Study Desk

How long will you wander, my wayward daughter? For the Lord will cause something new to happen— Israel will embrace her God."

For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing."

All people will die for their own sins—those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker.

And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord .' For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already," says the Lord . "And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins."

This is what the Lord says: "Just as the heavens cannot be measured and the foundations of the earth cannot be explored, so I will not consider casting them away for the evil they have done. I, the Lord , have spoken!

"The day is coming," says the Lord , "when all Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

Then, just as the Lord had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, "Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself." Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the Lord .

So I bought the field at Anathoth, paying Hanamel seventeen pieces of silver for it.

"This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take both this sealed deed and the unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for a long time.'

For this is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.'"

"O Sovereign Lord ! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!

And yet, O Sovereign Lord , you have told me to buy the field—paying good money for it before these witnesses—even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians."

"I am the Lord , the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?

And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.

I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.

Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold—deeds signed and sealed and witnessed—in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judah and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the Lord , have spoken!"

For this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: You have torn down the houses of this city and even the king's palace to get materials to strengthen the walls against the siege ramps and swords of the enemy.

You expect to fight the Babylonians, but the men of this city are already as good as dead, for I have determined to destroy them in my terrible anger. I have abandoned them because of all their wickedness.

Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them.