Timeline

The Second Exodus

The prophets of the exile and writers after them describe Israel's return from Babylon as a repetition of the escape from Egypt. God again opens a way through the sea and the wilderness, sends a messenger to prepare the road, and brings the people home, so that the deliverance under Moses becomes the pattern for a greater rescue still to come. The parting of the sea, the plagues on Egypt, the guiding messenger, and the hurried departure at Passover all return as images of restoration, now joined to a renewed covenant and a homecoming that reaches beyond Israel to the nations. Later writers read the ministry of Jesus and the visions of the end through the same framework.

Timeline

Exodus 3:20 / Micah 7:15
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 3:20
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, not even under force. 20 So I will extend my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do among them, and after that he will release you.21 “I will grant this people favor with the Egyptians, so that when you depart you will not leave empty-handed.
2. 740–401 BCE
  
  Micah 7:15
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  14 Shepherd your people with your rod, the flock that belongs to you, the one that lives alone in a thicket, in the midst of a pastureland. Allow them to graze in Bashan and Gilead, as they did in the old days.15 “As in the days when you departed from the land of Egypt, I will show you miraculous deeds.”16 Nations will see this and be disappointed by all their strength; they will put their hands over their mouths and act as if they were deaf.
Exodus 6:7 / Jeremiah 31:33
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 6:7
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  6 Therefore, tell the Israelites, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians, I will rescue you from the hard labor they impose, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from your enslavement to the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land which I raised my hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”
2. 627–450 BCE
  
  Jeremiah 31:33
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the Lord. 33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”
Exodus 7:18 / Isaiah 50:2
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 7:18
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  17 This is what the Lord has said: “By this you will know that I am the Lord: I am going to strike the water of the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood. 18 Fish in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile.”’”19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters—over their rivers, over their canals, over their ponds, and over all their gathered waters—so that it becomes blood.’ There will be blood everywhere in the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.”20 Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord had commanded. He raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.
2. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 50:2
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 This is what the Lord says: “Where is your mother’s divorce certificate by which I divorced her? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold because of your sins; because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother.2 Why does no one challenge me when I come? Why does no one respond when I call? Is my hand too weak to deliver you? Do I lack the power to rescue you? Look, with a mere shout I can dry up the sea; I can turn streams into a desert, so the fish rot away and die from lack of water.3 I can clothe the sky in darkness; I can cover it with sackcloth.”4 The Sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, so that I know how to help the weary. He wakes me up every morning; he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do.
Exodus 12:11 / Isaiah 52:12
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 12:11
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  10 You must leave nothing until morning, but you must burn with fire whatever remains of it until morning. 11 This is how you are to eat it—dressed to travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.12 “‘I will pass through the land of Egypt in the same night, and I will attack all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord.
2. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 52:12
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there! Don’t touch anything unclean! Get out of it! Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items.12 Yet do not depart quickly or leave in a panic. For the Lord goes before you; the God of Israel is your rear guard.13 Look, my servant will act wisely! He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted—
Exodus 13:3 / Jeremiah 16:14
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 13:3
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  2 “Set apart to me every firstborn male—the first offspring of every womb among the Israelites, whether human or animal; it is mine.”3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out from Egypt, from the place where you were enslaved, for the Lord brought you out of there with a mighty hand—and no bread made with yeast may be eaten. 4 On this day, in the month of Abib, you are going out.
2. 627–450 BCE
  
  Jeremiah 16:14
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have ever known. There you must worship other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.’14 “Yet I, the Lord, say: ‘A new time will certainly come. People now affirm their oaths with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.” 15 But in that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.” At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.
Exodus 14:16 / Isaiah 63:12
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 14:16
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  14 The Lord will fight for you, and you can be still.”15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 And as for you, lift up your staff and extend your hand toward the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites may go through the middle of the sea on dry ground. 17 And as for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will come after them, that I may be honored because of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I have gained my honor because of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
2. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 63:12
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  10 But they rebelled and offended his Holy Spirit, so he turned into an enemy and fought against them.11 His people remembered the ancient times. Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea, along with the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed his Holy Spirit among them,12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, who divided the water before them, gaining for himself a lasting reputation,13 who led them through the deep water? Like a horse running through the wilderness they did not stumble.14 As an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest. In this way you guided your people, gaining for yourself an honored reputation.
Exodus 14:22 / Isaiah 11:15
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 14:22
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  19 The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20 It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other the whole night.21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. 22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians chased them and followed them into the middle of the sea—all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
2. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 11:15
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end, and Judah’s hostility will be eliminated. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.14 They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects.15 The Lord will divide the gulf of the Egyptian Sea; he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River and send a strong wind; he will turn it into seven dried-up streams and enable them to walk across in their sandals.16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria for the remnant of his people, just as there was for Israel, when they went up from the land of Egypt.
Exodus 14:21 / Isaiah 43:16
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 14:21
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  19 The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20 It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other the whole night.21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. 22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
2. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 43:16
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the one who created Israel, your King.”16 This is what the Lord says, the one who made a road through the sea, a pathway through the surging waters,17 the one who led chariots and horses to destruction, together with a mighty army. They fell down, never to rise again; they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:18 “Don’t remember these earlier events; don’t recall these former events.19 “Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the wilderness and paths in the wastelands.
Exodus 15:3 / Isaiah 42:13
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 15:3
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.3 The Lord is a man of war— the Lord is his name.4 The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he has thrown into the sea, and his chosen officers were drowned in the Red Sea.
2. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 42:13
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  12 Let them give the Lord the honor he deserves; let them praise his deeds in the coastlands.13 The Lord emerges like a hero, like a man of war he inspires himself for battle; he shouts, yes, he yells, he shows his enemies his power.14 “I have been inactive for a long time; I kept quiet and held back. Like a woman in labor I groan; I pant and gasp.
Exodus 15:20 / Jeremiah 31:4
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 15:20
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  18 The Lord will reign forever and ever!19 For the horses of Pharaoh came with his chariots and his footmen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.” 20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand drums and with dances.21 Miriam sang in response to them, “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.”22 Then Moses led Israel to journey away from the Red Sea. They went out to the wilderness of Shur, walked for three days into the wilderness, and found no water.
2. 627–450 BCE
  
  Jeremiah 31:4
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  2 The Lord says: “The people of Israel who survived death at the hands of the enemy will find favor in the wilderness as they journey to find rest for themselves.3 In a faraway land the Lord will manifest himself to them. He will say to them, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, so that you will once again be built up. Once again you will take up the tambourine and join in the happy throng of dancers.5 Once again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria. Those who plant them will once again enjoy their fruit.6 Yes, a time is coming when watchmen will call out on the mountains of Ephraim, “Come! Let us go to Zion to worship the Lord our God!”’”
Exodus 19:4 / Hosea 2:15
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 19:4
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  3 Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, “Thus you will tell the house of Jacob, and declare to the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine,
2. 750–501 BCE
  
  Hosea 2:15
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  14 “However, in the future I will allure her; I will lead her back into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.15 From there I will give back her vineyards to her and turn the ‘Valley of Trouble’ into an ‘Opportunity for Hope.’ There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt.16 At that time,” declares the Lord, “you will call me, ‘My husband’; you will never again call me, ‘My master.’
Exodus 23:20 / Isaiah 63:9
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 23:20
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  18 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrifice with bread containing yeast; the fat of my festal sacrifice must not remain until morning. 19 The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God. “You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.20 “I am going to send a messenger before you to protect you as you journey and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. 21 Take heed because of him, and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my Name is in him. 22 But if you diligently obey him and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries.
2. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 63:9
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord, of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds. I will tell about all the Lord did for us, the many good things he did for the family of Israel, because of his compassion and great faithfulness.8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people, children who are not disloyal.” He became their deliverer.9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them. In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.10 But they rebelled and offended his Holy Spirit, so he turned into an enemy and fought against them.11 His people remembered the ancient times. Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea, along with the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed his Holy Spirit among them,
Exodus 23:20 / Malachi 3:1
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 23:20
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  18 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrifice with bread containing yeast; the fat of my festal sacrifice must not remain until morning. 19 The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God. “You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.20 “I am going to send a messenger before you to protect you as you journey and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. 21 Take heed because of him, and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my Name is in him. 22 But if you diligently obey him and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries.
2. 500–450 BCE
  
  Malachi 3:1
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 “Behold, I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. 3 He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the Lord a proper offering.
Exodus 23:20 / Isaiah 40:3
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 23:20
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  19 The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God. “You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.20 “I am going to send a messenger before you to protect you as you journey and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. 21 Take heed because of him, and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my Name is in him. 22 But if you diligently obey him and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries.
2. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 40:3
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”3 A voice cries out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord; build a level road through the rift valley for our God.4 Every valley must be elevated and every mountain and hill leveled. The rough terrain will become a level plain, the rugged landscape a wide valley.
Exodus 32:11 / Ezekiel 20:34
1. 750–400 BCE
  
  Exodus 32:11
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  10 So now, leave me alone so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation.”11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘For evil he led them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger, and relent of this evil against your people.
2. 600–501 BCE
  
  Ezekiel 20:34
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  33 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you. 34 I will bring you out from the nations and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage! 35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face-to-face.
Isaiah 11:15 / Zechariah 10:11
1. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 11:15
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end, and Judah’s hostility will be eliminated. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.14 They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects.15 The Lord will divide the gulf of the Egyptian Sea; he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River and send a strong wind; he will turn it into seven dried-up streams and enable them to walk across in their sandals.16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria for the remnant of his people, just as there was for Israel, when they went up from the land of Egypt.
2. 520–201 BCE
  
  Zechariah 10:11
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  9 Though I scatter them among the nations, they will remember in far-off places—they and their children will survive and return.10 I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be enough room for them.11 The Lord will cross the sea of storms and will calm its turbulence. The depths of the Nile will dry up, the pride of Assyria will be humbled, and the domination of Egypt will be no more.12 Thus I will strengthen them by my power, and they will walk about in my name,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 40:3 / Malachi 3:1
1. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 40:3
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”3 A voice cries out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord; build a level road through the rift valley for our God.4 Every valley must be elevated and every mountain and hill leveled. The rough terrain will become a level plain, the rugged landscape a wide valley.5 The splendor of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it at the same time. For the Lord has decreed it.”
2. 500–450 BCE
  
  Malachi 3:1
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 “Behold, I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. 3 He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the Lord a proper offering.
Isaiah 40:4 / Zechariah 4:7
1. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 40:4
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  2 “Speak kindly to Jerusalem and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.”3 A voice cries out, “In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord; build a level road through the rift valley for our God.4 Every valley must be elevated and every mountain and hill leveled. The rough terrain will become a level plain, the rugged landscape a wide valley.5 The splendor of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it at the same time. For the Lord has decreed it.”6 A voice says, “Cry out!” Another asks, “What should I cry out?” The first voice responds: “All people are like grass, and all their promises are like the flowers in the field.
2. 520–201 BCE
  
  Zechariah 4:7
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  5 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” So I responded, “No, sir.” 6 Therefore he told me, “This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 7 “What are you, you great mountain? Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’ because of this.”8 Moreover, the Lord’s message came to me as follows: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you.
Isaiah 45:6 / Malachi 1:11
1. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 45:6
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, Israel, my chosen one, I call you by name and give you a title of respect, even though you do not submit to me.5 I am the Lord, I have no peer, there is no God but me. I arm you for battle, even though you do not recognize me.6 I do this so people will recognize from east to west that there is no God but me; I am the Lord, I have no peer.7 I am the one who forms light and creates darkness; the one who brings about peace and creates calamity. I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.8 O sky, rain down from above! Let the clouds send down showers of deliverance! Let the earth absorb it so salvation may grow and deliverance may sprout up along with it. I, the Lord, create it.’”
2. 500–450 BCE
  
  Malachi 1:11
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  9 “But now plead for God’s favor that he might be gracious to us.” “With this kind of offering in your hands, how can he be pleased with you?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 10 “I wish that one of you would close the temple doors, so that you no longer would light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will no longer accept an offering from you. 11 For from the east to the west my name will be great among the nations. Incense and pure offerings will be offered in my name everywhere, for my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12 “But you are profaning it by saying that the table of the Lord is common and its offerings despicable. 13 You also say, ‘How tiresome it is.’ You turn up your nose at it,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and instead bring what is stolen, lame, or sick. You bring these things for an offering! Should I accept this from you?” asks the Lord.
Isaiah 52:7 / Nahum 1:15
1. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 52:7
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  5 And now, what do we have here?” says the Lord. “Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing, those who rule over them taunt,” says the Lord, “and my name is constantly slandered all day long. 6 For this reason my people will know my name; for this reason they will know at that time that I am the one who says, ‘Here I am.’”7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains the feet of a messenger who announces peace, a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”8 Listen, your watchmen shout; in unison they shout for joy, for they see with their very own eyes the Lord’s return to Zion.9 In unison give a joyful shout, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the Lord consoles his people; he protects Jerusalem.
2. 663–601 BCE
  
  Nahum 1:15
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  13 And now, I will break Assyria’s yoke bar from your neck; I will tear apart the shackles that are on you.”14 The Lord has issued a decree against you: “Your dynasty will come to an end. I will destroy the idols and images in the temples of your gods. I will desecrate your grave, because you are accursed!”15 Look! A herald is running on the mountains! A messenger is proclaiming deliverance: “Celebrate your sacred festivals, O Judah! Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God! For never again will the wicked Assyrians invade you; they have been completely destroyed.”
Isaiah 56:6 / Zechariah 2:11
1. 740–350 BCE
  
  Isaiah 56:6
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  4 For this is what the Lord says: “For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me and are faithful to my covenant,5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument that will be better than sons and daughters. I will set up a permanent monument for them that will remain.6 As for foreigners who become followers of the Lord and serve him, who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants—all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, and who are faithful to my covenant—7 I will bring them to my holy mountain; I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.”8 The Sovereign Lord says this, the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will still gather them up.”
2. 520–201 BCE
  
  Zechariah 2:11
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  9 Yes, look here, I am about to punish them so that they will be looted by their own slaves.” Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. 10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter! For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, and they will also be my people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of Judah as his portion in the holy land and he will choose Jerusalem once again.13 Be silent in the Lord’s presence, all people everywhere, for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place.”
Deuteronomy 30:3 / Jeremiah 29:14
1. 640–500 BCE
  
  Deuteronomy 30:3
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses I have set before you, you will reflect upon them in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you. 2 Then if you and your descendants turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being just as I am commanding you today, 3 the Lord your God will reverse your captivity and have pity on you. He will turn and gather you from all the peoples among whom he has scattered you. 4 Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. 5 Then he will bring you to the land your ancestors possessed and you also will possess it; he will do better for you and multiply you more than he did your ancestors.
2. 627–450 BCE
  
  Jeremiah 29:14
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  12 When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers. 13 When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul, 14 I will make myself available to you,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will reverse your plight and will regather you from all the nations and all the places where I have exiled you,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’15 “You say, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets of good news for us here in Babylon.’ 16 But just listen to what the Lord has to say about the king who occupies David’s throne and all your fellow countrymen who are still living in this city of Jerusalem and were not carried off into exile with you.
Jeremiah 31:33 / Ezekiel 36:27
1. 627–450 BCE
  
  Jeremiah 31:33
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  31 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the Lord. 33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”35 The Lord has made a promise to Israel. He promises it as the one who fixed the sun to give light by day and the moon and stars to give light by night. He promises it as the one who stirs up the sea so that its waves roll. His name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2. 600–501 BCE
  
  Ezekiel 36:27
  
  Hebrew Bible
  
  25 I will sprinkle you with pure water, and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my Spirit within you; I will take the initiative, and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my regulations. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it; I will not bring a famine on you.