Jeremiah 31
31
Israel Will Return to God
1The Lord said:
Israel, I promise
that someday all your tribes
will again be my people,
and I will be your God.
2In the desert I was kind
to those who escaped death.
I gave them peace,
and when the time is right,
I'll do the same for you.#31.2 In the desert … same for you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Will Rebuild Israel
3Some time ago, the Lord appeared to me#31.3 Some time … me: Or “The Lord appeared to me from far away.” and told me to say:
Israel, I will always love you;
that's why I've been so patient
and kind.
4You are precious to me,
and so I will rebuild
your nation.
Once again you will dance for joy
and play your tambourines.
5You will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria
and enjoy the grapes.
6Someday those who guard
the hill country of Ephraim
will shout, “Let's go to Zion
and worship the Lord our God.”
Israel Will Return to Its Own Land
7The Lord says:
Celebrate and sing for Israel,
the greatest of nations.
Offer praises and shout,
“Come and rescue
your people, Lord!
Save what's left of Israel.”
8I, the Lord, will bring
my people back from Babylonia#31.8 Babylonia: The Hebrew text has “that country in the north,” referring to Babylonia.
and everywhere else on earth.
The blind and the lame
will be there.
Expectant mothers
and women about to give birth
will come and be part
of that great crowd.
9They will weep and pray
as I bring them home.
I will lead them
to streams of water.
They will walk on a level#31.9 level: Or “straight.” road
and not stumble.
I am a father to Israel,#31.9 Israel: The Hebrew text also has “Ephraim,” the leading tribe of the northern kingdom of Israel, which sometimes stands for the whole northern kingdom.
my favorite children.
10Listen to me, you nations
nearby or across the sea.
I scattered the people of Israel,
but I will gather them again.
I will protect them like a shepherd
guarding a flock;
11I will rescue them from enemies
who could overpower them.
12My people will come
to Mount Zion
and celebrate;
their faces will glow
because of my blessings.
I'll give them grain, grapes,
and olive oil,
as well as sheep and cattle.
Israel will be prosperous
and grow like a garden
with plenty of water.
13Young women and young men,
together with the elderly,
will celebrate and dance,
because I will comfort them
and turn their sorrow
into happiness.
14I will bless my people
with more food
than they need,
and the priests will enjoy
the choice cuts of meat.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Offers Hope
15 #
Gn 35.16-19;
Mt 2.18. In Ramah#31.15 In Ramah: Or “In the hills.” a voice is heard,
crying and weeping loudly.
Rachel mourns for her children#31.15 Rachel … children: Rachel was one of the wives of Jacob, the ancestor of the nation of Israel. She was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph's two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were the ancestors of the leading tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel.
and refuses to be comforted,
because they are dead.
* 16But I, the Lord, say
to dry your tears.
Someday your children
will come home
from the enemy's land.
Then all you have done for them
will be greatly rewarded.
17So don't lose hope.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
18The people of Israel#31.18 Israel: Hebrew “Ephraim” (see the note at 31.9). moan
and say to me,
“We were like wild bulls,
but you, Lord, broke us,
and we learned to obey.
You are our God—
please let us come home.
19When we were young,
we strayed and sinned,
but then we realized
what we had done.
We are ashamed and disgraced
and want to return to you.”
20People of Israel,
you are my own dear children.
Don't I love you best of all?
Though I often make threats,
I want you to be near me,
so I will have mercy on you.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
21With rock piles and signposts,
mark the road well,
my dear people.
The road by which you left
by will now lead you home.
22Will you ever decide
to be faithful?
I will make sure that someday
things will be different,
as different as a woman
protecting a man.#31.22 I will make sure … a woman protecting a man: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
The Lord Will Bring Judah Home
23The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, said:
I promise to set the people of Judah free and to lead them back to their hometowns. And when I do, they will once again say,
“We pray that the Lord
will bless his home,
the sacred hill in Jerusalem
where his temple stands.”
24The people will live in Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah. Some will be farmers, and others will be shepherds. 25Those who feel tired and worn out will find new life and energy, 26and when they sleep, they will wake up refreshed.#31.26 and when they sleep … refreshed: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
27Someday, Israel and Judah will be my field where my people and their livestock will grow. 28In the past, I took care to uproot them, to tear them down, and to destroy them. But when that day comes, I will take care to plant them and help them grow. 29#Ez 18.2. No longer will anyone go around saying,
“Sour grapes eaten by parents
leave a sour taste in the mouths
of their children.”
30When that day comes, only those who eat sour grapes will get the sour taste, and only those who sin will be put to death.
The New Agreement with Israel and Judah
31 #
Mt 26.28; Mk 14.24; Lk 22.20; 1 Co 11.25; 2 Co 3.6. #He 8.8-12. The Lord said:
The time will surely come when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and Judah. 32It will be different from the agreement I made with their ancestors when I led them out of Egypt. Although I was their God, they broke that agreement.
33 #
He 10.16. Here is the new agreement that I, the Lord, will make with the people of Israel:
“I will write my laws
on their hearts and minds.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 #
He 10.17. “No longer will they have to teach one another to obey me. I, the Lord, promise that all of them will obey me, ordinary people and rulers alike. I will forgive their sins and forget the evil things they have done.”
35I am the Lord All-Powerful.
I command the sun
to give light each day,
the moon and stars
to shine at night,
and ocean waves to roar.
36I will never forget
to give those commands,
and I will never let Israel
stop being a nation.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
37Can you measure the heavens?
Can you explore
the depths of the earth?
That's how hard it would be
for me to reject Israel forever,
even though they have sinned.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Jerusalem Will Be Rebuilt
38The Lord said:
Someday, Jerusalem will truly belong to me. It will be rebuilt with a boundary line running from Hananel Tower to Corner Gate. 39From there, the boundary will go in a straight line to Gareb Hill, then turn toward Goah. 40Even that disgusting Hinnom Valley#31.40 that disgusting Hinnom Valley: The Hebrew text has “the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the fatty ashes,” which probably refers to Hinnom Valley, just southwest of Jerusalem, where human sacrifices had been offered to foreign gods. will be sacred to me, and so will the eastern slopes that go down from Horse Gate into Kidron Valley. Jerusalem will never again be destroyed.
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Jeremiah 31: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com