Jeremiah 31
Legacy Standard Bible
Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy
31 “At that time,” declares Yahweh, “I will be the (A)God of all the (B)families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
2 Thus says Yahweh,
“The people who survived the sword
(C)Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to (D)find its relief.”
3 Yahweh appeared to [a]him from afar, saying,
“I have (E)loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with (F)lovingkindness.
4 (G)Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
Again you will [b]take up your (H)tambourines
And go forth to the dances of those (I)celebrating.
5 Again you will (J)plant vineyards
On the [c]hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will [d]enjoy them.
6 For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
‘Arise, and (K)let us go up to Zion,
To Yahweh our God.’”
7 For thus says Yahweh,
“(L)Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the (M)head of the nations;
Make it heard, give praise, and say,
‘O Yahweh, (N)save Your people,
The (O)remnant of Israel.’
8 Behold, I am (P)bringing them from the north country,
And I will (Q)gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them the (R)blind and the (S)lame,
The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;
A great assembly, they will return here.
9 (T)With weeping they will come,
And by supplication I will lead them;
I will make them walk by (U)streams of waters,
On a straight path in which they will (V)not stumble;
For I am a (W)father to Israel,
And Ephraim is (X)My firstborn.”
10 Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations,
And declare in the (Y)coastlands far away,
And say, “He who dispersed Israel will (Z)gather him
And keep him as a (AA)shepherd keeps his flock.”
11 For Yahweh has (AB)ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was (AC)stronger than he.
12 “They will (AD)come and sing for joy on the (AE)height of Zion,
And they will be (AF)radiant over the goodness of Yahweh—
Over the (AG)grain and the new wine and the oil,
And over the young of the (AH)flock and the herd;
And their soul will be like a (AI)watered garden,
And they will (AJ)never waste away again.
13 Then the virgin will be glad in the (AK)dance,
And the young men and the old, together,
For I will (AL)turn their mourning into joy
And will comfort them and give them (AM)gladness for their sorrow.
14 I will [e]fill the soul of the priests with [f]richness,
And My people will be (AN)satisfied with My goodness,” declares Yahweh.
15 Thus says Yahweh,
“(AO)A voice is heard in (AP)Ramah,
Wailing and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She (AQ)refuses to be comforted for her children
Because (AR)they are no more.”
16 Thus says Yahweh,
“(AS)Restrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears,
For your (AT)work will be rewarded,” declares Yahweh,
“And they will (AU)return from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is (AV)hope for your future,” declares Yahweh,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
18 I have surely heard Ephraim (AW)grieving,
‘You have (AX)chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained (AY)calf;
(AZ)Cause me to return that I may return,
For You are Yahweh my God.
19 For after I turned away, I (BA)repented;
And after I was instructed, I (BB)slapped my thigh;
I was (BC)ashamed and also dishonored
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 Is (BD)Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My [g](BE)inmost being yearns for him;
I will surely (BF)have compassion on him,” declares Yahweh.
21 “Set up roadmarks for yourself,
Place for yourself guideposts;
(BG)Set your heart to the highway,
The way by which you went.
(BH)Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
22 How long will you go here and there,
O (BI)faithless daughter?
For Yahweh has created a new thing in the earth—
A [h]woman will encompass a man.”
23 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I [i](BJ)return their [j]fortunes,
24 And Judah and all its cities will (BM)inhabit it together, the farmer and they who go about with flocks. 25 (BN)For I satisfy the weary soul and fill up every soul who wastes away.” 26 At this I (BO)awoke and looked, and my (BP)sleep was pleasant to me.
The New Covenant
27 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will (BQ)sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 28 And it will be that as I have (BR)watched over them to (BS)uproot, to tear down, to pull down, to destroy, and to bring calamity, so I will watch over them to (BT)build and to plant,” declares Yahweh.
29 “In those days they will not say again,
‘(BU)The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are [k]set on edge.’
30 But (BV)everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be [l]set on edge.
31 “(BW)Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will cut a (BX)new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the (BY)covenant which I cut with their fathers in the day I (BZ)took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My (CA)covenant which they broke, but I was a husband to them,” declares Yahweh. 33 “But (CB)this is the covenant which I will cut with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh: “(CC)I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and (CD)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 And they will (CE)not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh,’ for they will all (CF)know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares Yahweh, “for I will (CG)forgive their iniquity, and their (CH)sin I will remember no more.”
35 Thus says Yahweh,
Who (CI)gives the sun for light by day
And the statutes for the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who (CJ)stirs up the sea so that its waves roar;
(CK)Yahweh of hosts is His name:
36 “(CL)If these statutes are removed
From before Me,” declares Yahweh,
“Then the seed of Israel also will (CM)cease
From being a nation before Me [m]forever.”
37 Thus says Yahweh,
“(CN)If the heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also (CO)reject all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done,” declares Yahweh.
38 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when the (CP)city will be rebuilt for Yahweh from the (CQ)Tower of Hananel to the (CR)Corner Gate. 39 The (CS)measuring line will go out farther, straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40 And (CT)the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook (CU)Kidron, to the corner of the (CV)Horse Gate toward the east, shall be (CW)holy to Yahweh; it will not be uprooted or pulled down anymore forever.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 31:3 Lit me
- Jeremiah 31:4 Or be adorned with
- Jeremiah 31:5 Or mountains
- Jeremiah 31:5 Lit defile
- Jeremiah 31:14 Lit saturate
- Jeremiah 31:14 Lit fatness
- Jeremiah 31:20 Lit inward parts
- Jeremiah 31:22 Lit female
- Jeremiah 31:23 Or restore
- Jeremiah 31:23 Or captivity
- Jeremiah 31:29 Or dull
- Jeremiah 31:30 Or dull
- Jeremiah 31:36 Lit all the days
Jeremiah 31
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Lord’s Love for Israel
31 At that time, declares the Lord,
I will be the God of all the families of Israel,
and they will be my people.
2 This is what the Lord says.
The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness.
Israel had continual rest.
3 The Lord appeared to me[a] from a distance, saying:
I have loved you with an everlasting love.
I have drawn you with mercy.
4 I will build you up again,
and you will be built up, O Virgin Israel.
You will pick up your drums again,
and you will go out to dance with those who are joyful.
5 Again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria.
The planters will plant and will enjoy its fruit.
6 For there will be a day
when the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim cry out,
“Come, let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.”
7 This is what the Lord says.
Sing with joy for Jacob,
and shout for the greatest of the nations.
Make your praises heard and say,
“Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel!”
8 Watch, I will bring them from a land in the north
and gather them from the ends of the earth.
The blind and the lame will be there,
the pregnant woman together with the woman in labor.
They will return as a huge community.
9 They will come weeping.
They will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water,
on a level path where they will not stumble.
For I am a father to Israel.
Ephraim is my firstborn.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you nations.
Declare it in the distant islands.
Say that he who scattered Israel will gather him
and watch over him like a shepherd watching his flock.
11 For the Lord will ransom Jacob
and redeem him from the hand of the one who is stronger than him.
12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion,
and they will rejoice in the goodness of the Lord,
for the grain, the new wine, the oil,
and the young of the flocks and herds.
Their lives will thrive like a well-watered garden.
They will not grow weak anymore.
13 Then the virgin will rejoice and dance.
The young men and the old will be glad together,
for I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will comfort them
and give them joy instead of sorrow.
14 I will satisfy the priests with abundance,
and my people will be filled with my goodness,
declares the Lord.
15 This is what the Lord says.
A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel is weeping for her children.
She refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.
16 This is what the Lord says.
Stop your crying.
Do not shed tears,
because your work will be rewarded, declares the Lord.
They will return from the land of the enemy.
17 There is hope for your future, declares the Lord.
Your children will return to their own borders.
Interjection by Israel
18 I have certainly heard Ephraim grieving:
“You have disciplined me.
I was disciplined like an untrained calf.
Cause me to turn, and I will turn,
because you are the Lord my God.
19 After I turned away, I was sorry.
After I was instructed, I slapped my thigh in grief.
I was ashamed and humiliated,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.”
The Lord Speaks Again
20 Isn’t Ephraim my dear son?
Isn’t he my darling child?
I often speak against him,
but I still remember him.
My heart longs for him.
I will certainly be compassionate to him, declares the Lord.
21 Set up road signs.
Make guideposts.
Direct your attention toward the highway,
toward the way by which you came.
Turn back, Virgin Israel.
Turn back to your cities.
22 How long will you turn away,
you unfaithful daughter?
The Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
A female will surround a man.[b]
God’s People Will Prosper Once Again
23 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says.
When I bring them back from captivity,
they will once again say in the land of Judah and in its cities:
“The Lord bless you, you righteous dwelling place,
you holy mountain.”
24 Judah and all its cities will live there together,
the farmers and those who follow their flocks.
25 I will satisfy the thirsty,
and I will give rest to everyone who is weary.
26 Just after this I woke up and looked around.
My sleep had been pleasant for me.
27 Look, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of animal. 28 Just as I have watched over them to uproot and to tear down, to overthrow, destroy, and afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord.
29 In those days they will no longer say,
“The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
30 But everyone will die for his own guilt.
Everyone who eats sour grapes—
his own teeth will be set on edge.
The New Covenant
31 Yes, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers,
when I took them by the hand
and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They broke that covenant of mine,
although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord.
33 But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after those days,
declares the Lord.
I will put my law[c] in their minds,
and I will write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will each one teach his neighbor,
or each one teach his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord,
for I will forgive their guilt,
and I will remember their sins no more.
35 This is what the Lord says,
the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day,
who regulates the moon and stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar,
whose name is the Lord of Armies:
36 Only if these ordinances could vanish from my sight,
only then could the seed of Israel cease to be a nation before me,
declares the Lord.
37 This is what the Lord says:
Only if someone could measure what is above the sky,
only if someone could explore what is below the foundations
of the earth,
only then would I reject all the seed of Israel
for all that they have done, declares the Lord.
38 Look, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The measuring line will stretch from there straight out to the Hill of Gareb and turn toward Goah. 40 The whole valley with the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields out to the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, will be holy to the Lord. It will not be uprooted or torn down ever again.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 31:3 The Greek Old Testament reads him.
- Jeremiah 31:22 Or will embrace a man or will shelter a man. The church fathers understood this as an allusion to the virgin birth, but in the context it seems to refer to Judah’s future faithfulness to her husband, the Lord.
- Jeremiah 31:33 The term law here refers to the whole word of God. As verse 34 demonstrates, here the term law does not refer to the natural knowledge of the law written in our hearts, but rather to our knowledge of the gospel.
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The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.