Jeremiah 31
31
The Joyful Return of the Exiles
1At that time, says 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;
when Israel sought for rest,
3the Lord appeared to him#31.3 Gk: Heb me from far away.#31.3 Or to him long ago
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
4Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
Again you shall take#31.4 Or adorn yourself with your tambourines,
and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
5Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant,
and shall enjoy the fruit.
6For there shall be a day when sentinels will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
“Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.”
7For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
“Save, O Lord, your people,
the remnant of Israel.”
8See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
those with child and those in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
9With weeping they shall come,
and with consolations#31.9 Gk Compare Vg Tg: Heb supplications I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.
10Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.”
11For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
12They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.
13Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says 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:
Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears;
for there is a reward for your work,
says the Lord:
they shall come back from the land of the enemy;
17there is hope for your future,
says the Lord:
your children shall come back to their own country.
18Indeed I heard Ephraim pleading:
“You disciplined me, and I took the discipline;
I was like a calf untrained.
Bring me back, let me come back,
for you are the Lord my God.
19For after I had turned away I repented;
and after I was discovered, I struck my thigh;
I was ashamed, and I was dismayed
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.”
20Is Ephraim my dear son?
Is he the child I delight in?
As often as I speak against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore I am deeply moved for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
says the Lord.
21Set up road markers for yourself,
make yourself guideposts;
consider well the highway,
the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
return to these your cities.
22How long will you waver,
O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
a woman encompasses#31.22 Meaning of Heb uncertain a man.
23Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its towns when I restore their fortunes:
“The Lord bless you, O abode of righteousness,
O holy hill!”
24And Judah and all its towns shall live there together, and the farmers and those who wander#31.24 Cn Compare Syr Vg Tg: Heb and they shall wander with their flocks.
25I will satisfy the weary,
and all who are faint I will replenish.
26Thereupon I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.
Individual Retribution
27The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. 28And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. 29In those days they shall no longer say:
“The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.”
30But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge.
A New Covenant
31The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband,#31.32 Or master says the Lord. 33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin 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:
36If this fixed order were ever to cease
from my presence, says the Lord,
then also the offspring of Israel would cease
to be a nation before me forever.
37Thus says the Lord:
If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
then I will reject all the offspring of Israel
because of all they have done,
says the Lord.
Jerusalem to Be Enlarged
38The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Wadi Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the Lord. It shall never again be uprooted or overthrown.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 31: NRSV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.