1 - This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2 - "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.
3 - The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity
4 - These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:
5 - "This is what the Lord says: "'Cries of fear are heard - terror, not peace.
6 - Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale?
7 - How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.
8 - "'In that day,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them.
9 - Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 - "'So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,' declares the Lord. 'I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.
11 - I am with you and will save you,' declares the Lord. 'Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.'
12 - "This is what the Lord says: "'Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing.
13 - There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you.
14 - All your allies have forgotten you; they care nothing for you. I have struck you as an enemy would and punished you as would the cruel, because your guilt is so great and your sins so many.
15 - Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you.
16 - "'But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
17 - But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the Lord, 'because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.'
18 - "This is what the Lord says: "'I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place.
19 - From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained.
20 - Their children will be as in days of old, and their community will be established before me; I will punish all who oppress them.
21 - Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to me - for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?' declares the Lord.
22 - "'So you will be my people, and I will be your God.'"
23 - See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.
24 - The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand this.