331 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time , while he was still confined in the court of the guard , saying , 2 "Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it, the Lord is His name , 3 ' Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things , which you do not know .' 4 "For thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the houses of this city , and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which are broken down to make a defense against the siege ramps and against the sword , 5 'While they are coming to fight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath , and I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness : 6 'Behold , I will bring to it health and healing , and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth . 7 'I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first . 8 'I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. 9 'It will be to Me a name of joy , praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.'
10 "Thus says the Lord , 'Yet again there will be heard in this place , of which you say , "It is a waste , without man and without beast ," that is, 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 those who say , " Give thanks to the Lord of hosts , For the Lord is good , For His lovingkindness is everlasting "; and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord . For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first ,' says the Lord . 12 "Thus says the Lord of hosts , 'There will again be in this place which is waste , without e man or beast , and in all its cities , a habitation of shepherds who rest their flocks . 13 'In the cities of the hill country , in the cities of the lowland , in the cities of the Negev , in the land of Benjamin , in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah , the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,' says the Lord . 14 'Behold , days are coming ,' declares the Lord , 'when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah . 15 'In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth ; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth . 16 'In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety ; and this is the name by which she will be called : the Lord is our righteousness .'
17 "For thus says the Lord , 'David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel ; 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before e Me to offer burnt offerings , to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually e .' " 19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah , saying , 20 "Thus says the Lord , 'If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night , so that day and night will not be at their appointed time , 21 then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne , and with the Levitical priests , My ministers . 22 'As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured , so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.' " 23 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah , saying , 24 "Have you not observed what this people have spoken , saying , 'The two families which the Lord chose , He has rejected them'? Thus they despise My people , no longer are they as a nation in their sight . 25 "Thus says the Lord , 'If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established , 26 then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant , not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham , Isaac and Jacob . But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.' "
