3 because the time is coming when I will restore my people, Israel and Judah. I will bring them back to the land that I gave their ancestors, and they will take possession of it again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
4 The Lord says to the people of Israel and Judah:
5 “I heard a cry of terror,a cry of fear and not of peace.
6 Now stop and think!Can a man give birth to a child?Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomachlike a woman in labour?Why is everyone so pale?
7 A terrible day is coming;no other day can compare with it —a time of distress for my people,but they will survive.”
8 The Lord Almighty says: “When that day comes, I will break the yoke that is round their necks and remove their chains, and they will no longer be the slaves of foreigners.
9 Instead, they will serve me, the Lord their God, and a descendant of David, whom I will enthrone as king.