"Thussaysthe LORDof hosts,'There will againbe in thisplacewhich is waste,withoutmanor beast,and in allits cities,a habitationof shepherdswho resttheir flocks.
"Tellme, O you whommy soulloves,Wheredo you pasture[your flock], Wheredo you make [it] liedownat noon?For whyshould I be like one who veilsherself Besidethe flocksof your companions?"
"Sharonwill be a pasturelandfor flocks,And the valleyof Achora restingplacefor herds,For My peoplewhoseekMe.
"They will comein from the citiesof Judahand from the environsof Jerusalem,from the landof Benjamin,from the lowland,from the hillcountryand from the Negev,bringingburntofferings,sacrifices,grain offeringsand incense,and bringingsacrificesof thanksgivingto the houseof the LORD.
"They will comeand shoutfor joyon the heightof Zion,And they will be radiantoverthe bountyof the LORD--Overthe grainand the newwineand the oil,And overthe youngof the flockand the herd;And their lifewill be like a wateredgarden,And they will neverlanguishagain.
"Judahand allits citieswill dwelltogetherin it, the farmerand they who goaboutwith flocks.
For thussaysthe LORDof hosts,the Godof Israel,"Housesand fieldsand vineyardswill againbe boughtin thisland."'
"And concerningJehoiakimkingof Judahyou shall say,'Thussaysthe LORD,"You have burnedthisscroll,saying,Whyhave you writtenon it that the kingof Babylonwill certainlycomeand destroythisland,and will make manand beastto ceasefrom it?'"
"My peoplehave becomelostsheep;Their shepherdshave ledthem astray.They have made them turnaside[on] the mountains;They have gonealong from mountainto hillAnd have forgottentheir restingplace.
and say,'You, O LORD,have promisedconcerningthisplaceto cutit off,so that there will be nothingdwellingin it, whethermanor beast,but it will be a perpetualdesolation.'
"They will say,'Thisdesolatelandhas becomelike the gardenof Eden;and the waste,desolateand ruinedcitiesare fortified[and] inhabited.'
"Is it timefor you yourselvesto dwellin your paneledhouseswhile thishouse[lies] desolate?"
