Restoration Promised Again

1And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 2Thus saith Jehovah the doer of it, Jehovah that formeth it to establish it, Jehovah is his name: 3Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and I will shew thee great and hidden things, which thou knowest not. 4For thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down because of the mounds and because of the sword: 5They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but to fill them with the dead bodies of the men whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city. 6Behold, I will apply a healing dressing to it and cure, and I will heal them, and will reveal unto them an abundance of peace and truth. 7And I will turn the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel, and will build them, as at the beginning. 8And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me, and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned against me, and whereby they have transgressed against me. 9And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear of all the good that I do unto them; and they shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.

10Thus saith Jehovah: In this place of which ye say, It is waste, without man and without beast! in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,

11there shall again be heard the voice of mirth and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that say, Give ye thanks unto Jehovah of hosts; for Jehovah is good, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever, -- of them that bring thanksgiving unto the house of Jehovah. For I will turn the captivity of the land as in the beginning, saith Jehovah.

12Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: In this place which is waste, without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, there shall again be a habitation of shepherds causing [their] flocks to lie down. 13In the cities of the hill-country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the environs of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that counteth [them], saith Jehovah.

The Covenant with David

14Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will perform the good word which I have spoken unto the house of Israel and unto the house of Judah. 15In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 16In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety. And this is the name wherewith she shall be called: Jehovah our Righteousness. 17For thus saith Jehovah: There shall never fail to David a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; 18neither shall there fail to the priests the Levites a man before me to offer up burnt-offerings, and to burn oblations, and to do sacrifice continually.

19And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, 20Thus saith Jehovah: If ye can break my covenant [in respect] of the day, and my covenant [in respect] of the night, so that there should not be day and night in their season, 21[then] shall also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites, the priests, my ministers. 22As the host of the heavens cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

23And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, 24Hast thou not seen what this people have spoken, saying, The two families that Jehovah had chosen, he hath even cast them off? And they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. 25Thus saith Jehovah: If my covenant of day and night [stand] not, if I have not appointed the ordinances of the heavens and the earth, 26[then] will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so as not to take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will turn their captivity, and will have mercy on them.