Cry out in joy for Jacob,
Shout at the crossroadsb of the nations!
Sing aloud in praise, and say:
c-Save, O LORD, Your people,-c
The remnant of Israel.
8I will bring them in from the northland,
Gather them from the ends of the earth—
The blind and the lame among them,
Those with child and those in labor—
In a vast throng they shall return here.
9They shall come with weeping,
And with compassiond will I guide them.
I will lead them to streams of water,
By a level road where they will not stumble.
For I am ever a Father to Israel,
Ephraim is My first-born.
10Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
And tell it in the isles afar.
Say:
He who scattered Israel will gather them,
And will guard them as a shepherd his flock.
11For the LORD will ransom Jacob,
Redeem him from one too strong for him.
12They shall come and shout on the heights of Zion,
Radiant over the bounty of the LORD—
Over new grain and wine and oil,
And over sheep and cattle.
They shall fare like a watered garden,
They shall never languish again.
13Then shall maidens dance gaily,
Young men and old alike.
I will turn their mourning to joy,
I will comfort them and cheer them in their grief.
14I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
And My people shall enjoy My full bounty
—declares the LORD.
15Thus said the LORD:
A cry is heard e-in Ramah-e—
Wailing, bitter weeping—
Rachel weeping for her children.
She refuses to be comforted
For her children, who are gone.
16Thus said the LORD:
Restrain your voice from weeping,
Your eyes from shedding tears;
For there is a reward for your labor
—declares the LORD:
They shall return from the enemy’s land.
17And there is hope for your future
—declares the LORD:
Your children shall return to their country.
18I can hear Ephraim lamenting:
You have chastised me, and I am chastised
Like a calf that has not been broken.
Receive me back, let me return,
For You, O LORD, are my God.
19Now that I have turned back, I am filled with remorse;
Now that I am made aware, I strike my thigh.f
I am ashamed and humiliated,
For I bear the disgrace of my youth.
20Truly, Ephraim is a dear son to Me,
A child that is dandled!
Whenever I have turnedg against him,
My thoughts would dwell on him still.
That is why My heart yearns for him;
I will receive him back in love
—declares the LORD.
21Erect markers,
Set up signposts;h
Keep in mind the highway,
The road that you traveled.
Return, Maiden Israel!
Return to these towns of yours!
22How long will you waver,
O rebellious daughter?
(For the LORD has created something new on earth:
A woman courtsh a man.)
23Thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: They shall again say this in the land of Judah and in its towns, when I restore their fortunes:
“The LORD bless you,
Abode of righteousness,
O holy mountain!”
24Judah and all its towns alike shall be inhabited by the farmers and i-such as move about-i with the flocks. 25For I will give the thirsty abundant drink, and satisfy all who languish.
26At this I awoke and looked about, and my sleepj had been pleasant to me.
27See, a time is coming—declares the LORD—when I will sow the House of Israel and the House of Judah with seed of men and seed of cattle; 28and just as I was watchful over them to uproot and to pull down, to overthrow and to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will be watchful over them to build and to plant—declares the LORD. 29In those days, they shall no longer say, “Parents have eaten sour grapes and children’s teeth are blunted.”k 30But every one shall die for his own sins: whosoever eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be blunted.
31See, a time is coming—declares the LORD—when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers, when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, a covenant which they broke, though I espousedl them—declares the LORD. 33But such is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after these days—declares the LORD: I will put My Teaching into their inmost being and inscribe it upon their hearts. Then I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34No longer will they need to teach one another and say to one another, “Heed the LORD”; for all of them, from the least of them to the greatest, shall heed Me—declares the LORD.
For I will forgive their iniquities,
And remember their sins no more.
35Thus said the LORD,
Who established the sun for light by day,
The laws of moon and stars for light by night,
Who stirs up the sea into roaring waves,
Whose name is LORD of Hosts:
36If these laws should ever be annulled by Me
—declares the LORD—
Only then would the offspring of Israel cease
To be a nation before Me for all time.
37Thus said the LORD: If the heavens above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth below could be fathomed, only then would I reject all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done—declares the LORD.
38See, a time is coming—declares the LORD—when the city shall be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate; 39and the measuring line shall go straight out to the Gareb Hill, and then turn toward Goah. 40And the entire Valley of the Corpses and Ashes, and all the fields as far as the Wadi Kidron, and the corner of the Horse Gate on the east, shall be holy to the LORD. They shall never again be uprooted or overthrown.
32 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. 2At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the prison compound attached to the palace of the king of Judah. 3For King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him, saying, “How dare you prophesy: ‘Thus said the LORD: I am delivering this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. 4And King Zedekiah of Judah shall not escape from the Chaldeans; he shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, a-and he shall speak to him face to face and see him in person.-a 5And Zedekiah shall be brought to Babylon, there to remain until I take note of him—declares the LORD. When you wage war against the Chaldeans, you shall not be successful.’ ”
6Jeremiah said: The word of the LORD came to me: 7Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you and say, “Buy my land in Anathoth, b-for you are next in succession to redeem it by purchase.”-b 8And just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the prison compound and said to me, “Please buy my land in Anathoth, in the territory of Benjamin; for the right of succession is yours, and you have the duty of redemption. Buy it.” Then I knew that it was indeed the word of the LORD.
9So I bought the land in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10I wrote a deed, sealed it, and had it witnessed; and I weighed out the silver on a balance. 11I took the deed of purchase, the sealed text and the open one c-according to rule and law,-c 12and gave the deed to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah in the presence of my kinsman Hanamel, of the witnesses d-who were named-d in the deed, and all the Judeans who were sitting in the prison compound. 13In their presence I charged Baruch as follows: 14Thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Take these documents, this deed of purchase, the sealed text and the open one, and put them into an earthen jar, so that they may last a long time.” 15For thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses, fields, and vineyards shall again be purchased in this land.”
16But after I had given the deed to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD: 17“Ah, Lord GOD! You made heaven and earth with Your great might and outstretched arm. Nothing is too wondrous for You! 18You show kindness to the thousandth generation, but visit the guilt of the fathers upon their children after them. O great and mighty God whose name is LORD of Hosts, 19wondrous in purpose and mighty in deed, whose eyes observe all the ways of men, so as to repay every man according to his ways, and with the proper fruit of his deeds! 20You displayed signs and marvels in the land of Egypt e-with lasting effect,-e and won renown in Israel and among mankind to this very day. 21You freed Your people Israel from the land of Egypt with signs and marvels, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror. 22You gave them this land that You had sworn to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey, 23and they came and took possession of it. But they did not listen to You or follow Your Teaching; they did nothing of what You commanded them to do. Therefore you have caused all this misfortune to befall them. 24Here are the siegemounds, raised against the city to storm it; and the city, because of sword and famine and pestilence, is at the mercy of the Chaldeans who are attacking it. What You threatened has come to pass—as You see. 25Yet You, Lord GOD, said to me: Buy the land for money and call
