Study Desk

therefore thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He will not have anyone [born] to live among this people, nor will he see the good that I am about to do to My people," says the LORD, "because he has spoken and preached rebellion against the LORD."'"

'Ask now, and see Whether a man can give birth [to a child]. Why then do I see every man With his hands on his loins, as a woman in labor? Why have all faces turned pale?

"Thus says the LORD, 'Behold (hear this), I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob And have mercy on his dwelling places; The city will be rebuilt on its [old, mound-like] ruin, And the palace will stand on its rightful place.

'Their prince will be one of them, And their ruler will come forward from among them. I will bring him near and he shall approach Me, For who is he who would have the boldness and would dare [on his own initiative] to risk his life to approach Me?' says the LORD.

The fierce (righteous) anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has fulfilled and until He has accomplished The intent of His heart (mind); In the latter days you will understand this.

Hear the word of the LORD, O you nations, And declare it in the isles and coastlands far away, And say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him And will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock."

"But everyone will die [only] for his own wickedness; every man who eats sour grapes—his [own] teeth shall be set on edge.

"And each man will no longer teach his neighbor and his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me [through personal experience], from the least of them to the greatest," says the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness, and I will no longer remember their sin."

Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and of the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea's roaring billows or stills the waves when they roar; The LORD of hosts is His name:

You who show lovingkindness to thousands, but repay the wickedness (sin, guilt) of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], O great and mighty God; the LORD of hosts is His name;

great [are You] in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to reward or repay each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds;

"Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it—the LORD is His name,

the [sound of the] voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the [song-filled] voice of those who say, "Give praise and thanks to the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good; For His [steadfast] lovingkindness (mercy) endures forever"; and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,' says the LORD.

then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and [My covenant may also be broken] with the Levitical priests, My ministers.

then I would [also] reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes, and will have mercy on them.'"

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his sovereignty and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all of its cities:

'You will not escape from his hand, for you will definitely be captured and handed over to him; you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face; and you will go to Babylon.'"'

that every man should let his Hebrew slaves, male and female, go free, so that no one should make a slave of a Jew, his brother.

So all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that everyone would let his male servant and his female servant go free, and that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free.

"At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has sold himself [into servitude] or who has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall release him from [serving] you; but your forefathers did not listen [submissively] to Me or obey Me.