks.

I will remove the ropes that tie your legs.

My people will no longer be slaves

under the power of foreign people.

9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God.

They will serve David's descendant.

I will raise that man up to be their king.’

10 The Lord says,

‘Do not be afraid, descendants of Jacob, my servants.

People of Israel, do not be upset.

I will rescue you and your descendants from your enemies.

I will bring you back from the land far away,

where you are prisoners.

Jacob's descendants will return to their own land.

They will live there safely in peace.

There will be no enemies to make them afraid.’

11 The Lord says,

‘I am with you and I will save you.

I have sent you away to live in foreign lands.

That was the punishment that you deserved.

I will completely destroy the nations where I sent you to live.

But I will not completely destroy you.

I will certainly punish you,

but only as much as you deserve.’

12 The Lord says this to Zion's people:

‘You have received very bad wounds.

Nobody can make you well again.

13 There is no one who will speak on your behalf.

There is no medicine that can make you well.

14 All your friends have turned away from you.

They do not want to help you in your troubles.

I have hurt you,

in the way that an enemy might attack you.

You have lived in a very wicked way,

and you are guilty of many sins.

So I had to punish you,

to teach you what is right.

15 You complain about your wounds.

You say that your pain will never get better.

But I had to punish you,

because you are very wicked,

and you are guilty of many sins.

16 But I will destroy your enemies who destroyed you.

All of them will go as prisoners to foreign lands.

They took your valuable things for themselves.

Now I will take away their valuable things.

17 People say that nobody takes care of you,

people of Zion.

They say that I have chased you out of your land.

But I will give you back your health.

I will make your wounds better.’

That is what the Lord says.

18 The Lord says,

‘I will bring back Jacob's descendants to their own land.

Enemies have knocked down their houses,

but I will repair the homes where they lived.

I will be kind to them,

so that each family can live safely.

The city will stand again in its right place.

The palace will also stand where it was before.

19 In those places you will hear happy songs,

as people thank God.

People will laugh aloud because they are so happy.

I will make them grow in number.

Their descendants will be many.

I will cause other nations to give them honour.

They will no longer insult my people.

20 Jacob's descendants will be strong again,

as they were long ago.

They will serve me together as one group of people.

I will punish anyone who wants to hurt them.

21 One of their own people will rule them as king.

I will ask him to come near to me,

and he will come near.

Nobody would be brave enough to come near to me,

unless I asked him to come.’

That is what the Lord says.

22 ‘At that time, you will again be my people,

and I will be your God. ’

23 Look! The Lord's anger will come

like a strong storm.

Like a strong wind,

it will blow away the heads of wicked people.

24 The Lord will not stop being angry,

until he has finished what he has decided to do.

When the time comes,

you will understand this clearly.