This is what the Lord says:“ The whole land will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.

耶和华如此说：“全地必然荒凉，我却不毁灭净尽。

耶和华如此说：“全地必然荒凉，我却不毁灭净尽。

耶和华如此说：“全地必然荒凉，我却不毁灭净尽。

耶和华说：“遍地将要荒凉，然而不会被我彻底毁灭。

因为耶和华这样说：“全国都必荒凉，我却不尽行毁灭。

耶和華如此說：全地必然荒涼，我卻不毀滅淨盡。

耶和華如此說：「全地必然荒涼，我卻不毀滅淨盡。

耶和華如此說：「全地必然荒涼，我卻不毀滅淨盡。

耶和華說：「遍地將要荒涼，然而不會被我徹底毀滅。

因為耶和華這樣說：“全國都必荒涼，我卻不盡行毀滅。

因為永恆主這麼說：『全國都必荒涼；但我卻不盡行毁滅。

蓋耶和華云、全地將成荒蕪、然我不盡滅之、

耶和華曰、雖遍地荒蕪、我怒猶不息。

蓋主如是云、全地必荒蕪、然我不盡滅之、

This is what the Lord says:“ The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely.

The Lord says,“ The whole land will be destroyed. But I will not destroy it completely.

For thus says the Lord,“ The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

For this is what the LORD says:“ The whole land will be a desolation, but I will not finish it off.

For this is what the Lord says:“ The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

For thus says the Lord:“ The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end.

For thus saith Jehovah, The whole land shall be a desolation; yet will I not make a full end.

For this is what the Lord says: The whole land will be a desolation, but I will not finish it off.

For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

All this will happen because the LORD said,“ The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it.

For Yahweh says,“ The whole land will be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, for I am with you,” says the Lord.“ I will completely destroy the nations to which I have exiled you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished.”

“ Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy the grapevines, leaving a scattered few alive. Strip the branches from the vines, for these people do not belong to the Lord.

“ Yet even in those days I will not blot you out completely,” says the Lord.

For I am with you and will save you,” says the Lord.“ I will completely destroy the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished.”

I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said,“ Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”And do you remember God’s reply? He said,“ No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace— his undeserved kindness in choosing them.And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is— free and undeserved.So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have— the ones God has chosen— but the hearts of the rest were hardened.

“ But despite all this, I will not utterly reject or despise them while they are in exile in the land of their enemies. I will not cancel my covenant with them by wiping them out, for I am the Lord their God.

While I was still prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah suddenly died. Then I fell face down on the ground and cried out,“ O Sovereign Lord, are you going to kill everyone in Israel?”

And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out,“ Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only a remnant will be saved.For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth quickly and with finality.”And Isaiah said the same thing in another place:“ If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of our children, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.”

Therefore, their land will become desolate, a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will shake their heads in amazement.

I will completely destroy the land and demolish her pride. Her arrogant power will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate that no one will even travel through them.

The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken!The earth mourns and dries up, and the land wastes away and withers. Even the greatest people on earth waste away.The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant.Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.The grapevines waste away, and there is no new wine. All the merrymakers sigh and mourn.The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled; the happy cries of celebration are heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp are silent.Gone are the joys of wine and song; alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out intruders.Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land.The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down.Throughout the earth the story is the same— only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.

Then I said,“ Lord, how long will this go on?” And he replied,“ Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland;until the Lord has sent everyone away, and the entire land of Israel lies deserted.

Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people.

I will crush them and make their cities desolate from the wilderness in the south to Riblah in the north. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

A lion stalks from its den, a destroyer of nations. It has left its lair and is headed your way. It’s going to devastate your land! Your towns will lie in ruins, with no one living in them anymore.

I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Judah. The land will lie in complete desolation.

“ I, the Sovereign Lord, am watching this sinful nation of Israel. I will destroy it from the face of the earth. But I will never completely destroy the family of Israel,” says the Lord.“ For I will give the command and will shake Israel along with the other nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, yet not one true kernel will be lost.

They have made it an empty wasteland; I hear its mournful cry. The whole land is desolate, and no one even cares.On all the bare hilltops, destroying armies can be seen. The sword of the Lord devours people from one end of the nation to the other. No one will escape!

So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.