I long for someone from Zion to come and save Israel! Our God, when you bless your people again, Jacob's family will be glad, and Israel will celebrate.
Instead, you will call me the Living God who rescued you from that country in the north and from the other countries where I had forced you to go. Some day I will bring you back to this land that I gave your ancestors.
Instead, you will call me the Living God who rescued you from the land in the north and from all the other countries where I had forced you to go. And you will once again live in your own land.
where I am watching over them. Then some day I will bring them back to this land. I will plant them, instead of uprooting them, and I will build them up, rather than tearing them down.
The LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, said: I promise to set the people of Judah free and to lead them back to their home towns. And when I do, they will once again say, “We pray that the LORD will bless his home, the sacred hill in Jerusalem where his temple stands.”
In the past, I took care to uproot them, to tear them down, and to destroy them. But when that day comes, I will take care to plant them and help them grow.
I am the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, and I promise you that people will once again buy and sell houses, farms, and vineyards in this country.
I am angry with the people of Jerusalem, and I will scatter them in foreign countries. But some day I will bring them back here and let them live in safety.
happy voices and the sounds of parties and wedding celebrations. And when people come to my temple to offer sacrifices to thank me, you will hear them say: “We praise you, LORD All-Powerful! You are good to us, and your love never fails.” The land will once again be productive.
They will be safe and will build houses and plant vineyards. They will no longer be in danger, because I will punish their hateful neighbours. Israel will know that I am the LORD their God.
Now I will show mercy to the people of Israel and bring them back from the nations where they are living. They are Jacob's descendants, so I will bless them and show that I am holy.
you abuse the poor and demand heavy taxes from them. You have built expensive homes, but you won't enjoy them; you have planted vineyards, but you will get no wine.
Their possessions will be taken, their homes left in ruins. They won't get to live in the houses they build, or drink wine from the grapes in their own vineyards.
The LORD God hasn't forgotten those survivors in Judah, and he will help them— his people will take your land to use for pasture. And when evening comes, they will rest in houses at Ashkelon.