¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. ³ The days are coming,` declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,` says the Lord.” ⁴ These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: ⁵ “This is what the Lord says: “‘Cries of fear are heard— terror, not peace. ⁶ Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale? ⁷ How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it. ⁸ “‘In that day,` declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them.