Jeremiah 31
Holman Christian Standard Bible
God’s Relationship with His People
31 “At that time”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will be the God of all the families of Israel,(A) and they will be My people.”
2 This is what the Lord says:
They found favor in the wilderness(B)—
the people who survived the sword.
When Israel went to find rest,
3 the Lord appeared to him[a] from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.(C)
4 Again I will build you so that you will be rebuilt,
Virgin Israel.
You will take up your tambourines again(D)
and go out in joyful dancing.
5 You will plant vineyards again
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters will plant and will enjoy the fruit.(E)
6 For there will be a day when watchmen will call out
in the hill country of Ephraim,
“Get up, let’s go up to Zion,(F)
to Yahweh our God!”
God’s People Brought Home
7 For this is what the Lord says:
Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the chief of the nations!
Proclaim, praise, and say,
“Lord, save Your people,(G)
the remnant of Israel!”
8 Watch! I am going to bring them from the northern land.
I will gather them from remote regions of the earth(H)—
the blind and the lame will be with them,
along with those who are pregnant and those about to give birth.
They will return here as a great assembly!(I)
9 They will come weeping,
but I will bring them back with consolation.[b](J)
I will lead them to wadis filled with water
by a smooth way where they will not stumble,(K)
for I am Israel’s Father,
and Ephraim is My firstborn.
10 Nations, hear the word of the Lord,
and tell it among the far off coastlands!(L)
Say: The One who scattered Israel will gather him.
He will watch over him as a shepherd guards his flock,
11 for the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and redeemed him from the power of one stronger than he.(M)
12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
they will be radiant with joy(N)
because of(O) the Lord’s goodness,
because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil,(P)
and because of the young of the flocks and herds.
Their life will be like an irrigated garden,
and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.
13 Then the young woman will rejoice with dancing,
while young and old men rejoice together.
I will turn their mourning into joy,(Q)
give them consolation,
and bring happiness out of grief.
14 I will refresh the priests with an abundance,[c](R)
and My people will be satisfied with My goodness.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Lament Turned to Joy
15 This is what the Lord says:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
a lament with bitter weeping—
Rachel weeping for her children,
refusing to be comforted for her children
because they are no more.(S)
16 This is what the Lord says:
Keep your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for the reward for your work will come—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
and your children will return from the enemy’s land.
17 There is hope for your future(T)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
and your children will return to their own territory.
18 I have heard Ephraim moaning,
“You disciplined me, and I have been disciplined
like an untrained calf.
Restore me, and I will return,
for you, Lord, are my God.(U)
19 After I returned, I repented;
After I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief.(V)
I was ashamed and humiliated
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.”
20 Isn’t Ephraim a precious son to Me,
a delightful child?
Whenever I speak against him,
I certainly still think about him.
Therefore, My inner being yearns for him;
I will truly have compassion on him.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Repentance and Restoration
21 Set up road markers(W) for yourself;
establish signposts!
Keep the highway in mind,
the way you have traveled.
Return, Virgin Israel!
Return to these cities of yours.
22 How long will you turn here and there,
faithless daughter?(X)
For the Lord creates something new in the land[d]—
a female[e] will shelter[f] a man.
23 This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore their fortunes,[g] they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities, ‘May the Lord bless you, righteous settlement,(Y) holy mountain.’(Z) 24 Judah and all its cities will live in it together—also farmers and those who move[h] with the flocks— 25 for I satisfy the thirsty person and feed all those who are weak.”
26 At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.
27 “The days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will sow the house of Israel(AA) and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster, so will I be attentive to build and to plant them,”(AB) says the Lord. 29 “In those days, it will never again be said:
The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.(AC)
30 Rather, each will die for his own wrongdoing.(AD) Anyone who eats sour grapes—his own teeth will be set on edge.
The New Covenant
31 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant(AE) with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them”(AF)—the Lord’s declaration. 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’(AG) for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing(AH) and never again remember their sin.”(AI)
35 This is what the Lord says:
The One who gives the sun for light by day,
the fixed order of moon and stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar(AJ)—
Yahweh of Hosts is His name:
36 If this fixed order departs from My presence—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
then also Israel’s descendants will cease
to be a nation before Me forever.(AK)
37 This is what the Lord says:
If the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below explored,
I will reject all of Israel’s descendants
because of all they have done—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
38 “Look, the days are coming”—the Lord’s declaration—“when the city[i] from the Tower of Hananel(AL) to the Corner Gate(AM) will be rebuilt for the Lord. 39 A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb(AN) and then turn toward Goah. 40 The whole valley—the corpses, the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley(AO) to the corner of the Horse Gate(AP) to the east—will be holy to the Lord. It will never be uprooted or demolished again.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 31:3 LXX; MT reads me
- Jeremiah 31:9 LXX; MT reads supplications
- Jeremiah 31:14 Lit fatness
- Jeremiah 31:22 Or new on earth
- Jeremiah 31:22 Or woman
- Jeremiah 31:22 Or female surrounds, or female courts; Hb obscure
- Jeremiah 31:23 Or I end their captivity
- Jeremiah 31:24 Tg, Vg, Aq, Sym; MT reads and they will move
- Jeremiah 31:38 = Jerusalem
Jeremiah 31
Lexham English Bible
31 “At that time,” declares[a] Yahweh,
“I will be the God of all the clans[b] of Israel,
and they will be to me a people.”
2 Thus says Yahweh:
“The people of the survivors of the sword found grace in the desert;[c]
Israel going to find their rest.”
3 From afar Yahweh appeared to me, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Therefore[d] I have drawn you with loyal love.
4 I 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.
5 You will again plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria.
The planters will plant, and they will enjoy it.[e]
6 For 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.’”
7 For 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.’
8 Look, 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.
9 With 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.”
10 Hear 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.
11 For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob,
and he has redeemed him from the hand of the person stronger[f] than he.
12 And 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.
14 And I will saturate the appetite of the priests with fatness,
and my people will be satisfied with my goodness,” declares[g] Yahweh.
15 Thus 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.”
16 Thus says Yahweh:
“Restrain your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,” declares[h] Yahweh,
“and they will return from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is hope for your future,” declares[i] Yahweh,
“and your children will return to their territory.
18 Indeed 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.
19 For 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.’
20 Is Ephraim my dear son,
or the child of my delight?
For as often as[j] I have earnestly spoken against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore[k] my bowels are turbulent for him,
surely I will have compassion on him,” declares[l] Yahweh.
21 “Set up for yourself road markers,
make for yourself signposts,
set your mind[m] to the main road,
the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin of Israel,
return to these your cities.
22 How long[n] will you waver, O unfaithful daughter?
For Yahweh has created a new thing on the earth,
a woman, she shelters a man.”
23 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “They will again say these words[o] in the land of Judah and in its towns at my restoring their fortunes,[p]
‘Yahweh bless you, O settlement of righteousness,
O hill of holiness.’
24 And Judah and all of its towns together will live in it,
farmers and those who travel with the flocks.[q]
25 For I will saturate the thirst of the weary,
and every person who languishes I will replenish.”
26 At this I awoke and looked,
and my sleep was pleasant to me.
The New Covenant
27 “Look, the days are coming,” declares[r] 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.[s] 28 And then[t] 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[u] Yahweh. 29 “In those days they will say no longer, ‘Parents[v] have eaten unripe fruit, and the teeth of the children are set on edge[w].’ 30 But[x] each will die because of his iniquity, everyone[y] who eats the unripe fruit, their teeth will be set on edge.[z]
31 Look, the days are coming,” declares[aa] Yahweh, “and I will make[ab] a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made[ac] with their ancestors[ad] on the day of my grasping them[ae] 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[af] Yahweh. 33 “But this is the covenant that I will make[ag] with the house of Israel after those days,” declares[ah] Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward parts and on their hearts[ai] I will write it, and I will be to them God, and they themselves will be to me people. 34 And they will no longer teach each one his neighbor, or each one his brother, saying,[aj] ‘Know Yahweh,’ for all of them will know me, from their smallest[ak] and up to their greatest,”[al] declares[am] Yahweh, “for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will no longer remember.”
35 Thus 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,”[an] declares[ao] Yahweh, “also the offspring of Israel would cease from being a nation before me[ap] forever.”[aq] 37 Thus 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[ar] Yahweh. 38 “Look, days are coming,” declares[as] Yahweh, “and the city will be rebuilt for Yahweh, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 And the measuring line[at] will still go out immediately in front of it to the hill of Gareb, and it will turn to Goah. 40 And 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.”[au]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 31:1 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:1 Or “families”
- Jeremiah 31:2 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 31:3 Literally “Unto thus”
- Jeremiah 31:5 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 31:11 Literally “strong”
- Jeremiah 31:14 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:16 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:17 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:20 Literally “from enough”
- Jeremiah 31:20 Literally “Unto thus”
- Jeremiah 31:20 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:21 Literally “heart”
- Jeremiah 31:22 Literally “Until when”
- Jeremiah 31:23 Hebrew “word”
- Jeremiah 31:23 Hebrew “fortune”
- Jeremiah 31:24 Hebrew “flock”
- Jeremiah 31:27 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:27 Hebrew “animal”
- Jeremiah 31:28 Literally “And it will happen”
- Jeremiah 31:28 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:29 Literally “Fathers”
- Jeremiah 31:29 Literally “have become blunt”
- Jeremiah 31:30 Literally “But if”
- Jeremiah 31:30 Literally “all of the humankind”
- Jeremiah 31:30 Literally “become blunt”
- Jeremiah 31:31 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:31 Literally “cut”
- Jeremiah 31:32 Literally “cut”
- Jeremiah 31:32 Or “fathers”
- Jeremiah 31:32 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 31:32 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:33 Literally “cut”
- Jeremiah 31:33 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:33 Hebrew “heart”
- Jeremiah 31:34 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 31:34 Literally “small”
- Jeremiah 31:34 Literally “great”
- Jeremiah 31:34 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:36 Literally “to the face of me”
- Jeremiah 31:36 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:36 Literally “to the face of me”
- Jeremiah 31:36 Literally “all the days”
- Jeremiah 31:37 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:38 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 31:39 Literally “the string of the measurement”
- Jeremiah 31:40 Literally “to eternity”
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