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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Jeremiah 31: LEB
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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