Restoration of Israel
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This is the word that came toi Jeremiah from the LORD:
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"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
'Write in a book 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 be 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 e 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 secrity and
no one will make him afraid.
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I am with you and will save you,' decalres the LORD.
'Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you,
I will not completely destory 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 o 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;
all who 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' tents and
have compassioin on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and
the palace will stand in its proper place.
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From them will come spngs 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 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 himslef 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.
