Jeremiah 31
31
Good News of the Return
1At that time—oracle of the Lord—
I will be the God of all the families of Israel,
and they shall be my people.#Jer 30:22.
2#Jeremiah describes the exiles of the Northern Kingdom on their way home from the nations where the Assyrians had resettled them (722/721 B.C.). The favor they discover in the wilderness is the appearance of the Lord (v. 3) coming to guide them to Jerusalem. Implicit in these verses is the presentation of the people’s return from captivity as a second exodus, a unifying theme in Second Isaiah (chaps. 40–55). Thus says the Lord:
The people who escaped the sword
find favor in the wilderness.
As Israel comes forward to receive rest,
3from afar the Lord appears:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.#Dt 7:8; 10:15; Is 43:4; 63:9; Hos 11:1, 4.
4Again I will build you, and you shall stay built,
virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with merrymakers.
5You shall again plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
those who plant them shall enjoy their fruits.#Dt 28:30; Is 65:21; Am 9:14.
6Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
call out on Mount Ephraim:
“Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord, our God.”#Is 2:3; 27:13; Mi 4:2.
The Road of Return
7For thus says the Lord:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The Lord has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel.#Is 12:6.
8Look! I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the earth,
the blind and the lame in their midst,
Pregnant women, together with those in labor—
an immense throng—they shall return.#Jer 3:18; 23:3, 8; Is 35:5–6.
9With weeping they shall come,
but with compassion I will guide them;
I will lead them to streams of water,
on a level road, without stumbling.
For I am a father to Israel,
Ephraim is my firstborn.#Ex 4:22.
10Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,
proclaim it on distant coasts, and say:
The One who scattered Israel, now gathers them;
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
11The Lord shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from a hand too strong for him.#Is 44:23; 48:20.
12Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the Lord’s blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
flocks of sheep and cattle;
They themselves shall be like watered gardens,
never again neglected.#Is 58:11.
13Then young women shall make merry and dance,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will show them compassion and have them rejoice after their sorrows.
14I will lavish choice portions on the priests,
and my people shall be filled with my blessings—
oracle of the Lord.
End of Rachel’s Mourning
15Thus says the Lord:
In Ramah#Ramah: a village about five miles north of Jerusalem, where one tradition locates Rachel’s tomb (1 Sm 10:2). The wife of Jacob/Israel, Rachel is the matriarchal ancestor of Ephraim, chief among the northern tribes. She personified Israel as a mother whose grief for her lost children is especially poignant because she had to wait a long time to bear them. Mt 2:18 applies this verse to Herod’s slaughter of the innocents. is heard the sound of sobbing,
bitter weeping!
Rachel mourns for her children,
she refuses to be consoled
for her children—they are no more!#Mt 2:18.
16Thus says the Lord:
Cease your cries of weeping,
hold back your tears!
There is compensation for your labor—
oracle of the Lord—
they shall return from the enemy’s land.
17There is hope for your future—oracle of the Lord—
your children shall return to their own territory.#Jer 29:10–14.
18Indeed, I heard Ephraim rocking in grief:
You chastised me, and I was chastised;
I was like an untamed calf.
Bring me back, let me come back,
for you are the Lord, my God.#Lv 26:40–42.
19For after I turned away, I repented;
after I came to myself, I struck my thigh;#Struck my thigh: a gesture signifying grief and dread (cf. Ez 21:17).
I was ashamed, even humiliated,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.#Dt 30:1–3.
20Is Ephraim not my favored son,
the child in whom I delight?
Even though I threaten him,
I must still remember him!
My heart stirs for him,
I must show him compassion!—oracle of the Lord.#Hos 11:8.
Summons to Return Home
21Set up road markers,
put up signposts;
Turn your attention to the highway,
the road you walked.
Turn back, virgin Israel,
turn back to these your cities.
22How long will you continue to hesitate,
rebellious daughter?
The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth:
woman encompasses man.#No satisfactory explanation has been given for this text. Jerome, for example, saw the image as a reference to the infant Jesus enclosed in Mary’s womb. Since Jeremiah often uses marital imagery in his description of a restored Israel, the phrase may refer to a wedding custom, perhaps women circling the groom in a dance. It may also be a metaphor describing the security of a new Israel, a security so complete that it defies the imagination and must be expressed as hyperbolic role reversal: any danger will be so insignificant that women can protect their men.
23Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: When I restore their fortunes in the land of Judah and in its cities, they shall again use this greeting: “May the Lord bless you, Tent of Justice, Holy Mountain!”#Jer 30:3; Ps 122:8. 24Judah and all its cities, the farmers and those who lead the flock shall dwell there together. 25For I will slake the thirst of the faint; the appetite of all the weary I will satisfy. 26At this I awoke and opened my eyes; my sleep was satisfying.#I awoke…satisfying: an intrusive comment.
27See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of human beings and the seed of animals. 28As I once watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, to destroy, and to harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant—oracle of the Lord.#Jer 1:10; 18:7. 29In those days they shall no longer say,
“The parents ate unripe grapes,#Dt 24:16; Ez 18:2.
and the children’s teeth are set on edge,”#“The parents…on edge”: Jeremiah’s opponents use this proverb to complain that they are being punished for sins of their ancestors. Jeremiah, however, insists that the Lord knows the depth of their wickedness and holds them accountable for their actions.
30but all shall die because of their own iniquity: the teeth of anyone who eats unripe grapes shall be set on edge.
The New Covenant.#The new covenant is an occasional prophetic theme, beginning with Hosea. According to Jeremiah, (a) it lasts forever; (b) its law (torah) is written in human hearts; (c) it gives everyone true knowledge of God, making additional instruction (torah) unnecessary. The Dead Sea Scroll community claimed they were partners in a “new covenant.” The New Testament presents the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as inaugurating a new covenant open to anyone who professes faith in Jesus the Christ. Cf. Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; Heb 8:8–12. Know the Lord: cf. note on 22:15–16. 31See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.#Jer 32:40; Heb 9:15. 32It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, though I was their master—oracle of the Lord.#Ex 24:7–8; Dt 5:2. 33But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days—oracle of the Lord. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.#Jer 32:40; Ez 37:26; Heb 10:16. 34They will no longer teach their friends and relatives, “Know the Lord!” Everyone, from least to greatest, shall know me—oracle of the Lord—for I will forgive their iniquity and no longer remember their sin.#Is 54:13.
Certainty of God’s Promise
35Thus says the Lord,
Who gives the sun to light the day,
moon and stars to light the night;
Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar,
whose name is Lord of hosts:#Gn 1:14–18.
36If ever this fixed order gives way
before me—oracle of the Lord—
Then would the offspring of Israel cease
as a people before me forever.#Jer 33:20–21.
37Thus says the Lord:
If the heavens on high could be measured,
or the foundations below the earth be explored,
Then would I reject all the offspring of Israel
because of all they have done—oracle of the Lord.
Jerusalem Rebuilt.#The landmarks in these verses outline the borders of Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah: the Tower of Hananel (Neh 3:1; 12:39) in the northeast and the Corner Gate (2 Kgs 14:13) in the northwest; Goah in the southeast and Gareb Hill in the southwest; the Valley of Ben-hinnom (“the Valley of corpses and ashes”), which met the Wadi Kidron in the southeast, and the Horse Gate in the eastern wall at the southeast corner of the Temple area. 38See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when the city shall be rebuilt as the Lord’s,#Neh 12:38; Zec 14:10–11. from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39A measuring line shall be stretched from there straight to the hill Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40The whole valley of corpses and ashes, all the terraced slopes toward the Wadi Kidron, as far as the corner of the Horse Gate at the east, shall be holy to the Lord. Never again shall the city be uprooted or demolished.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Jeremiah 31
31
1 “At that time,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“I will be the God of all the clans#Or “families” of Israel,
and they will be to me a people.”
2Thus says Yahweh:
“The people of the survivors of the sword found grace in the desert;#Or “wilderness”
Israel going to find their rest.”
3From afar Yahweh appeared to me, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Therefore#Literally “Unto thus” I have drawn you with loyal love.
4I will again build you,
and you will be built, O virgin Israel.
You will again adorn yourself with your tambourines,
and you will go forth in the dancing in a ring of the merrymakers.
5You will again plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria.
The planters will plant, and they will enjoy it.#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
6For there will be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of Ephraim,
‘Stand up, and let us go up to Zion, to Yahweh our God.’ ”
7For thus says Yahweh,
“Sing for joy for Jacob with gladness,
and shout out for the head of the nations.
Proclaim, praise, and say,
‘Save, O Yahweh, your people, the remnant of Israel.’
8Look, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
and I will gather them from the remotest part of the earth.
Among them the blind, and the lame,
those who are pregnant, and those who give birth,
together, a great assembly,
they will return here.
9With weeping they will come,
and with pleas for mercy I will bring them;
I will let them walk by streams of water in a straight path.
They will not stumble in it,
for I have become to Israel a father,
and Ephraim, he is my firstborn.”
10Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations,
and declare in the coastlands from afar, and say,
“The scatterer of Israel will gather him,
and he will keep him as a shepherd his flock.
11For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob,
and he has redeemed him from the hand of the person stronger#Literally “strong” than he.
12And they will come,
and they will sing for joy on the height of Zion,
and they will be radiant over the goodness of Yahweh,
over the grain, and over the wine, and over the olive oil,
and over the young ones of the flock, and over the cattle.
And their life will become like a well-watered garden,
and they will never languish again.”
13“Then the young woman will rejoice in the dancing in a ring,
and the young men and the old men together.
And I will turn their mourning to jubilation,
and I will comfort them,
and I will gladden them from their sorrow.
14And I will saturate the appetite of the priests with fatness,
and my people will be satisfied with my goodness,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
15Thus says Yahweh,
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation, the weeping of bitterness.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted because of her children,
for they are no more.”
16Thus says Yahweh:
“Restrain your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and they will return from the land of the enemy.
17And there is hope for your future,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and your children will return to their territory.
18Indeed I heard Ephraim pitying themselves,
‘You disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
like a calf that is not trained.
Bring me back and let me return,
for you are Yahweh my God.
19For after my turning back I repented,
and after coming to understand I struck my thigh.
I was ashamed and also humiliated,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20Is Ephraim my dear son,
or the child of my delight?
For as often as#Literally “from enough” I have earnestly spoken against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore#Literally “Unto thus” my bowels are turbulent for him,
surely I will have compassion on him,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
21“Set up for yourself road markers,
make for yourself signposts,
set your mind#Literally “heart” to the main road,
the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin of Israel,
return to these your cities.
22How long#Literally “Until when” will you waver, O unfaithful daughter?
For Yahweh has created a new thing on the earth,
a woman, she shelters a man.”
23Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “They will again say these words#Hebrew “word” in the land of Judah and in its towns at my restoring their fortunes,#Hebrew “fortune”
‘Yahweh bless you, O settlement of righteousness,
O hill of holiness.’
24And Judah and all of its towns together will live in it,
farmers and those who travel with the flocks.#Hebrew “flock”
25For I will saturate the thirst of the weary,
and every person who languishes I will replenish.”
26At this I awoke and looked,
and my sleep was pleasant to me.
The New Covenant
27“Look, the days are coming,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “and I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humankind, and with the seed of animals.#Hebrew “animal” 28And then#Literally “And it will happen” as I have watched over them to pull up, and to tear down, and to annihilate, and to destroy, and to do evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh. 29“In those days they will say no longer, ‘Parents#Literally “Fathers” have eaten unripe fruit, and the teeth of the children are set on edge#Literally “have become blunt”.’ 30But#Literally “But if” each will die because of his iniquity, everyone#Literally “all of the humankind” who eats the unripe fruit, their teeth will be set on edge.#Literally “become blunt”
31Look, the days are coming,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “and I will make#Literally “cut” a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32not like the covenant that I made#Literally “cut” with their ancestors#Or “fathers” on the day of my grasping them#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation by their hand, bringing them out from the land of Egypt, my covenant that they themselves broke, though I myself was a master over them,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh. 33“But this is the covenant that I will make#Literally “cut” with the house of Israel after those days,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward parts and on their hearts#Hebrew “heart” I will write it, and I will be to them God, and they themselves will be to me people. 34And they will no longer teach each one his neighbor, or each one his brother, saying,#Literally “to say” ‘Know Yahweh,’ for all of them will know me, from their smallest#Literally “small” and up to their greatest,”#Literally “great” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will no longer remember.”
35Thus says Yahweh, who gives the sun for light by day, the regulations of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar—Yahweh of hosts is his name. 36“If these rules would cease from before me,”#Literally “to the face of me” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “also the offspring of Israel would cease from being a nation before me#Literally “to the face of me” forever.”#Literally “all the days” 37Thus says Yahweh, “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, also I will reject all the offspring of Israel because of all that they have done,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh. 38“Look, days are coming,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “and the city will be rebuilt for Yahweh, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39And the measuring line#Literally “the string of the measurement” will still go out immediately in front of it to the hill of Gareb, and it will turn to Goah. 40And the whole of the valley of the corpses, and the ashes, and all the cultivated fields up to the wadi of Kidron, up to the corner of the Gate of the Horses toward the east will be holy to Yahweh. It will not be uprooted, and it will not be overthrown again forever.”#Literally “to eternity”
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