10Thus said the LORD: Again there shall be heard in this place, which you say is ruined, without man or beast—in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man, without inhabitants, without beast—11the sound of mirth and gladness, the voice of bridegroom and bride, the voice of those who cry, “Give thanks to the LORD of Hosts, for the LORD is good, for His kindness is everlasting!” as they bring thanksgiving offerings to the House of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as of old—said the LORD.
12Thus said the LORD of Hosts: In this ruined place, without man and beast, and in all its towns, there shall again be a pasture for shepherds, where they can rest their flocks. 13In the towns of the hill country, in the towns of the Shephelah, and in the towns of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin and in the environs of Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, sheep shall pass again under the hands of one who counts them—said the LORD. 14See, days are coming—declares the LORD—when I will fulfill the promise that I made concerning the House of Israel and the House of Judah. 15In those days and at that time, I will raise up a true branch of David’s line, and he shall do what is just and right in the land. 16In those days Judah shall be delivered and Israel shall dwell secure. And this is what she shall be called: “The LORD is our Vindicator.” 17For thus said the LORD: There shall never be an end to men of David’s line who sit upon the throne of the House of Israel. 18Nor shall there ever be an end to the line of the levitical priests before Me, of those who present burnt offerings and turn the meal offering to smoke and perform sacrifices.
19The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 20Thus said the LORD: If you could break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night should not come at their proper time, 21only then could My covenant with My servant David be broken—so that he would not have a descendant reigning upon his throne—or with My ministrants, the levitical priests. 22Like the host of heaven which cannot be counted, and the sand of the sea which cannot be measured, so will I multiply the offspring of My servant David, and of the Levites who minister to Me.
23The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 24You see what this people said: “The two families which the LORD chose have now been rejected by Him.” Thus they despise My people, a-and regard them as no longer a nation.-a 25Thus said the LORD: As surely as I have established My covenant with day and night—the laws of heaven and earth—26so I will never reject the offspring of Jacob and My servant David; I will never fail to take from his offspring rulers for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, I will restore their fortunes and take them back in love.
34 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth and all the peoples under his sway, were waging war against Jerusalem and all its towns:
2Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: Go speak to King Zedekiah of Judah, and say to him: “Thus said the LORD: I am going to deliver this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it by fire. 3And you will not escape from him; you will be captured and handed over to him. a-And you will see the king of Babylon face to face and speak to him in person;-a and you will be brought to Babylon. 4But hear the word of the LORD, O King Zedekiah of Judah! Thus said the LORD concerning you: You will not die by the sword. 5You will die a peaceful death; and as incenseb was burned for your ancestors, the earlier kings who preceded you, so they will burn incenseb for you, and they will lament for you ‘Ah, lord!’ For I Myself have made the promise—declares the LORD.”
6The prophet Jeremiah spoke all these words to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem, 7when the army of the king of Babylon was waging war against Jerusalem and against the remaining towns of Judah—against Lachish and Azekah, for they were the only fortified towns of Judah that were left.
8The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim a releasec among them—9that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and that no one should keep his fellow Judean enslaved.
10Everyone, officials and people, who had entered into the covenant agreed to set their male and female slaves free and not keep them enslaved any longer; they complied and let them go. 11But afterward they turned about and brought back the men and women they had set free, and forced them into slavery again. 12Then it was that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
13Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage, saying: 14“In the seventh yeard each of you must let go any fellow Hebrew e-who may be sold-e to you; when he has served you six years, you must set him free.” But your fathers would not obey Me or give ear. 15Lately you turned about and did what is proper in My sight, and each of you proclaimed a release to his countrymen; and you made a covenant accordingly before Me in the House which bears My name. 16But now you have turned back and have profaned My name; each of you has brought back the men and women whom you had given their freedom, and forced them to be your slaves again.
17Assuredly, thus said the LORD: You would not obey Me and proclaim a release, each to his kinsman and countryman. Lo! I proclaim your release—declares the LORD—to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine; and I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18I will make the men who violated My covenant, who did not fulfill the terms of the covenant which they made before Me, [like] the calf which they cut in two so as to pass between the halves:f 19The officers of Judah and Jerusalem, the officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the halves of the calf 20shall be handed over to their enemies, to those who seek to kill them. Their carcasses shall become food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 21I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officers to their enemies, who seek to kill them—to the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you. 22I hereby give the command—declares the LORD—by which I will bring them back against this city. They shall attack it and capture it, and burn it down. I will make the towns of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
35 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah:
2Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them to the House of the LORD, to one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
3So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, all his sons, and the whole household of the Rechabites; 4and I brought them to the House of the LORD, to the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which is next to the chamber of the officials and above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the guardian of the threshold. 5I set bowls full of wine and cups before the men of the house of the Rechabites, and said to them, “Have some wine.”
6They replied, “We will not drink wine, for our ancestor, Jonadab son of Rechab, commanded us: ‘You shall never drink wine, either you or your children. 7Nor shall you build houses or sow fieldsa or plant vineyards, nor shall you own such things; but you shall live in tents all your days, so that you may live long upon the land where you sojourn.’ 8And we have obeyed our ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab in all that he commanded us: we never drink wine, neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters.
