[1] The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, [2] The Lord,
the God of Israel, has said, Put down in a book all the words which I have
said to you. [3] For see, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will
let the fate of my people Israel and Judah be changed, says the Lord: and I
will make them come back to the land which I gave to their fathers, so that
they may take it for their heritage. [4] And these are the words which the
Lord said about Israel and about Judah. [5] This is what the Lord has said:
A voice of shaking fear has come to our ears, of fear and not of peace. [6]
Put the question and see if it is possible for a man to have birth-pains:
why do I see every man with his hands gripping his sides, as a woman does
when the pains of birth are on her, and all faces are turned green? [7] Ha!
for that day is so great that there is no day like it: it is the time of
Jacob's trouble: but he will get salvation from it. [8] For it will come
about on that day, says the Lord of armies, that his yoke will be broken
off his neck, and his bands will be burst; and men of strange lands will no
longer make use of him as their servant: [9] But they will be servants to
the Lord their God and to David their king, whom I will give back to them.
[10] So have no fear, O Jacob, my servant, says the Lord; and do not be
troubled, O Israel: for see, I will make you come back from far away, and
your seed from the land where they are prisoners; and Jacob will come back,
and will be quiet and at peace, and no one will give him cause for fear.
[11] For I am with you, says the Lord, to be your saviour: for I will put
an end to all the nations where I have sent you wandering, but I will not
put an end to you completely: though with wise purpose I will put right
your errors, and will not let you go quite without punishment. [12] For the
Lord has said, Your disease may not be made well and your wound is bitter.
[13] There is no help for your wound, there is nothing to make you well.
[14] Your lovers have no more thought for you, they go after you no longer;
for I have given you the wound of a hater, even cruel punishment; [15] Why
are you crying for help because of your wound? for your pain may never be
taken away: because your evil-doing was so great and because your sins were
increased, I have done these things to you. [16] For this cause, all those
who take you for their food will themselves become your food; and all your
attackers, every one of them, will be taken prisoners; and those who send
destruction on you will come to destruction; and all those who take away
your goods by force will undergo the same themselves. [17] For I will make
you healthy again and I will make you well from your wounds, says the Lord;
because they have given you the name of an outlaw, saying, It is Zion cared
for by no man. [18] The Lord has said, See, I am changing the fate of the
tents of Jacob, and I will have pity on his houses; the town will be put up
on its hill, and the great houses will be living-places again. [19] And
from them will go out praise and the sound of laughing: and I will make
them great in number, and they will not become less; and I will give them
glory, and they will not be small. [20] And their children will be as they
were in the old days, and the meeting of the people will have its place
before me, and I will send punishment on all who are cruel to them. [21]
And their chief will be of their number; their ruler will come from among
themselves; and I will let him be present before me, so that he may come
near to me: for who may have strength of heart to come near me? says the
Lord. [22] And you will be my people, and I will be your God. [23] See, the
storm-wind of the Lord, even the heat of his wrath, has gone out, a rolling
storm, bursting on the heads of the evil-doers. [24] The wrath of the Lord
will not be turned back till he has done, till he has put into effect, the
purposes of his heart: in days to come you will have full knowledge of
this.
