Jeremiah 37

1 The Lord’s word came to Jeremiah.

2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Write in a scroll all the words I have spoken to you.”

3 “For look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will bring back the exiles of my people Israel and Judah, says the Lord. I will bring them back to the land I gave their fathers, and they will possess it.”

4 These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah.

5 “This is what the Lord says: You will hear a voice of fear — fear, and no peace.”

6 “Ask and see: has a male ever given birth? And why this fear, in which men clutch their waists hoping for rescue? For I have seen every man with his hands on his waist, and every face turned pale.”

7 “For that day is great, and there is none like it. It will be a time of distress for Jacob, but he will be rescued from it.”

8 “On that day, says the Lord, I will break the yoke off their neck and tear their bonds apart, and they will no longer work for strangers;”

9 “they will work for the Lord their God, and I will raise up David their king for them.”

12 “This is what the Lord says: I have brought up ruin against you; your wound is painful.”

13 “There is no one to judge your case. Your healing has brought pain; there is no help for you.”

14 “All your friends have forgotten you and no longer ask about you. I struck you as an enemy would, with hard correction, because of all your wrongdoing — your sins have multiplied.”

15 “Therefore all who devour you will be devoured, and all your enemies will eat their own flesh. Because of your many wrongdoings your sins have multiplied; that is why they did these things to you.”

16 “Those who spoil you will become a spoil, and I will give up to be plundered all who have plundered you.”

17 “I will bring up healing for you and heal you of your painful wound, says the Lord, because you were called The Scattered One: She is prey; no one seeks her.”

18 “This is what the Lord says: Look, I will bring Jacob’s exiles home and have mercy on his captives. The city will be rebuilt on its height, and the temple will stand in its rightful place.”

19 “From them will come the sound of singers and the voices of those celebrating. I will multiply them, and they will not decrease.”

20 “Their children will come in as before, and their witness will be set upright before me. I will call their oppressors to account.”

21 “Their mighty ones will be over them, and their ruler will come from among them. I will gather them, and they will return to me — for who is he who has set his heart on returning to me? says the Lord.”

23 “For the Lord’s furious anger has gone out, a whirling anger has gone out; it will come on the ungodly.”

24 “The Lord’s fierce anger will not turn back until he has carried out and established his heart’s purpose. In the last days you will understand this.”