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”
Jeremiah 31
New King James Version
The Remnant of Israel Saved
31 “At (A)the same time,” says the Lord, (B)“I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
2 Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when (C)I went to give him rest.”
3 The Lord has appeared [a]of old to me, saying:
“Yes, (D)I have loved you with (E)an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have (F)drawn you.
4 Again (G)I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your (H)tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
5 (I)You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;
The planters shall plant and [b]eat them as ordinary food.
6 For there shall be a day
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
(J)‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’ ”
7 For thus says the Lord:
(K)“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!’
8 Behold, I will bring them (L)from the north country,
And (M)gather 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 (N)They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk (O)by 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 (P)firstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the [c]isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel (Q)will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For (R)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him (S)from the hand of one stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in (T)the height of Zion,
Streaming to (U)the 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 (V)well-watered garden,
(W)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.
14 I will [d]satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”
Mercy on Ephraim
15 Thus says the Lord:
(X)“A voice was heard in (Y)Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter (Z)weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because (AA)they are no more.”
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Refrain your voice from (AB)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.
17 There is (AC)hope 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 (AD)chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
(AE)Restore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 Surely, (AF)after my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was (AG)ashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
(AH)Therefore My [e]heart yearns for him;
(AI)I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.
21 “Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
(AJ)Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
[f]Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.
22 How long will you (AK)gad about,
O you (AL)backsliding daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”
Future Prosperity of Judah
23 Thus 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: (AM)‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and (AN)mountain of holiness!’ 24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and (AO)in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. 25 For I have [g]satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”
26 After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was (AP)sweet to me.
27 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that (AQ)I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass, that as I have (AR)watched over them (AS)to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them (AT)to build and to plant, says the Lord. 29 (AU)In those days they shall say no more:
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 (AV)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 (AW)days are coming, says the Lord, when 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 (AX)I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, [h]though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 (AY)But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: (AZ)I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their [i]hearts; (BA)and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for (BB)they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For (BC)I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
35 Thus says the Lord,
(BD)Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs (BE)the sea,
And its waves roar
(BF)(The Lord of hosts is His name):
36 “If (BG)those ordinances depart
From before Me, says the Lord,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease
From being a nation before Me forever.”
37 Thus says the Lord:
(BH)“If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also (BI)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 (BJ)from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 (BK)The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. 40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, (BL)to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, (BM)shall be holy to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 31:3 Lit. from afar
- Jeremiah 31:5 Lit. treat them as common
- Jeremiah 31:10 Or coastlands
- Jeremiah 31:14 Fill to the full
- Jeremiah 31:20 Lit. inward parts
- Jeremiah 31:21 Or Return
- Jeremiah 31:25 fully satisfied
- Jeremiah 31:32 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. and I turned away from them
- Jeremiah 31:33 Lit. inward parts
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
