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This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
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"This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel says:
'Write in a book all the words all the words I have spoken to you.
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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 forefathers to possess,' says the LORD."
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These are the words the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:
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"This is what the LORD says: " 'Cries of fear are heard - terror, not peace.
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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?
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How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will ne a time of trouble
for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.
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" '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.
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Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king,
whom I will raise up for them.
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" 'So do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O 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.
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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 with justice;
I will not let you go entirely unpunished.'
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"This is what the LORD says:
" 'Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing.
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There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing
for you.
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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.
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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.
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" 'But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile.
Those who plunder you will be plundered; allmwho make spoil of you
I will despoil.
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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.'
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"This is what the LORD says: " 'I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents
and have compassion on his dwellings; the ciyu will be rebuilt on her ruins,
and the palace will stand in its proper place.
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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.
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Their children will be as in days of old, and their community will be
established before me; I will punish all who oppress them.
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Their leader leader will ne one of their own; their ruler will arise from
among them. I will bring him near and he will come close me,
for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?" declares
the LORD.
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" 'So you will be my people, and I will be your God.' "
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See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath,
a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked.
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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.
