Jeremiah 31
31
1At that time, I will be the God of all Israel's families, and they will be my people, declares the Lord. 2This is what the Lord says: The Israelites who survive death by the sword were blessed by the Lord in the desert as they looked for peace and quiet.
3Long ago the Lord came and told us, My love for you will last forever. I hold you close to me with my trustworthy love. 4I'm going to rebuild you, and it will happen. You will be rebuilt, Virgin Israel. You will pick up your tambourines again and run outside to dance with joy. 5You will replant vineyards on Samaria's hills; those who plant will enjoy the grapes.
6A day is coming when watchmen will call out from the hills of Ephraim, “Come on, let's go up to Zion, to worship the Lord our God!”
7This is what the Lord says: Sing happily for the descendants of Jacob; shout for the greatest of all nations! Let everybody know! Praise and call out, “Lord, save your people, those who are left of Israel!”
8Watch, because I will bring them back from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Everyone will return, even the blind and the lame, pregnant women, even mothers giving birth—a great gathering coming home, 9They will come back with tears in their eyes, and they will be praying as I take them home. I will lead them beside streams of waters, on level paths where they won't stumble. For I am Israel's Father; Ephraim#31:9. Ephraim was not literally the firstborn but is used as a wider description for Israel. More than birth order, firstborn refers more to the rights and privileges relating to this status. is my firstborn.
10Listen, nations, to what the Lord has to say, and let others know about in faraway countries: The Lord who scattered Israel will gather them together and keep them safe, just like a shepherd looks after his flock. 11The Lord has redeemed the descendants of Jacob and rescued them from their enemies who had defeated them. 12They will return and celebrate with happy shouts on Mount Zion; their faces will beam over the Lord's wonderful gifts—the grain, new wine, and olive oil, and the young of their flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden; and they won't ever be depressed again. 13The girls will dance in celebration; young men and old people will join in too. I will turn their sorrow into joy, and I will comfort them and change their sadness into happiness. 14I will give my priests everything they need and more, and my people will be more than satisfied with my goodness towards them, declares the Lord.
15This is what the Lord says: The sound of terrible weeping and mourning is heard in Ramah. It's Rachel crying for her children. They are dead, and she can't be comforted 16This is what the Lord says: Don't cry anymore, don't weep anymore, because you're going to be rewarded for what you've done, declares the Lord. Your children will return from the country of your enemies. 17So you can have hope for the future, declares the Lord. Your children will return to their own country.
18Don't worry, I've heard Ephraim's groans, saying, “You disciplined me really hard as if I was a calf that hadn't been trained. Please bring me back, let me return, for you are the Lord my God. 19When I came back to you I was sorry, and once I understood, I held my head in sadness.#31:19. “I held my head in sadness”: literally, “I struck my thigh.” I was ashamed and I blushed, embarrassed at what I'd done when I was young.”
20But isn't Ephraim still my precious son, my lovely child? Even though I often have to scold him, I can't forget him. So I'm torn inside with longing, wanting to show how much I care about him! declares the Lord.
21Put up markers on the road; make signposts for yourselves. You need to be sure you can find the highway, the road you traveled on. Come back, Virgin Israel, come back to your towns. 22How long are you going to waver in your decision, you unfaithful daughter? For the Lord has made something new happen here: a woman is going to protect a man.
23This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: When I bring them back home from exile, they will say again in the land of Judah and in its towns: “May the Lord bless you, holy mountain of Jerusalem, home of what is good and right. 24The people of Judah and all its towns will live together in the land, the farmers and those who move around with their flocks, 25because I'm going to give rest to those who are tired and give strength to all those who are weak.”
26At this I woke up and looked around. I'd had a very pleasant sleep.#31:26. It is unclear how this verse fits into the whole narrative. Some see it as Jeremiah's comment, others the reactions of those just mentioned.
27Look! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make the numbers of people and livestock grow in Israel and Judah. 28I took care of them by uprooting them and tearing them down, by wiping them out and destroying them and bringing them disaster. Now I will take care of them by building them up and helping them grow, declares the Lord.
29At that time people won't repeat this proverb, “The fathers ate the unripe grapes, but their children got the sour taste.” 30No. Each person will die because of their own sins. If anyone eats unripe grapes, they will get the sour taste themselves.
31Look! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and Judah. 32It won't be like the agreement that I made with their forefathers when I held their hands and led them out of Egypt. They broke that agreement, even though I was faithful like a husband to them, declares the Lord.
33But this is the agreement I'm going to make with the people of Israel at that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws inside them and write them in their minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34No one will need to teach a neighbor or their brother, telling them, “You ought to know the Lord.” For everyone will know me, from the smallest to the greatest. I will forgive them when they do wrong, and I will forget about their sins.
35This is what the Lord says, who provides the sun to give light during the day, who places in order the moon and stars to give light at night, who makes the sea rough so that its waves roar; his name is the Lord Almighty:
36Only if these natural laws disappeared before my eyes would Israel's descendants stop being my people, declares the Lord. 37This is what the Lord says: Only if the heavens above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth below could be investigated, would I reject all of Israel's descendants because of everything they've done, declares the Lord.
38The time is coming, declares the Lord, when this city will be rebuilt for the Lord, all the way from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39The builder's measuring line will again stretch out directly to Gareb Hill and then turn toward Goah. 40The entire valley, where the dead are buried and the trash is dumped, and all the fields from the Kidron Valley as far as the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the Lord. Jerusalem will never again be torn down or destroyed.
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Jeremiah 31: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
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.