1. The Lord spoke to Jeremiah.
2. “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Write everything that I am about to tell you in a scroll.
3. For I, the Lord, affirm that the time will come when I will reverse the plight of my people, Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors and they will take possession of it once again.’”
4. So here is what the Lord has to say about Israel and Judah.
5. Yes, here is what he says:“You hear cries of panic and of terror;there is no peace in sight.
6. Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully:Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby?Why then do I see all these strong mengrabbing their stomachs in pain like a woman giving birth?And why do their facesturn so deathly pale?
7. Alas, what a terrible time of trouble it is!There has never been any like it.It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob,but some of them will be rescued out of it.