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33 [1] **The word of the Lord was with Jeremiah a second time, and he was still detained in the court of internment, saying: **
[2] **So said the Lord, its Maker, **of the new plan stated below,** the Lord forms it to establish it, the Lord, **who creates all at all times,** is His name**. Alternatively, according to different interpretations, the phrase “its Maker” means that God makes the prophecy, or the redemption, or the cure mentioned below (verse 6).
[3] **Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and hidden**** matters that you did not know. **
[4] **For so said the Lord, God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah that are **about to be **smashed by the embankments, **large mounds of earth built up near the city wall, from which the invaders could shoot inside,** and from the battering rams, **large explosive iron implements. Apparently, the surrounding Babylonians began catapulting stones into the city. Although this became a sophisticated technique only in later generations, it already existed in simple form at this time.
[5] God adds: Their houses will be smashed **as they are coming to make war with the Chaldeans, **rather than surrender to them, **and **they thereby lead Me **to fill them, **the houses,** with human corpses, whom I smote in My wrath and in My anger, and as I concealed My face from this city because of all their evildoing**:
[6] **Behold, **after all these upheavals and tumult, **I am bringing it a remedy and cure, **or healthy flesh,** **to the injured city,** and I will cure them, and I will reveal to them an abundance** **of peace and truth. **
[7] **I will restore the returnees of Judah and the returnees of Israel, **the exile of the ten tribes, **and I will build them as at first. **
[8] **I will cleanse them from all their iniquity that they sinned against Me, and I will forgive all their iniquities that they sinned against Me and that they transgressed against Me. **
[9] **It will be to Me for renown, for gladness, for praise, and for splendor for all the nations of the earth, who will hear all the good that I am performing for them, **Israel. When they see the desolate city restored to its former glory, they will all praise God. **And they, **Israel’s enemies,** will fear and tremble, **or they will be filled with anger** over all the good and over all the peace that I am performing for it. **
[10] **So said the Lord: It will again be heard in this place, about which you say: It is destroyed, without people and without animals, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, which are desolate without man and without inhabitants and without animals, **
[11] **the sound of gladness and the sound of joy, the sound of a groom and the sound of a bride, the sound of those **people **who say **at private celebrations of that kind:** Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for** **the Lord is good, for His kindness is forever, **and the sound of **bringing thanks offerings to the House of the Lord, as I will restore the returnees of the land as at first, said the Lord.**
[12] **So said the Lord of hosts: There will again be in this place that is destroyed, without people or animals, and in all its **ruined **cities, a pasture of shepherds resting their flocks. **The desolation will become a place of pasture and rest for sheep.
[13] **In the cities of the highland, 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, **in all these places **the flocks will again pass by a counter, **so that a portion can be brought to the Temple as the animal tithe. Alternatively, the verse means that the flocks will again pass by a shepherd. Either way, the idea is that there will be a thriving community here, and the Temple will be bustling with activity; so **said the Lord. **
[14] **Behold, days are coming – the utterance of the Lord – and I will fulfill the good matter that I spoke concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah. **
[15] **In those days and at that time, I will cause a shoot of righteousness to grow for David, **a righteous descendant, a victor and a liberator,** and he will perform justice and righteousness in the land. **The royal house of David will be reestablished.
[16] **In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell in security, and this is that which one will call it, **by its new name:** The Lord is our righteousness, **the source of our salvation.
[17] **For so said the Lord: **In the messianic era, **there will not be cut off for David a man sitting on the throne of the house of Israel. **The royal line of David will not cease.
[18] **And for the priests, the Levites, there will not be any man cut off from** serving **before Me offering up burnt offerings and burning meal offerings and performing peace offerings all the days. **The kingdom of David and the priesthood of the house of Aaron will last forever.
[19] **The word of the Lord was with Jeremiah, saying: **
[20] **So said the Lord: If you could breach My covenant of the day, **which I made with the day,** and My covenant of the night, **if you could nullify the laws of time which I set,** so that there would not be day and night at their appointed time, **
[21] in that case, **so too would My covenant with David My servant be breached from there being a son for him reigning on his throne, or **My covenant **with the Levites, the priests, My servants. **
[22] Not only will the royal and priestly families survive throughout the vicissitudes of history, but **just as the host of the heavens 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 serve Me. **The descendants of David and Levi will increase like the stars of the heavens and the sand of the sea.
[23] The chapter cites another prophecy on the same matter. **The word of the Lord was with Jeremiah, saying: **
[24] **Have you not seen that which this people spoke, saying: The two families that the Lord chose them, **the family of kings and that of priests, **He spurned them, **distanced them from Him and rejected them,** and they **also **execrate My people from being a nation before them any longer. **They mock My people by saying that they are no longer a special nation to God that stands before kings and priests. The kingship and priesthood have been taken from Israel.
[25] In contrast to such claims, **so said the Lord: If not **for **My covenant of day and night, **if the fixed recurrence of day and night did not exist;** had I not set the statutes of heaven and earth, **if it were possible to nullify the statutes of heaven and earth;
[26] **I would also spurn the descendants of Jacob and of David My servant to cease to take from his, **David’s,** descendants **to serve as **rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. **Contrary to the statement of the people, the house of David and the nation that stands before them have not been cut off,** for I will restore their returnees, and I will have compassion on them.**
Version: The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-steinsaltz-tanakh/products/steinsaltz-tanakh
License: Copyright: Steinsaltz Center