God promises to heal and restore Jerusalem, and that joy and gladness will be heard again. A righteous Branch will spring up for David, and the covenant with the Levites and David will stand.
1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison , saying ,
2 Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name ;
3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things , which thou knowest not.
4 For thus saith the LORD , the God of Israel , concerning the houses of this city , and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah , which are thrown down by the mounts , and by the sword ;
5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans , but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of 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 .
6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure , and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth .
7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return , and will build them, as at the first .
8 And 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 , and whereby they have transgressed against me.
9 And it shall be to me a name of joy , a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth , which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
10 Thus saith the LORD ; Again there shall be heard in this place , which ye say shall be desolate without man and without beast , even in the cities of Judah , and in the streets of Jerusalem , that are desolate , without man , and without inhabitant , and without beast ,
11 The voice of joy , and the voice of gladness , the voice of the bridegroom , and the voice of the bride , the voice of them that shall say , Praise the LORD of hosts : for the LORD is good ; for his mercy endureth for ever : and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD . For I will cause to return the captivity of the land , as at the first , saith the LORD .
12 Thus saith the LORD of hosts ; Again in this place , which is desolate without man and without beast , and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down .
13 In the cities of the mountains , in the cities of the vale , and in the cities of the south , and in the land of Benjamin , and in the places about Jerusalem , and in the cities of Judah , shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the LORD .
14 Behold, the days come , saith the LORD , that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah .
15 In those days , and at that time , will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David ; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land .
16 In those days shall Judah be saved , and Jerusalem shall dwell safely : and this is the name wherewith she shall be called , The LORD our righteousness .
17 For thus saith the LORD ; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel ;
18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings , and to kindle meat offerings , and to do sacrifice continually .
19 And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah , saying ,
20 Thus saith the LORD ; If ye can break my covenant of the day , and my covenant of the night , and that there should not be day and night in their season ;
21 Then may 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 .
22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered , neither the sand of the sea measured : so will I multiply the seed of David my servant , and the Levites that minister unto me.
23 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah , saying ,
24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken , saying , The two families which the LORD hath chosen , he hath even cast them off ? thus they have despised my people , that they should be no more a nation before them.
25 Thus saith the LORD ; If my covenant be not with day and night , and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth ;
26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob , and David my servant , so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob : for I will cause their captivity to return , and have mercy on them.