Ezekiel 36:37

36:37 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: ¹  I will multiply their people like sheep. ² 

Isaiah 27:6

27:6 The time is coming when Jacob will take root; ³ 

Israel will blossom and grow branches.

The produce ⁴  will fill the surface of the world. ⁵ 

Isaiah 41:17-23

41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;

their tongues are parched from thirst.

I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; ⁶ 

I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

41:18 I will make streams flow down the slopes

and produce springs in the middle of the valleys.

I will turn the desert into a pool of water

and the arid land into springs.

41:19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;

I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.

41:20 I will do this so ⁷  people ⁸  will observe and recognize,

so they will pay attention and understand

that the Lord’s power ⁹  has accomplished this,

and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” ¹⁰ 

The Lord Challenges the Pagan Gods

41:21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord.

“Produce your evidence,” ¹¹  says Jacob’s king. ¹² 

41:22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen!

Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, ¹³ 

so we may examine them ¹⁴  and see how they were fulfilled. ¹⁵ 

Or decree for us some future events!

41:23 Predict how future events will turn out, ¹⁶ 

so we might know you are gods.

Yes, do something good or bad,

so we might be frightened and in awe. ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 30:19

30:19 Out of those places you will hear songs of thanksgiving ¹⁸ 

and the sounds of laughter and merriment.

I will increase their number and they will not dwindle away. ¹⁹ 

I will bring them honor and they will no longer be despised.

Jeremiah 31:27-28

Israel and Judah Will Be Repopulated

31:27 “Indeed, a time is coming,” ²⁰  says the Lord, ²¹  “when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah. ²²  31:28 In the past I saw to it that they were uprooted and torn down, that they were destroyed and demolished. But now I will see to it that they are built up and firmly planted. ²³  I, the Lord, affirm it!” ²⁴ 

Jeremiah 33:12

33:12 “I, the Lord who rules over all, say: ²⁵  ‘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.

Zechariah 8:3-6

8:3 The Lord says, ‘I have returned to Zion and will live within Jerusalem. ²⁶  Now Jerusalem will be called “truthful city,” “mountain of the Lord who rules over all,” “holy mountain.”’ 8:4 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says, ‘Old men and women will once more live in the plazas of Jerusalem, each one leaning on a cane because of advanced age. 8:5 And the streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing. ²⁷  8:6 And,’ says the Lord who rules over all, ‘though such a thing may seem to be difficult in the opinion of the small community of those days, will it also appear difficult to me?’ asks the Lord who rules over all.

¹ tn The Niphal verb may have a tolerative function here, “Again (for) this I will allow myself to be sought by the house of Israel to act for them.” Or it may be reflexive: “I will reveal myself to the house of Israel by doing this also.”

² sn Heb “I will multiply them like sheep, human(s).”

³ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “the coming ones, let Jacob take root.” הַבָּאִים (habba’im, “the coming ones”) should probably be emended to יָמִים בָאִים (yamim va’im, “days [are] coming”) or בְּיָמִים הַבָּאִים (biyamim habba’im, “in the coming days”).

⁴ tn Heb “fruit” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

⁵ sn This apparently refers to a future population explosion. See 26:18.

⁶ tn Heb “will answer them” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

⁷ tn The words “I will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text has here simply, “in order that.”

⁸ tn Heb “they”; NAB, NRSV “that all may see”; CEV, NLT “Everyone will see.”

⁹ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

¹⁰ tn Or “created it” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “has made it happen.”

¹¹ tn Heb “strong [words],” see HALOT 870 s.v. *עֲצֻמוֹת.

¹² sn Apparently this challenge is addressed to the pagan idol gods, see vv. 23-24.

¹³ tn Heb “As for the former things, tell us what they are!”

¹⁴ tn Heb “so we might set [them to] our heart.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “and might know their outcome.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “Declare the coming things, with respect to the end.”

¹⁷ tc The translation assumes the Qere (וְנִרְאֶה [vÿnir’eh], from יָרֵא [yare’], “be afraid”).

¹⁸ tn Heb “Out of them will come thanksgiving and a sound of those who are playful.”

¹⁹ sn Compare Jer 29:6.

²⁰ tn Heb “Behold days are coming!” The particle “Behold” is probably used here to emphasize the reality of a fact. See the translator’s note on 1:6.

²¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

²² tn Heb “Behold, the days are coming and [= when] I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of people and of animals.” For the significance of the metaphor see the study note.

²³ tn Heb “Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and demolish, so I will watch over them to build and to plant.” The words here repeat those of 1:10 and 1:12.

²⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

²⁵ 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, 12 introduce three oracles, all under the answer to the Lord’s promise to Jeremiah to show him “great and mysterious things which you still do not know about.”

²⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²⁷ sn The references to longevity and to children living and playing in peace are eschatological in tone. Elsewhere the millennial kingdom is characterized in a similar manner (cf. Isa 65:20; Jer 31:12-13).