The new messages build on the theme of Jeremiah 29:10–14 (see 3:18; 16:15; 24:6). The fall of Jerusalem and the Exile did not end the Lord's relationship with Israel. The Lord planned a bright future for the remaining people. Descendants of those from the northern kingdom of Israel, exiled by the Assyrians in 722 BC, would return. Similarly, descendants of Judah's people, exiled to Babylon in 597 and 586 BC, would come back to the Promised Land.
I will restore them to the land: The first major return from exile happened in 538 BC (Ezra 1:1–6:22), the second in 458 BC (Ezra 7:1–10:44), and the third in 445 BC (Nehemiah 1–13).