3 For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the lord, have spoken!”
4 This is the message the lord gave concerning Israel and Judah.
5 This is what the lord says:“I hear cries of fear;there is terror and no peace.
6 Now let me ask you a question:Do men give birth to babies?Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced,hands pressed against their sideslike a woman in labor?
7 In all history there has never been such a time of terror.It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel.Yet in the end they will be saved!
8 For in that day,”says the lord of Heaven’s Armies,“I will break the yoke from their necksand snap their chains.Foreigners will no longer be their masters.
9 For my people will serve the lord their Godand their king descended from David—the king I will raise up for them.