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12 “I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, say:[a] ‘This place will indeed lie in ruins. There will be no people or animals in it. But there will again be in it and in its towns sheepfolds where shepherds can rest their sheep. 13 I, the Lord, say that shepherds will once again count their sheep as they pass into the fold.[b] They will do this in all the towns in the hill country, the foothills,[c] the Negev,[d] the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, and the towns of Judah.’[e]

The Lord Reaffirms His Covenant with David, Israel, and Levi

14 “I, the Lord, affirm:[f] ‘The time will certainly come when I will fulfill my gracious promise concerning the nations of Israel and Judah.[g]

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 33:12 tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of Armies.” For the explanation for the first person introduction see the translator’s notes on 33:2, 10. Verses 4, 10, and 12 introduce three oracles, all fulfilling the Lord’s promise to Jeremiah to show him “great and mysterious things that you still do not know about” (33:2).
  2. Jeremiah 33:13 sn Heb “Sheep will again pass under the hands of the counter.” This appears to be a reference to counting the sheep to make sure that none was missing as they returned to the fold. See the same idiom in Lev 27:32 and in the metaphor in Ezek 20:37.
  3. Jeremiah 33:13 tn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the transition region between the hill country and the coastal plains.
  4. Jeremiah 33:13 sn The Negev is the area of central, southern Judah, south of the hill country and Beer Sheba and west of the rift valley.
  5. Jeremiah 33:13 sn Cf. Jer 32:44.
  6. Jeremiah 33:14 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.” For the first person form of address see the translator’s notes on vv. 2, 10, and 12.
  7. Jeremiah 33:14 sn This refers at the very least to the promises of Jer 23:5-6, 7-8; 30:3; 31:27, 31, where the same formula, “The time will certainly come” (Heb “Behold, the days are coming”), occurs. Reference may also be to the promises through the earlier prophets of what is alluded to here, i.e., restoration of Israel and Judah under a Davidic ruler and revival of the offerings (cf. Hos 1:10-11; 3:4-5; Amos 9:11-12; Isa 11:1-5, 10-16; Jer 30:9, 21 for the former, and Jer 31:14; 33:11 for the latter).