17. For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a successor on the throne of the house of Israel,
18. nor shall the priests of Levi ever be lacking before me, to sacrifice burnt offerings, to burn cereal offerings, and to make sacrifices.
19. This word of the Lord also came to Jeremiah:
20. Thus says the Lord: If you can break my covenant with day and my covenant with night so that day and night no longer appear in their proper time,
21. only then can my covenant with my servant David be broken, so that he will not have a descendant to act as king upon his throne, and my covenant with the priests of Levi who minister to me.
22. Just as the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be counted, so I will multiply the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister to me.
23. This word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
24. Have you not noticed what these people are saying: “The Lord has rejected the two tribes he had chosen”? They hold my people in contempt as if it were no longer a nation in their eyes.