Jeremiah 31
31
1“At that time I will be the God of all the families of Israel,” announces the Lord. “And they will be my people.”
2The Lord says,
“Some of my people will live through
everything their enemies do to them.
They will find help in the desert.
I will come to give peace and rest to Israel.”
3The Lord appeared to us in the past. He said,
“I have loved you with a love that lasts forever.
I have kept on loving you with a kindness that never fails.
4I will build you up again.
Nation of Israel, you will be rebuilt.
Once again you will use your tambourines to celebrate.
You will go out and dance with joy.
5Once again you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria.
Farmers will plant them.
They will enjoy their fruit.
6There will be a day when those on guard duty will cry out.
They will stand on the hills of Ephraim.
And they will shout,
‘Come! Let’s go up to Zion.
Let’s go up to where the Lord our God is.’ ”
7The Lord says,
“Sing for joy because the people of Jacob are blessed.
Shout because the Lord has made them the greatest nation.
Make your praises heard.
Say, ‘Lord, save your people.
Save the people who are left alive in Israel.’
8I will bring them from the land of the north.
I will gather them from one end of the earth to the other.
Even those who are blind and those who can’t walk
will be among them.
Pregnant women and women having their babies
will be among them also.
Many of them will return.
9Their eyes will be filled with tears as they come.
They will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water.
I will lead them on a level path
where they will not trip or fall.
I am Israel’s father.
And Ephraim is my oldest son.
10“Listen to my message, you nations.
Announce it on shores far away.
Say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them.
He will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’
11I will set the people of Jacob free.
I will save them from those who are stronger than they are.
12They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion.
They will be joyful because of everything I give them.
I give them grain, olive oil and fresh wine.
I give them the young animals in their flocks and herds.
Israel will be like a garden that has plenty of water.
And they will not be sad anymore.
13Then young women will dance and be glad.
And so will the men, young and old alike.
I will turn their mourning into gladness.
I will comfort them.
And I will give them joy instead of sorrow.
14I will satisfy the priests. I will give them more than enough.
And my people will be filled with the good things I give them,”
announces the Lord.
15The Lord says,
“A voice is heard in Ramah.
It is the sound of weeping and deep sadness.
Rachel is weeping for her children.
She refuses to be comforted,
because they are gone.”
16The Lord says,
“Do not weep anymore.
Do not let tears fall from your eyes.
I will reward you for your work,”
announces the Lord.
“Your children will return from the land of the enemy.
17So there is hope for your children,”
announces the Lord.
“Your children will return to their own land.
18“I have heard the groans of Ephraim’s people. They say,
‘You corrected us like a calf you were training.
And we have been trained.
Bring us back to you, and we will come back.
You are the Lord our God.
19After we wandered away from you,
we turned away from our sins.
After we learned our lesson,
we beat our chests in sorrow.
We were full of shame.
What we did when we were young brought dishonor on us.’
20Aren’t the people of Ephraim my dear children?
Aren’t they the children I take delight in?
I often speak against them.
But I still remember them.
So my heart longs for them.
I love them with a tender love,”
announces the Lord.
21The Lord says, “Put up road signs.
Set up stones to show the way.
Look carefully for the highway.
Look for the road you will take.
Return, people of Israel.
Return to your towns.
22How long will you wander,
my people Israel, who are not faithful to me?
I will create a new thing on earth.
The woman will return to the man.”
23The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “I will bring them back from the place where they were taken. Here is what the people in Judah and its towns will say once again. ‘May the Lord bless you, you successful city. Sacred mountain, may he bless you.’ 24People will live together in Judah and all its towns. Farmers and shepherds will live there. 25I will give rest to those who are tired. I will satisfy those who are weak.”
26When I heard this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.
27Here is what the Lord announces. “The days are coming when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah again. I will plant them with children and young animals. 28I watched over Israel and Judah to pull them up by the roots. I tore them down. I crushed them. I destroyed them. I brought horrible trouble on them. But now I will watch over them to build them up and plant them,” announces the Lord. 29“In those days people will no longer say,
“ ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes.
But the children have a bitter taste in their mouths.’
30Instead, everyone will die for their own sin. The one who eats sour grapes will taste how bitter they are.
31“The days are coming,” announces the Lord.
“I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel.
I will also make it with the people of Judah.
32It will not be like the covenant
I made with their people of long ago.
That was when I took them by the hand.
I led them out of Egypt.
But they broke my covenant.
They did it even though I was like a husband to them,”
announces the Lord.
33“This is the covenant I will make with Israel
after that time,” announces the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds.
I will write it on their hearts.
I will be their God.
And they will be my people.
34They will not need to teach their neighbor anymore.
And they will not need to teach one another anymore.
They will not need to say, ‘Know the Lord.’
That’s because everyone will know me.
From the least important of them to the most important,
all of them will know me,”
announces the Lord.
“I will forgive their evil ways.
I will not remember their sins anymore.”
35The Lord speaks.
He makes the sun
shine by day.
He orders the moon and stars
to shine at night.
He stirs up the ocean.
He makes its waves roar.
His name is the Lord Who Rules Over All.
36“Suppose my orders for creation disappear from my sight,”
announces the Lord.
“Only then will the people of Israel stop being
a nation in my sight.”
37The Lord says,
“Suppose the sky above could be measured.
Suppose the foundations of the earth below could be completely discovered.
Only then would I turn away the people of Israel.
Even though they have committed many sins,
I will still accept them,”
announces the Lord.
38“The days are coming,” announces the Lord. “At that time Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me. It will be rebuilt from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39The measuring line will reach out from there. It will go straight to the hill of Gareb. Then it will turn and reach as far as Goah. 40There is a valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown. That whole valley will be holy to me. The side of the Kidron Valley east of the city will be holy to me. It will be holy all the way to the corner of the Horse Gate. The city will never again be pulled up by the roots. It will never be destroyed.”
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Jeremiah 31: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Jeremiah 31
31
The Remnant of Israel Saved
1“At #Jer. 30:24the same time,” says the Lord, #Jer. 30:22“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 #Ex. 33:14; Num. 10:33; Deut. 1:33; Josh. 1:13; Ps. 95:11; Is. 63:14I went to give him rest.”
3The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:
“Yes, #Deut. 4:37; 7:8; Mal. 1:2I have loved you with #Is. 43:4; Rom. 11:28an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have #Hos. 11:4drawn you.
4Again #Jer. 33:7I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your #Ex. 15:20; Judg. 11:34; Ps. 149:3tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
5#Ps. 107:37; Is. 65:21; Ezek. 28:26; Amos 9:14You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;
The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food.
6For there shall be a day
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
#(Is. 2:3; Jer. 31:12; 50:4, 5; Mic. 4:2)‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’ ”
7For thus says the Lord:
#Is. 12:5, 6“Sing 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 will bring them #Jer. 3:12, 18; 23:8from the north country,
And #Deut. 30:4; Is. 43:6; Ezek. 20:34, 41; 34:13gather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
9#(Ps. 126:5; Jer. 50:4)They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk #Is. 35:8; 43:19; 49:10, 11by the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My #Ex. 4:22firstborn.
10“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel #Is. 40:11; Ezek. 34:12–14will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
11For #Is. 44:23; 48:20; Jer. 15:21; 50:19the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him #Is. 49:24from the hand of one stronger than he.
12Therefore they shall come and sing in #Ezek. 17:23the height of Zion,
Streaming to #Hos. 3:5the goodness of the Lord—
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a #Is. 58:11well-watered garden,
#Is. 35:10; 65:19; (John 16:22; Rev. 21:4)And they shall sorrow no more at all.
13“Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together;
For I will turn their mourning to joy,
Will comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
14I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”
Mercy on Ephraim
15Thus says the Lord:
#Matt. 2:17, 18“A voice was heard in #Josh. 18:25; Judg. 4:5; Is. 10:29; Jer. 40:1Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter #Gen. 37:35weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because #Jer. 10:20they are no more.”
16Thus says the Lord:
“Refrain your voice from #(Is. 25:8; 30:19)weeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17There is #Jer. 29:11hope in your future, says the Lord,
That your children shall come back to their own border.
18“I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have #Job 5:17; Ps. 94:12chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
#Ps. 80:3, 7, 19; Jer. 17:4; Lam. 5:21; (Acts 3:26)Restore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.
19Surely, #Deut. 30:2after my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was #Ezek. 36:31; (Zech. 12:10)ashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
#Gen. 43:30; Deut. 32:36; Judg. 10:16; Is. 63:15; Hos. 11:8Therefore My heart yearns for him;
#Is. 57:18; Jer. 3:12; 12:15; (Hos. 14:4); Mic. 7:18I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.
21“Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
#Jer. 50:5Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.
22How long will you #Jer. 2:18, 23, 36gad about,
O you #Jer. 3:6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 22backsliding daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”
Future Prosperity of Judah
23Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: #Ps. 122:5–8; Is. 1:26‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and #(Zech. 8:3)mountain of holiness!’ 24And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and #Jer. 33:12in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. 25For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”
26After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was #Prov. 3:24sweet to me.
27“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that #Ezek. 36:9–11; Hos. 2:23I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28And it shall come to pass, that as I have #Jer. 44:27; Dan. 9:14watched over them #Jer. 1:10; 18:7to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them #Jer. 24:6to build and to plant, says the Lord. 29#Lam. 5:7; Ezek. 18:2, 3In those days they shall say no more:
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30#Deut. 24:16; 2 Chr. 25:4; Is. 3:11; (Ezek. 18:4, 20; Gal. 6:5, 7)But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
A New Covenant
31“Behold, the #Jer. 32:40; 33:14; Ezek. 37:26; Heb. 8:8–12; 10:16, 17days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that #Deut. 1:31; Is. 63:12I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33#Jer. 32:40; Heb. 10:16But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: #Ps. 40:8; (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26, 27; 2 Cor. 3:3)I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; #Jer. 24:7; 30:22; 32:38and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for #Is. 11:9; 54:13; Jer. 24:7; Hab. 2:14; (John 6:45; 1 Cor. 2:10; 1 John 2:20)they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For #Jer. 33:8; 50:20; Mic. 7:18; (Acts 10:43; 13:39; Rom. 11:27)I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
35Thus says the Lord,
#Gen. 1:14–18; Deut. 4:19; Ps. 72:5, 17; 89:2, 36; 119:91Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs #Is. 51:15the sea,
And its waves roar
#Jer. 10:16(The Lord of hosts is His name):
36“If #Ps. 148:6; Is. 54:9, 10; Jer. 33:20those ordinances depart
From before Me, says the Lord,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease
From being a nation before Me forever.”
37Thus says the Lord:
#Is. 40:12; Jer. 33:22“If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also #Jer. 33:24–26; (Rom. 11:2–5, 26, 27)cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, says the Lord.
38“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the city shall be built for the Lord #Neh. 3:1; 12:39; Zech. 14:10from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39#Ezek. 40:8; Zech. 2:1, 2The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. 40And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, #2 Kin. 11:16; 2 Chr. 23:15; Neh. 3:28to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, #(Joel 3:17); Zech. 14:20shall be holy to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.