2 The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: Write down in a scroll all the words I have spoken to you.
3 The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will bring back my people Israel and Judah from captivity, says the Lord. I will bring them home to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it.
4 Here are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:
5 The Lord proclaims:I hear screams of panic and terror;no one is safe.
6 Ask and see:Can men bear children?Then why do I see every manbent over in pain, as if he’s in labor?Why have all turned pale?
7 That day is awful, beyond words.A time of unspeakable painfor my people Jacob.But they will be delivered from it.
8 At that time, I will break the yoke off their necks and remove their shackles. Foreigners will no longer enslave them, declares the Lord of heavenly forces.