Jeremiah 30

  1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 

2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.
3 ‘For behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The LORD says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.’”
4 Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah:

  5 “For thus says the LORD,
        ‘I have heard a sound of terror,
        Of dread, and there is no peace.

  6 ‘Ask now, and see
        If a male can give birth.
        Why do I see every man
        With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth?
        And why have all faces turned pale?

  7 ‘Alas! for that day is great,
        There is none like it;
        And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,
        But he will be saved from it.

  8 ‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. 9‘But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

  10 ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the LORD,
        ‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel;
        For behold, I will save you from afar
        And your offspring from the land of their captivity.
        And Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease,
        And no one will make him afraid.

  11 ‘For I am with you,’ declares the LORD, ‘to save you;
        For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
        Only I will not destroy you completely.
        But I will chasten you justly
        And will by no means leave you unpunished.’

  12 “For thus says the LORD,
        ‘Your wound is incurable
        And your injury is serious.

  13 ‘There is no one to plead your cause;
        No healing for your sore,
        No recovery for you.

  14 ‘All your lovers have forgotten you,
        They do not seek you;
        For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
        With the punishment of a cruel one,
        Because your iniquity is great
        And your sins are numerous.

  15 ‘Why do you cry out over your injury?
        Your pain is incurable.
        Because your iniquity is great
        And your sins are numerous,
        I have done these things to you.

  16 ‘Therefore all who devour you will be devoured;
        And all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity;
        And those who plunder you will be for plunder,
        And all who prey upon you I will give for prey.

  17 ‘For I will restore you to health
        And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the LORD,
        ‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying:
        “It is Zion; no one cares for her.”’

Restoration of Jacob

18 “Thus says the LORD,
‘Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And have compassion on his dwelling places;
And the city will be rebuilt on its ruin,
And the palace will stand on its rightful place.

  19 ‘From them will proceed thanksgiving
        And the voice of those who celebrate;
        And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished;
        I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.

  20 ‘Their children also will be as formerly,
        And their congregation shall be established before Me;
        And I will punish all their oppressors.

  21 ‘Their leader shall be one of them,
        And their ruler shall come forth from their midst;
        And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me;
        For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the LORD.

  22 ‘You shall be My people,
        And I will be your God.’”

  23 Behold, the tempest of the LORD!
        Wrath has gone forth,
        A sweeping tempest;
        It will burst on the head of the wicked.

  24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back
        Until He has performed and until He has accomplished
        The intent of His heart;
        In the latter days you will understand this

Job 38

God Speaks Now to Job

  1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,
  2 “Who is this that darkens counsel
        By words without knowledge?

  3 “Now gird up your loins like a man,
        And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

  4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
        Tell Me, if you have understanding,

  5 Who set its measurements? Since you know.
        Or who stretched the line on it?

  6 “On what were its bases sunk?
        Or who laid its cornerstone,

  7 When the morning stars sang together
        And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

  8 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors
        When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;

  9 When I made a cloud its garment
        And thick darkness its swaddling band,

  10 And I placed boundaries on it
        And set a bolt and doors,

  11 And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
        And here shall your proud waves stop’?

God’s Mighty Power

12 “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,

  13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
        And the wicked be shaken out of it?

  14 “It is changed like clay under the seal;
        And they stand forth like a garment.

  15 “From the wicked their light is withheld,
        And the uplifted arm is broken.

  16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea
        Or walked in the recesses of the deep?

  17 “Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
        Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

  18 “Have you understood the expanse of the earth?
        Tell Me, if you know all this.

  19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
        And darkness, where is its place,

  20 That you may take it to its territory
        And that you may discern the paths to its home?

  21“You know, for you were born then,
        And the number of your days is great!

  22 “<strong>Have you entered the storehouses of the snow</strong>,
        <strong>Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail</strong>,

  23 Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
        For the day of war and battle?

  24 “Where is the way that the light is divided,
        Or the east wind scattered on the earth?

  25 “Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
        Or a way for the thunderbolt,

  26 To bring rain on a land without people,
        On a desert without a man in it,

  27 To satisfy the waste and desolate land
        And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?

  28 “Has the rain a father?
        Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

  29 “From whose womb has come the ice?
        And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

  30 “Water becomes hard like stone,
        And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

  31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
        Or loose the cords of Orion?

  32 “Can you lead forth a constellation in its season,
        And guide the Bear with her satellites?

  33 “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens,
        Or fix their rule over the earth?

  34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
        So that an abundance of water will cover you?

  35 “Can you send forth lightnings that they may go
        And say to you, ‘Here we are’?

  36 “Who has put wisdom in the innermost being
        Or given understanding to the mind?

  37 “Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
        Or tip the water jars of the heavens,

  38 When the dust hardens into a mass
        And the clods stick together?

  39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
        Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

  40 When they crouch in their dens
        And lie in wait in their lair?

  41 “Who prepares for the raven its nourishment
        When its young cry to God
        And wander about without food?

Jeremiah 30 and Job 38 – 23 September 2017 to 2039