Jeremiah 33

Promise of Restoration

1 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time:

2 “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name:

3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

4 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword

5 in the fight with the Babylonians^[a] : ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness.

6 “ ‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.

7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity^[b] and will rebuild them as they were before.

8 I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.

9 Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’

10 “This is what the LORD says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more

11 the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the LORD.

12 “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without people or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.

13 In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the LORD.

14 “ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

15 “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.

16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it^[c] will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior.’

17 For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel,

18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’ ”

19 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

20 “This is what the LORD says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time,

21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.

22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’ ”

23 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

24 “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms^[d] he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation.

25 This is what the LORD says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night and established the laws of heaven and earth,

26 then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes^[e] and have compassion on them.’ ”

Jeremiah 33 Commentary

Chapter 33

The restoration of the Jews. (1-13) The Messiah promised; happiness of his times. (14-26)

Verses 1-13 Those who expect to receive comforts from God, must call upon him. Promises are given, not to do away, but to quicken and encourage prayer. These promises lead us to the gospel of Christ; and in that God has revealed truth to direct us, and peace to make us easy. All who by sanctifying grace are cleansed from the filth of sin, by pardoning mercy are freed from the guilt. When sinners are thus justified, washed, and sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Holy Spirit, they are enabled to walk before God in peace and purity. Many are led to perceive the real difference between the people of God and the world around them, and to fear the Divine wrath. It is promised that the people who were long in sorrow, shall again be filled with joy. Where the Lord gives righteousness and peace, he will give all needful supplies for temporal wants; and all we have will be comforts, as sanctified by the word and by prayer.

Verses 14-26 To crown the blessings God has in store, here is a promise of the Messiah. He imparts righteousness to his church, for he is made of God to us righteousness; and believers are made the righteousness of God in him. Christ is our Lord God, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. But in this world prosperity and adversity succeed each other, as light and darkness, day and night. The covenant of priesthood shall be secured. And all true believers are a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood, they offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God; themselves, in the first place, as living sacrifices. The promises of that covenant shall have full accomplishment in the gospel Israel. In Ga. 6:16 , all that walk according to the gospel rule, are made to be the Israel of God, on whom shall be peace and mercy. Let us not despise the families which were of old the chosen people of God, though for a time they seem to be cast off.

Cross References

• 1. S Psalms 88:8
• 2. Jeremiah 32:2-3; Jeremiah 37:21; Jeremiah 38:28
• 3. Jeremiah 13:3
• 4. S Psalms 136:6; S Jeremiah 10:16
• 5. S Exodus 3:15; Exodus 15:3
• 6. S Isaiah 55:6; Jeremiah 29:12
• 7. S Job 28:11
• 8. S 2 Kings 25:1; Ezekiel 4:2
• 9. Jeremiah 32:24; Ezekiel 26:8; Habakkuk 1:10
• 10. Jeremiah 21:4-7
• 11. S Deuteronomy 31:17; S Isaiah 8:17
• 12. S Deuteronomy 32:39; S Isaiah 30:26
• 13. S Isaiah 9:6
• 14. Jeremiah 32:44
• 15. Jeremiah 30:3; Ezekiel 39:25; Amos 9:14
• 16. S Jeremiah 24:6
• 17. S Isaiah 1:26
• 18. S Leviticus 16:30; Hebrews 9:13-14
• 19. S 2 Samuel 24:14; S Jeremiah 31:34; Micah 7:18; Zechariah 13:1
• 20. S Isaiah 55:13
• 21. S Isaiah 60:18; Jeremiah 13:11
• 22. Isaiah 62:7; S Jeremiah 3:17
• 23. S Isaiah 64:2
• 24. Jeremiah 32:43
• 25. S Leviticus 26:32; S Jeremiah 9:11
• 26. S Psalms 51:8; S Isaiah 24:8; S Isaiah 51:3
• 27. S Leviticus 7:12
• 28. 1 Chronicles 16:8; S 2 Chronicles 7:3; Psalms 25:8; S Psalms 136:1; Nahum 1:7
• 29. S 1 Chronicles 16:34; 2 Chronicles 5:13; Psalms 100:4-5
• 30. Psalms 14:7
• 31. S Isaiah 1:26
• 32. Jeremiah 32:43
• 33. ver 10
• 34. S Isaiah 65:10; Ezekiel 34:11-15
• 35. S Jeremiah 31:5
• 36. S Jeremiah 17:26; Obadiah 1:20
• 37. S Leviticus 27:32
• 38. Deuteronomy 28:1-14; S Joshua 23:15; S Jeremiah 29:10
• 39. S Psalms 72:2
• 40. S Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5
• 41. S 2 Samuel 7:12
• 42. S Isaiah 45:17
• 43. S Jeremiah 17:25; S Jeremiah 32:37
• 44. Isaiah 59:14; Jeremiah 3:17; Ezekiel 48:35; Zephaniah 3:13; Zechariah 8:3,16
• 45. S 1 Corinthians 1:30
• 46. S 2 Samuel 7:13; 1 Kings 2:4; S 2 Chronicles 7:18; Psalms 89:29-37; S Luke 1:33
• 47. S Numbers 25:11-13; Hebrews 7:17-22
• 48. S Deuteronomy 18:1
• 49. Hebrews 13:15
• 50. Psalms 89:36
• 51. S Genesis 1:14
• 52. Psalms 89:34
• 53. S Deuteronomy 18:1
• 54. S 2 Samuel 7:13; S 2 Chronicles 7:18
• 55. Genesis 15:5; S Genesis 12:2; S Jeremiah 30:19; Hosea 1:10
• 56. Ezekiel 37:22
• 57. S Nehemiah 4:4
• 58. S Jeremiah 30:17; Ezekiel 36:20
• 59. S Genesis 1:18; Jeremiah 31:35-36
• 60. S Psalms 148:6
• 61. Psalms 74:16-17
• 62. S Leviticus 26:44; Jeremiah 31:37
• 63. S Isaiah 14:1
• 64. ver 7; Psalms 14:7
• 65. S Jeremiah 30:18

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "Chaldeans"
• [b]. Or "will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel"
• [c]. Or "he"
• [d]. Or "families"
• [e]. Or "will bring them back from captivity"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 33

This chapter is a continuation of prophecies of spiritual blessings on the church of Christ in Gospel times, of which the return of the Jews from captivity, and the benefits following on that, were types. The place where Jeremiah had this prophecy communicated to him, the prison, Jer 33:1; the author of it, Jehovah, who describes himself, Jer 33:2; encourages the prophet to pray unto him, promising an answer, and a discovery of great and hidden things, Jer 33:3; not so much concerning the destruction of the city, and the rebuilding it, Jer 33:4,5; as spiritual blessings to the church, signified by it; such as a healthful state and condition through Christ, the sun of righteousness, arising with healing in his wings, and a revelation of abundance of peace and truth by him, Jer 33:6; a release of captives, and a rebuilding of the church, Jer 33:7; free and full forgiveness of all sins, Jer 33:8; the church a praise in the whole earth; much joy in it, and glory to God by it, Jer 33:9-11; spiritual pastors or shepherds feeding their flocks, and taking very diligent care of them, Jer 33:12,13; a promise of the Messiah as a righteous Branch; as the Saviour and safeguard of his people; and as the Lord their righteousness, Jer 33:14-16; an assurance of the continuance of the kingly and priestly offices in him, whereby the covenant of God with David and the Levites would be for ever secured, Jer 33:17-22; and the chapter is concluded with a promise of the perseverance of the saints and people of God; which is represented as certain as the covenant with day and night, and as the ordinances of heaven and earth, in opposition to a suggestion to the contrary, Jer 33:23-26.