Jeremiah 40
1 And the word of the Lord came to
Jeremiah the second time, when he was yet bound in the court of the prison,
saying,
2 Thus saith the Lord, who made the
earth and formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name;
3 Cry to me, and I will answer thee,
and I will declare to thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
4 For thus saith the Lord concerning
the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the king of Juda, which
have been pulled down for mounds and fortifications,
5 to fight against the Chaldeans, and
to fill it with the corpses of men, whom I smote in mine anger and my wrath,
and turned away my face from them, for all their wickedness:
6 Behold, I bring upon her healing and
cure, and I will show myself to them, and will heal
her, and make both peace and security.
7 And I will turn the captivity of
Juda, and the captivity of Israel, and will build them, even as before.
8 And I will cleanse them from all
their iniquities, whereby they have sinned against me, and will not remember
their sins, whereby they have sinned against me, and revolted from me.
9 And it shall be for joy and praise,
and for glory to all the people of the earth, who shall hear all the good that
I will do: and they shall fear and be provoked for all the good things and for
all the peace which I will bring upon them.
10 Thus saith the Lord; There shall
yet be heard in this place, of which ye say, It is destitute of men and
cattle, in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem,
the places that have been made desolate for want of
men and cattle, 11 the voice of
gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of
the bride, the voice of men saying, Give thanks to the Lord Almighty: for the
Lord is good; for his mercy endures for ever: and
they shall bring gifts into the house of the Lord; for I will turn all the
captivity of that land as before, said the Lord.
12 Thus saith the Lord of hosts;
There shall yet be in this place, that is desert for want of man and beast, in
all the cities thereof, resting-places for shepherds causing their flocks to
lie down. 13 In the cities of the
hill country, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south,
and in the land of Benjamin, and in the cities round
about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Juda, flocks shall yet pass under the
hand of him that numbers them, saith the Lord.