31 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things.

For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God.

For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.

They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

10 Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.

11 For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.

15 Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

16 Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God.

19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.

21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

22 How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.

23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.

24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.

25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.

26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

27 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.

28 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord.

29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.

30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

35 Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name:

36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

37 Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.

38 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.

40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

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.”

Thus says Yahweh:

The people of the survivors of the sword found grace in the desert;[c]
    Israel going to find their rest.”
From afar Yahweh appeared to me, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love.
    Therefore[d] I have drawn you with loyal love.
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.
You will again plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria.
    The planters will plant, and they will enjoy it.[e]
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.’”

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.’
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.
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

  1. Jeremiah 31:1 Literally “a declaration of”
  2. Jeremiah 31:1 Or “families”
  3. Jeremiah 31:2 Or “wilderness”
  4. Jeremiah 31:3 Literally “Unto thus”
  5. Jeremiah 31:5 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  6. Jeremiah 31:11 Literally “strong”
  7. Jeremiah 31:14 Literally “a declaration of”
  8. Jeremiah 31:16 Literally “a declaration of”
  9. Jeremiah 31:17 Literally “a declaration of”
  10. Jeremiah 31:20 Literally “from enough”
  11. Jeremiah 31:20 Literally “Unto thus”
  12. Jeremiah 31:20 Literally “a declaration of”
  13. Jeremiah 31:21 Literally “heart”
  14. Jeremiah 31:22 Literally “Until when”
  15. Jeremiah 31:23 Hebrew “word”
  16. Jeremiah 31:23 Hebrew “fortune”
  17. Jeremiah 31:24 Hebrew “flock”
  18. Jeremiah 31:27 Literally “a declaration of”
  19. Jeremiah 31:27 Hebrew “animal”
  20. Jeremiah 31:28 Literally “And it will happen”
  21. Jeremiah 31:28 Literally “a declaration of”
  22. Jeremiah 31:29 Literally “Fathers”
  23. Jeremiah 31:29 Literally “have become blunt”
  24. Jeremiah 31:30 Literally “But if”
  25. Jeremiah 31:30 Literally “all of the humankind”
  26. Jeremiah 31:30 Literally “become blunt”
  27. Jeremiah 31:31 Literally “a declaration of”
  28. Jeremiah 31:31 Literally “cut”
  29. Jeremiah 31:32 Literally “cut”
  30. Jeremiah 31:32 Or “fathers”
  31. Jeremiah 31:32 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  32. Jeremiah 31:32 Literally “a declaration of”
  33. Jeremiah 31:33 Literally “cut”
  34. Jeremiah 31:33 Literally “a declaration of”
  35. Jeremiah 31:33 Hebrew “heart”
  36. Jeremiah 31:34 Literally “to say”
  37. Jeremiah 31:34 Literally “small”
  38. Jeremiah 31:34 Literally “great”
  39. Jeremiah 31:34 Literally “a declaration of”
  40. Jeremiah 31:36 Literally “to the face of me”
  41. Jeremiah 31:36 Literally “a declaration of”
  42. Jeremiah 31:36 Literally “to the face of me”
  43. Jeremiah 31:36 Literally “all the days”
  44. Jeremiah 31:37 Literally “a declaration of”
  45. Jeremiah 31:38 Literally “a declaration of”
  46. Jeremiah 31:39 Literally “the string of the measurement”
  47. Jeremiah 31:40 Literally “to eternity”