Jeremiah 31
31
Both Israel and Judah Will Be Rescued
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 survived the wars have found favor in the desert.
Israel went to find its rest.
3The Lord appeared to me in a faraway place and said,
“I love you with an everlasting love.
So I will continue to show you my kindness.
4Once again I will build you up,
and you will be rebuilt, my dear people Israel.
Once again you will take your tambourines,
and you will go dancing with happy people.
5Once again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria.
Those who plant them will enjoy the fruit.
6There will be a day when watchmen on the mountains of Ephraim
will call out this message:
‘Arise! Let’s go to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ ”
7This is what the Lord says:
Sing a happy song about Jacob.
Sing joyfully for the leader of the nations.
Shout, sing praise, and say,
“O Lord, rescue your people, the remaining few from Israel.”
8“I will bring them from the land of the north.
I will gather them from the farthest parts of the earth.
Blind people and lame people will return
together with pregnant women and those in labor.
A large crowd will return here.
9They will cry as they return.
They will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams
on a level path where they will not stumble.
I will be a Father to Israel,
and Ephraim will be my firstborn.
10“You nations, listen to the Lord’s word.
Tell it to the distant islands.
Say, ‘The one who scattered the people of Israel will gather them
and watch over them as a shepherd watches over his flock.’
11The Lord will free the descendants of Jacob
and reclaim them from those who are stronger than they are.
12They will come and shout for joy on top of Mount Zion.
They will stream to it to enjoy the Lord’s blessings:
fresh grain, new wine, and olive oil, lambs and calves.
Their lives will be like well-watered gardens,
and they will never suffer again.
13Then young women will rejoice and dance
along with young men and old men.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will comfort them.
I will give them joy in place of their sorrow.
14I will satisfy the priests with rich food.
My people will be filled with my blessings,” declares the Lord.
15This is what the Lord says:
A sound is heard in Ramah,
the sound of crying in bitter grief.
Rachel is crying for her children.
She refuses to be comforted,
because they are dead.
16This is what the Lord says:
Stop your crying, and wipe away your tears.
You will be rewarded for your work, declares the Lord.
You will return from the land of the enemy.
17Your future is filled with hope, declares the Lord.
Your children will return to their own territory.
18“I have certainly heard Ephraim mourn and say,
‘You disciplined me, and I was disciplined.
I was like a young, untrained calf.
Turn me, and I will be turned,
because you are the Lord my God.
19After I was turned around, I changed the way I thought and acted.
After I was taught a lesson, I hung my head in shame.
I was so ashamed and humiliated,
because of all the stupid things I have done
ever since I was young.’
20Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child?
Even though I have often spoken against him, I still think fondly of him.
That is why my heart longs for him,
and I will certainly have compassion on him,” declares the Lord.
21Set up landmarks!
Put up road signs!
Remember the highway, the road on which you traveled.
Come back, my dear people Israel, come back to your cities.
22How long will you wander around, you unfaithful people?
The Lord will create something new on earth:
A woman will protect a man.
23This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: When I have brought them back from captivity, they will once again use this saying in Judah and in its cities:
“The Lord bless you, home of righteousness, holy mountain.
24Judah and all its cities will live there together.
Farmers and shepherds will also live there.
25I will give those who are weary all they need.
I will refresh everyone who is filled with sorrow.”
26At this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant.
27“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the nations of Israel and Judah with people and animals. 28Once I watched over them to uproot them, to tear them down, and to wreck, ruin, and hurt them. Now I will watch over them to build them up and to plant them,” declares the Lord. 29“When those days come, people will no longer say, ‘Fathers have eaten sour grapes, and their children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 30But each person will die for his own sin. Whoever eats sour grapes will have his own teeth set on edge.
The New Promise
31“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new promise #31:31 Or “covenant.” to Israel and Judah. 32It will not be like the promise that I made to their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt. They rejected that promise, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33“But this is the promise that I will make to Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put my teachings inside them, and I will write those teachings on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34No longer will each person teach his neighbors or his relatives by saying, ‘Know the Lord.’ All of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” declares the Lord, “because I will forgive their wickedness and I will no longer hold their sins against them.”
35The Lord provides the sun to be a light during the day.
He orders the moon and stars to be lights during the night.
He stirs up the sea so that its waves roar.
His name is the Lord of Armies.
This is what the Lord says:
36Only if these laws stop working, declares the Lord,
will Israel’s descendants stop being a nation in my presence.
37This is what the Lord says:
Only if the heavens could be measured
or the foundations of the earth could be searched,
would I ever reject all of Israel’s descendants
because of everything that they have done, declares the Lord.
38“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to Corner Gate. 39A measuring line will stretch from there straight to the Hill of Gareb, and then it will turn to Goah. 40The whole valley, filled with its dead bodies and ashes, and the whole area to the Kidron Valley, as far as the corner of Horse Gate in the east, will be holy to the Lord. It will never be uprooted or torn down again.”
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. 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.”
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.