Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 281
33:12-26
J eremiah
269
“This is what the Lord says: You have said, ‘This is a desolate land
where people and animals have all disappeared.’ Yet in the empty streets
of Jerusalem and Judah’s other towns, there will be heard once more the
sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides
will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanks
giving offerings to the Lord. They will sing,
‘Give thanks to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
for the Lord is good.
His faithful love endures forever!’
For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says
the Lord.
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: This land—though
it is now desolate and has no people and animals—will once more have
pastures where shepherds can lead their flocks. Once again shepherds will
count their flocks in the towns of the hill country, the foothills of Judah,
the Negev, the land of Benjamin, the vicinity of Jerusalem, and all the
towns of Judah. I, the Lord, have spoken!
“The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah
all the good things I have promised them.
“In those days and at that time
I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
In that day Judah will be saved,
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
And this will be its name:
‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’
For this is what the Lord says: David will have a descendant sitting on the
throne of Israel forever. And there will always be Levitical priests to offer
burnt offerings and grain offerings and sacrifices to me.”
Then this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “This is what the
Lord says: If you can break my covenant with the day and the night so
that one does not follow the other, only then will my covenant with my
servant David be broken. Only then will he no longer have a descendant
to reign on his throne. The same is true for my covenant with the Leviti
cal priests who minister before me. And as the stars of the sky cannot be
counted and the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so I will mul
tiply the descendants of my servant David and the Levites who minister
before me.”
The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Have you no
ticed what people are saying?—‘The Lord chose Judah and Israel and
