Jeremiah 31
31
Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy
1“At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
2Thus says the Lord,
“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to find its rest.”
3The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
4Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
Again you will take up your tambourines,
And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.
5Again you will plant vineyards
On the hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will enjoy them.
6For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’ ”
7For thus says the Lord,
“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise and say,
‘O Lord, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel.’
8Behold, I am bringing them from the north country,
And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;
A great company, they will return here.
9With weeping they will come,
And by supplication I will lead them;
I will make them walk by streams of waters,
On a straight path in which they will not stumble;
For I am a father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My firstborn.”
10Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare in the coastlands afar off,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him
And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
11For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
12“They will come and shout for joy on the height of Zion,
And they will be radiant over the bounty of the Lord—
Over the grain and the new wine and the oil,
And over the young of the flock and the herd;
And their life will be like a watered garden,
And they will never languish again.
13Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together,
For I will turn their mourning into joy
And will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow.
14I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.
15Thus says the Lord,
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She refuses to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more.”
16Thus says the Lord,
“Restrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
“And they will return from the land of the enemy.
17There is hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
18I have surely heard Ephraim grieving,
‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained calf;
Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.
19For after I turned back, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I smote on my thigh;
I was ashamed and also humiliated
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My heart yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.
21“Set up for yourself roadmarks,
Place for yourself guideposts;
Direct your mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
22How long will you go here and there,
O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman will encompass a man.”
23Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I restore their fortunes,
‘The Lord bless you, O abode of righteousness,
O holy hill!’
24Judah and all its cities will dwell together in it, the farmer and they who go about with flocks. 25For I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes.” 26At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.
A New Covenant
27“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 28As I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord.
29“In those days they will not say again,
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.
31“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
35Thus says the Lord,
Who gives the sun for light by day
And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar;
The Lord of hosts is His name:
36“If this fixed order departs
From before Me,” declares the Lord,
“Then the offspring of Israel also will cease
From being a nation before Me forever.”
37Thus says the Lord,
“If the heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel
For all that they have done,” declares the Lord.
38“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39The measuring line will go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord; it will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”
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Jeremiah 31: NASB1995
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Jeremiah 31
31
The New Israel
1The Lord says, “At that time I will be God of all Israel’s family groups. And they will be my people.”
2This is what the Lord says:
“Some of the people were not killed by the enemy’s sword.
Those people will find help in the desert.
I have come to give rest to Israel.”
3And from far away the Lord appeared to his people. He said,
“I love you people
with a love that will last forever.
I became your friend
because of my love and kindness.
4People of Israel, I will build you up again,
and you will be rebuilt.
You will pick up your tambourines again.
You will dance with those who are joyful.
5You will plant vineyards again
on the hills around Samaria.
The farmers will plant them
and enjoy their fruit.
6There will be a time when watchmen in the mountains of Ephraim shout this message:
‘Come, let’s go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord our God!’”
7This is what the Lord says:
“Be happy and sing for the people of Jacob.
Shout for Israel, the greatest of the nations.
Sing your praises and shout this:
‘Lord, save your people!
Save those who are left alive from the nation of Israel!’
8Look, I will bring Israel from the country in the north.
I will gather them from the faraway places on earth.
Some of the people are blind and crippled.
Some of the women will be pregnant and ready to give birth.
A great many people will come back.
9Those people will be crying as they come back.
But they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead those people by streams of water.
I will lead them on an even road where they will not stumble.
This is because I am Israel’s father.
And Israel is my firstborn son.
10“Nations, listen to the message from the Lord.
Tell this message in the faraway lands by the sea:
‘The one who scattered the people of Israel will bring them back together.
And he will watch over his people like a shepherd.’
11The Lord will bring the people of Jacob back.
The Lord will buy them back from people stronger than they were.
12The people of Israel will come to the high points of Jerusalem.
There they will shout for joy.
Their faces will shine with happiness about all the good things from the Lord:
the grain, new wine, oil, young sheep and cows.
They will be like a garden that has plenty of water.
And the people of Israel will not be troubled anymore.
13Then young women of Israel will be happy and dance.
The young men and old men will also dance.
I will change their sadness into happiness.
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sadness.
14The priests will have more than enough sacrifices.
And my people will be filled with the good things I give them!” says the Lord.
15This is what the Lord says:
“A sound was heard in Ramah.
It was painful crying and much sadness.
Rachel cries for her children.
And she cannot be comforted,
because her children are dead!”
16But this is what the Lord says:
“Stop crying.
Don’t let your eyes fill with tears.
You will be rewarded for your work!” says the Lord.
“The people will come back from their enemy’s land.
17So there is hope for you!” says the Lord.
“Your children will come back to their own land.
18“I have heard Israel moaning:
‘Lord, you punished me, and I have learned my lesson.
I was like a calf that had never been trained.
Take me back, and I will come back.
You truly are the Lord my God.
19Lord, I wandered away from you.
But I changed my heart and life.
Once I understood,
I beat my breast with sorrow.
I am ashamed and disgraced
because of the foolish things I did when I was young.’
20“You know that Israel is my dear son.
I love that child.
Yes, I often speak against Israel,
but I still remember him.
I love him very much.
And I want to comfort him,” says the Lord.
21“People of Israel, fix the road signs.
Put up the signs that show you the way home.
Watch the road.
Pay attention to the road on which you travel.
People of Israel, come home.
Come back to your towns.
22You are an unfaithful daughter.
How long will you wander before you come home?
The Lord will make something new happen in the land:
A woman will go seeking a man.”
23The Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: “I will again do good things for the people of Judah. At that time the people in the land of Judah and its towns will again say: ‘May the Lord bless you. You are a righteous dwelling. You are a holy mountain.’ 24People in all the towns of Judah will live together in peace. Farmers and those who move around with their flocks will live together in peace. 25I will give rest and strength to those who are weak and tired.”
26After hearing that, I, Jeremiah, woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very pleasant.
27The Lord says, “The days are coming when I will help the families of Israel and Judah to grow. I will help their children and animals to grow, too. It will be like planting and caring for a plant. 28In the past I watched over Israel and Judah, but I watched for the time to pull them up. I tore them down. I destroyed them. I brought disaster to them. But now I will watch over them to build them up and make them strong,” says the Lord.
29“At that time people will no longer say:
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes.
And that caused the children to grind their teeth from the sour taste.’
30But each person will die for his own sin. The person who eats sour grapes will grind his own teeth.
The New Agreement
31“Look, the time is coming,” says the Lord,
“when I will make a new agreement.
It will be with the people of Israel
and the people of Judah.
32It will not be like the agreement
I made with their ancestors.
That was when I took them by the hand
to bring them out of Egypt.
I was a husband to them,
but they broke that agreement,” says the Lord.
33“I will make this agreement
with the people of Israel,” says the Lord.
“I will put my teachings in their minds.
And I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34People will no longer have to teach their neighbors and relatives
to know the Lord.
This is because all people will know me,
from the least to the most important,” says the Lord.
“I will forgive them for the wicked things they did.
I will not remember their sins anymore.”
The Lord Will Never Leave Israel
35This is what the Lord says:
“The Lord makes the sun shine in the day.
And he makes the moon and stars shine at night.
He stirs up the sea so that its waves crash on the shore.
The Lord of heaven’s armies is his name.
36“Only if these laws should ever fail,”
says the Lord,
“will Israel’s descendants stop
being a nation before me.”
37This is what the Lord says:
“There’s only one way I will reject all the descendants of Israel.
That is if people can measure the sky above.
It is if they can learn the secrets of the earth below.
Then I will reject them because of what they have done,” says the Lord.
The New Jerusalem
38The Lord says, “The days are coming when Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me. Everything from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate will be rebuilt. 39The measuring line will stretch from the Corner Gate straight to the hill of Gareb. Then it will turn to the place named Goah. 40There is the whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown. It will be holy to the Lord. And all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley will be included. They are on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate. All that area will be holy to the Lord. The city of Jerusalem will never again be torn down or destroyed.”
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