HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1066
J EREMIA H 3 1
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the abundant crops of grain, new wine, and
olive oil,
and the healthy flocks and herds.
Their life will be like a watered garden,
and all their sorrows will be gone.
The young women will dance for joy,
and the men—old and young—will join
in the celebration.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will comfort them and exchange their
sorrow for rejoicing.
The priests will enjoy abundance,
and my people will feast on my good gifts.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Rachel’s Sadness Turns to Joy
15 This is what the Lord says:
“A cry is heard in Ramah—
deep anguish and bitter weeping.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted—
for her children are gone.”
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But now this is what the Lord says:
“Do not weep any longer,
for I will reward you,” says the Lord.
“Your children will come back to you
from the distant land of the enemy.
There is hope for your future,” says the
Lord.
“Your children will come again to
their own land.
I have heard Israel* saying,
‘You disciplined me severely,
like a calf that needs training for
the yoke.
Turn me again to you and restore me,
for you alone are the Lord my God.
I turned away from God,
but then I was sorry.
I kicked myself for my stupidity!
I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did
in my younger days.’
“Is not Israel still my son,
my darling child?” says the Lord.
“I often have to punish him,
but I still love him.
That’s why I long for him
and surely will have mercy on him.
Set up road signs;
put up guideposts.
Mark well the path
by which you came.
Come back again, my virgin Israel;
return to your towns here.
How long will you wander,
my wayward daughter?
For the Lord will cause something new
to happen—
Israel will embrace her God.*”
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23 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back
from captivity, the people of Judah and its towns
will again say, ‘The Lord bless you, O righteous
home, O holy mountain!’ 24 Townspeople and
farmers and shepherds alike will live together
in peace and happiness. 25 For I have given rest
to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.”
26 At this, I woke up and looked around. My
sleep had been very sweet.
27 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when
I will greatly increase the human population
and the number of animals here in Israel and
Judah. 28 In the past I deliberately uprooted and
tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed
it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will just as deliberately plant it and build
it up. I, the Lord, have spoken!
29 “The people will no longer quote this
proverb:
‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,
but their children’s mouths pucker at
the taste.’
30 All
people will die for their own sins—those
who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose
mouths will pucker.
31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when
I will make a new covenant with the people of
Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be
like the one I made with their ancestors when
I took them by the hand and brought them out
of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant,
though I loved them as a husband loves his
wife,” says the Lord.
33 “But this is the new covenant I will make
with the people of Israel after those days,”
says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep
within them, and I will write them on their
hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my
people. 34 And they will not need to teach their
neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For
everyone, from the least to the greatest, will
know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will
forgive their wickedness, and I will never again
remember their sins.”
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It is the Lord who provides the sun to light
the day
and the moon and stars to light the night,
and who stirs the sea into roaring waves.
His name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
and this is what he says:
“I am as likely to reject my people Israel
as I am to abolish the laws of nature!”
This is what the Lord says:
“Just as the heavens cannot be measured
31:18 Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of
Israel; also in 31:20. 31:22 Hebrew a woman will surround
a man.