1. This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2. “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.
3. 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 ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”
4. These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:
5. “This is what the Lord says: “ ‘Cries of fear are heard— terror, not peace.
6. 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?
7. How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.
8. “ ‘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.
9. Instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10. “ ‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, 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.
11. 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 in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’