Jeremiah 31
31
1“At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
2This is what the Lord says:
“The people who survive the sword
will find favor in the wilderness;
I will come to give rest to Israel.”
3The Lord appeared to us in the past,#31:3 Or Lord has appeared to us from afar saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
4I will build you up again,
and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt.
Again you will take up your timbrels
and go out to dance with the joyful.
5Again you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria;
the farmers will plant them
and enjoy their fruit.
6There will be a day when watchmen cry out
on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’ ”
7This is what the Lord says:
“Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
‘Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
8See, I will bring them from the land of the north
and gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the lame,
expectant mothers and women in labor;
a great throng will return.
9They will come with weeping;
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
on a level path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,
and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
10“Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;
proclaim it in distant coastlands:
‘He who scattered Israel will gather them
and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’
11For the Lord will deliver Jacob
and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.
12They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord—
the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,
the young of the flocks and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,
and they will sorrow no more.
13Then young women will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
14I will satisfy the priests with abundance,
and my people will be filled with my bounty,”
declares the Lord.
15This is what the Lord says:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
16This is what the Lord says:
“Restrain your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for your work will be rewarded,”
declares the Lord.
“They will return from the land of the enemy.
17So there is hope for your descendants,”
declares the Lord.
“Your children will return to their own land.
18“I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf,
and I have been disciplined.
Restore me, and I will return,
because you are the Lord my God.
19After I strayed,
I repented;
after I came to understand,
I beat my breast.
I was ashamed and humiliated
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20Is not Ephraim my dear son,
the child in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I have great compassion for him,”
declares the Lord.
21“Set up road signs;
put up guideposts.
Take note of the highway,
the road that you take.
Return, Virgin Israel,
return to your towns.
22How long will you wander,
unfaithful Daughter Israel?
The Lord will create a new thing on earth—
the woman will return to#31:22 Or will protect the man.”
23This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity,#31:23 Or I restore their fortunes the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.’ 24People will live together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks. 25I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”
26At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.
27“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord. 29“In those days people will no longer say,
‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.
31“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to#31:32 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac / and I turned away from them,#31:32 Or was their master”
declares the Lord.
33“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
35This is what the Lord says,
he who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar—
the Lord Almighty is his name:
36“Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,”
declares the Lord,
“will Israel ever cease
being a nation before me.”
37This is what the Lord says:
“Only if the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the Lord.
38“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 31: NIV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Jeremiah 31
31
God’s Relationship with His People
1“At that time” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, # Jr 30:22 and they will be My people.”
2This is what the Lord says:
They found favor in the wilderness # Ex 33:12-17 —
the people who survived the sword.
When Israel went to find rest, # Jos 23:1; 2Sm 7:11; 1Kg 8:56; 1Ch 23:25
3the Lord appeared to him # LXX; MT reads me from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love; # Is 54:8
therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you. # Ps 36:10; 109:12
4Again I will build you so that you will be rebuilt,
Virgin Israel. # Jr 18:13; 31:21; Am 5:2
You will take up your tambourines again # Ex 15:20; Jdg 11:34; 1Sm 18:6
and go out in joyful dancing.
5You will plant vineyards again # Am 5:11
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters will plant and will enjoy the fruit. # Lv 19:23,25; Dt 20:6; 28:30
6For there will be a day when watchmen will call out
in the hill country of Ephraim,
“Get up, let’s go up to Zion, # Is 2:3
to Yahweh our God! ”
God’s People Brought Home
7For this is what the Lord says:
Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the chief of the nations!
Proclaim, praise, and say,
“Lord, save Your people, # Ps 28:9; Hab 3:13; Zch 8:7
the remnant of Israel! ” # Is 10:20; Jr 6:9; Ezk 11:13; Mc 2:12; Zph 3:13
8Watch! I am going to bring them from the northern land.
I will gather them from remote regions of the earth # Neh 1:9; Is 43:6; Jr 32:37; Ezk 34:13; 37:21; 39:27; Zch 10:8,10 —
the blind and the lame will be with them, # Lv 21:18; Mt 11:5; Lk 14:13
along with those who are pregnant and those about to give birth.
They will return here as a great assembly! # Ezk 38:15
9They will come weeping,
but I will bring them back with consolation. # LXX; MT reads supplications # Jb 15:11
I will lead them to wadis filled with water
by a smooth way where they will not stumble, # Pr 4:12; Is 63:13; Ezk 36:15
for I am Israel’s Father,
and Ephraim is My firstborn. # Ex 4:22-23; Dt 32:19; Is 63:16; 64:8; Hs 11:1; Mal 2:10; Jn 8:41
10Nations, hear the word of the Lord,
and tell it among the far off coastlands! # Is 40:15; Jr 25:22; 47:4
Say: The One who scattered Israel will gather him. # Dt 30:3; Is 11:12; Ezk 11:17; 20:34,41; 28:25; Mc 4:6; Zph 3:19
He will watch over him as a shepherd guards his flock,
11for the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and redeemed him from the power of one stronger than he. # Is 41:14; 43:1; 44:23; 48:20; 60:16
12They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; # Ps 71:23; 92:4; Is 49:13; Zch 2:10
they will be radiant with joy # Ps 34:5; Is 60:5
because of the Lord’s goodness,
because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil, # Nm 18:12; Dt 7:13; Hg 1:11
and because of the young of the flocks and herds.
Their life will be like an irrigated garden,
and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.
13Then the young woman will rejoice with dancing,
while young and old men rejoice together.
I will turn their mourning into joy, # Ps 105:43; Is 35:10; 51:3,11; Lm 5:15
give them consolation,
and bring happiness out of grief.
14I will refresh the priests with an abundance, # Lit fatness # Dt 31:20; Ps 36:8; Is 30:23
and My people will be satisfied with My goodness.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Lament Turned to Joy
15This is what the Lord says:
A voice was heard in Ramah, # Jos 18:25; Jdg 4:5; 1Sm 1:19; 19:18; Jr 40:1
a lament with bitter weeping —
Rachel weeping for her children,
refusing to be comforted for her children
because they are no more. # Mt 2:18
16This is what the Lord says:
Keep your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for the reward for your work will come —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
and your children will return from the enemy’s land.
17There is hope for your future # Jr 5:31; 23:20; 29:11 —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
and your children will return to their own territory.
18I have heard Ephraim moaning,
“You disciplined me, and I have been disciplined
like an untrained calf. # Hs 4:16; 10:11
Restore me, and I will return,
for you, Lord, are my God. # Ps 40:5; Jr 3:22
19After I returned, I repented;
After I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. # Ezk 21:12
I was ashamed and humiliated # Ps 35:4; Ezr 9:6; Is 41:11; Jr 8:12; 14:3; 22:22; Ezk 36:32
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.”
20Isn’t Ephraim a precious son to Me,
a delightful child? # Is 5:7; Hs 11:1
Whenever I speak against him,
I certainly still think about him.
Therefore, My inner being yearns for him;
I will truly have compassion on him. # Jr 12:15; 30:18; 33:26; 42:12; Hs 11:4,8-9
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Repentance and Restoration
21Set up road markers # 2Kg 23:17; Ezk 39:15 for yourself;
establish signposts!
Keep the highway in mind,
the way you have traveled.
Return, Virgin Israel!
Return to these cities of yours.
22How long will you turn here and there,
faithless daughter? # Jr 3:14,22; 49:4
For the Lord creates something new in the land # Or new on earth —
a female # Or woman will shelter # Or female surrounds, or female courts ; Hb obscure a man.
23This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore their fortunes, # Or I end their captivity they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities, ‘May the Lord bless you, righteous settlement, # Jb 8:6; Jr 50:7 holy mountain.’ # Ps 2:6; 3:4; 48:1; 99:9 24Judah and all its cities will live in it together — also farmers and those who move # Tg, Vg, Aq, Sym; MT reads and they will move with the flocks — 25for I satisfy the thirsty person and feed all those who are weak.” # Ps 107:9; Is 55:1; Jn 4:14; 6:35; 7:35; Rv 21:6; 22:17
26At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.
27“The days are coming” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “when I will sow the house of Israel # Ezk 36:9,11; Hs 2:23 and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster, # Jr 21:10; 39:16; 44:27; Am 9:4 so will I be attentive to build and to plant them,” # Jr 1:10; 18:7-10; 44:27 says the Lord. 29“In those days, it will never again be said:
The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge. # Ezk 18:2
30Rather, each will die for his own wrongdoing. # Dt 24:6; Ezk 18:20 Anyone who eats sour grapes — his own teeth will be set on edge.
The New Covenant
31“Look, the days are coming” # Heb 8:8-12; 10:16-17 — this is the Lord’s declaration — “when I will make a new covenant # Ezk 37:26; Hs 2:18; Lk 22:20; 1Co 11:25; 2Co 3:6; Heb 9:15; 12:24 with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt — a covenant they broke even though I had married them” # Is 54:4; 62:4; Mal 2:11 — the Lord’s declaration. 33“Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” — the Lord’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ # Jdg 2:10; 1Sm 3:7; Hs 2:20 for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them” # Est 1:20; Jr 6:13; 8:10; 42:1,8; 44:12 — this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing # Nm 14:19; Ps 103:3; Jr 36:3 and never again remember their sin.
35This is what the Lord says:
The One who gives the sun for light by day,
the fixed order of moon and stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar # Ps 46:3; Is 51:15; Jr 5:22 —
Yahweh of Hosts is His name:
36If this fixed order departs from My presence —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
then also Israel’s descendants will cease
to be a nation before Me forever. # Jr 33:18; 35:19
37This is what the Lord says:
If the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below explored,
I will reject all of Israel’s descendants
because of all they have done —
this is the Lord’s declaration.
38“Look, the days are coming” — the Lord’s declaration — “when the city # = Jerusalem from the Tower of Hananel # Neh 3:1; 12:39 to the Corner Gate # 2Kg 14:13; 2Ch 26:9; Zch 14:10 will be rebuilt for the Lord. 39A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb # Zch 2:1 and then turn toward Goah. 40The whole valley — the corpses, the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley # 2Kg 23:4 to the corner of the Horse Gate # Neh 3:28 to the east — will be holy to the Lord. It will never be uprooted or demolished again.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.