1. “How terrible it will be for the leaders of Judah. They are destroying my people. They are making them run in all directions,” says the Lord.
2. They are responsible for the people. And the Lord, the God of Israel, says to them: “You have made my people run away in all directions. You have forced them away. And you have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done,” says the Lord.
3. “I sent my people to other countries. But I will gather my people who are left alive. And I will bring them back to their own country. When they are back in their own land, they will have many children. And they will grow in number.
4. I will place new leaders over my people. They will take care of my people. And my people will not be afraid or terrified. None of them will be lost,” says the Lord.
5. “The days are coming,” says the Lord,“when I will raise up a good descendant in David’s family.This descendant will be a king who will rule in a wise way.And he will do what is fair and right in the land.
6. In his time Judah will be saved.Israel will live in safety.This will be his name:The Lord Does What Is Right.
7. “So the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when people will not say: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought Israel out of Egypt . . .’
8. But people will say something new: ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where he had sent them away . . .’ Then the people of Israel will live in their own land.”
9. A message to the prophets:My heart is broken.All my bones shake.I’m like a man who is drunk.I’m like a man who has been overcome with wine.This is because of the Lordand his holy words.
10. The land of Judah is full of people who are guilty of adultery.Because of this, the Lord cursed the land.And it has become very dry.The pastures have dried up.The people are evil.They use their power in the wrong way.