30:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
30:2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.
30:3 The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity* and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.” / *Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah
30:4 These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:
30:5 “This is what the Lord says: “‘Cries of fear are heard - terror, not peace.
30:6 Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale?
30:7 How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.
30:8 “‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them.
30:9 Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
30:10 “‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.
30:11 I am with you and will save you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’
30:12 “This is what the Lord says: “‘Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing.
30:13 There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you.
30:14 All your allies have forgotten you; they care nothing for you. I have struck you as an enemy would and punished you as would the cruel, because your guilt is so great and your sins so many.
30:15 Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you.
30:16 “‘But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
30:17 But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’
30:18 “This is what the Lord says: “‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place.
30:19 From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained.
30:20 Their children will be as in days of old, and their community will be established before me; I will punish all who oppress them.
30:21 Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to me - for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?’ declares the Lord.
30:22 “‘So you will be my people, and I will be your God.’”
30:23 See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.
30:24 The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand this.