Jeremiah 31

New International Version

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God^(A) of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

²This is what the Lord says:

“The people who survive the sword
will find favor^(B) in the wilderness;
I will come to give rest^(C) to Israel.”

³The Lord appeared to us in the past,^[a] saying:

“I have loved^(D) you with an everlasting love;
    I have drawn^(E) you with unfailing kindness.
⁴I will build you up again,
    and you, Virgin^(F) Israel, will be rebuilt.^(G)
Again you will take up your timbrels^(H)
    and go out to dance^(I) with the joyful.^(J)
⁵Again you will plant^(K) vineyards
    on the hills of Samaria;^(L)
the farmers will plant them
    and enjoy their fruit.^(M)
⁶There will be a day when watchmen^(N) cry out
    on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord our God.’”^(O)

⁷This is what the Lord says:

“Sing^(P) with joy for Jacob;
    shout for the foremost^(Q) of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
    ‘Lord, save^(R) your people,
    the remnant^(S) of Israel.’
⁸See, I will bring them from the land of the north^(T)
    and gather^(U) them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind^(V) and the lame,^(W)
    expectant mothers and women in labor;
    a great throng will return.
⁹They will come with weeping;^(X)
    they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead^(Y) them beside streams of water^(Z)
    on a level^(AA) path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,^(AB)
    and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

¹⁰“Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;
    proclaim it in distant coastlands:^(AC)
‘He who scattered^(AD) Israel will gather^(AE) them
    and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’^(AF)
¹¹For the Lord will deliver Jacob
    and redeem^(AG) them from the hand of those stronger^(AH) than they.
¹²They will come and shout for joy^(AI) on the heights^(AJ) of Zion;
    they will rejoice in the bounty^(AK) of the Lord—
the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,^(AL)
    the young of the flocks^(AM) and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,^(AN)
    and they will sorrow^(AO) no more.
¹³Then young women will dance and be glad,
    young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning^(AP) into gladness;
    I will give them comfort^(AQ) and joy^(AR) instead of sorrow.
¹⁴I will satisfy^(AS) the priests^(AT) with abundance,
    and my people will be filled with my bounty,^(AU)”
declares the Lord.

¹⁵This is what the Lord says:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,^(AV)
    mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,^(AW)
    because they are no more.”^(AX)

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:

“Restrain your voice from weeping
    and your eyes from tears,^(AY)
for your work will be rewarded,^(AZ)”
declares the Lord.
    “They will return^(BA) from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷So there is hope^(BB) for your descendants,”
declares the Lord.
    “Your children^(BC) will return to their own land.

¹⁸“I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
    ‘You disciplined^(BD) me like an unruly calf,^(BE)
    and I have been disciplined.
Restore^(BF) me, and I will return,
    because you are the Lord my God.
¹⁹After I strayed,^(BG)
    I repented;
after I came to understand,
    I beat^(BH) my breast.
I was ashamed^(BI) and humiliated
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’^(BJ)
²⁰Is not Ephraim my dear son,
    the child^(BK) in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
    I still remember^(BL) him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
    I have great compassion^(BM) for him,”
declares the Lord.

²¹“Set up road signs;
    put up guideposts.^(BN)
Take note of the highway,^(BO)
    the road that you take.
Return,^(BP) Virgin^(BQ) Israel,
    return to your towns.
²²How long will you wander,^(BR)
    unfaithful^(BS) Daughter Israel?
The Lord will create a new thing^(BT) on earth—
    the woman will return to^[b]^(BU) the man.”

²³This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity,^[c]^(BV) the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless^(BW) you, you prosperous city,^(BX) you sacred mountain.’^(BY) ²⁴People will live^(BZ) together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks.^(CA) ²⁵I will refresh the weary^(CB) and satisfy the faint.”^(CC)

²⁶At this I awoke^(CD) and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.

²⁷“The days are coming,”^(CE) declares the Lord, “when I will plant^(CF) the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. ²⁸Just as I watched^(CG) over them to uproot^(CH) and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster,^(CI) so I will watch over them to build and to plant,”^(CJ) declares the Lord. ²⁹“In those days people will no longer say,

‘The parents^(CK) have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’^(CL)

³⁰Instead, everyone will die for their own sin;^(CM) whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

³¹“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will make a new covenant^(CN)
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
³²It will not be like the covenant^(CO)
    I made with their ancestors^(CP)
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,^(CQ)
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband^(CR) to^[d] them,^[e]”
declares the Lord.
³³“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds^(CS)
    and write it on their hearts.^(CT)
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.^(CU)
³⁴No longer will they teach^(CV) their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know^(CW) me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive^(CX) their wickedness
    and will remember their sins^(CY) no more.”

³⁵This is what the Lord says,

he who appoints^(CZ) the sun
    to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
    to shine by night,^(DA)
who stirs up the sea^(DB)
    so that its waves roar^(DC)—
    the Lord Almighty is his name:^(DD)
³⁶“Only if these decrees^(DE) vanish from my sight,”
    declares the Lord,
“will Israel^(DF) ever cease
    being a nation before me.”

³⁷This is what the Lord says:

“Only if the heavens above can be measured^(DG)
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject^(DH) all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,”
declares the Lord.

³⁸“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuilt^(DI) for me from the Tower of Hananel^(DJ) to the Corner Gate.^(DK) ³⁹The measuring line^(DL) will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. ⁴⁰The whole valley^(DM) where dead bodies^(DN) and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley^(DO) on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate,^(DP) will be holy^(DQ) to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 31:3 Or Lord has appeared to us from afar
Jeremiah 31:22 Or will protect
Jeremiah 31:23 Or I restore their fortunes
Jeremiah 31:32 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac / and I turned away from
Jeremiah 31:32 Or was their master

2 Corinthians 2

New International Version

2 ¹So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.^(A) ²For if I grieve you,^(B) who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? ³I wrote as I did,^(C) so that when I came I would not be distressed^(D) by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence^(E) in all of you, that you would all share my joy. ⁴For I wrote you^(F) out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

Forgiveness for the Offender

⁵If anyone has caused grief,^(G) he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. ⁶The punishment^(H) inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. ⁷Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him,^(I) so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹Another reason I wrote you^(J) was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.^(K) ¹⁰Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, ¹¹in order that Satan^(L) might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.^(M)

Ministers of the New Covenant

¹²Now when I went to Troas^(N) to preach the gospel of Christ^(O) and found that the Lord had opened a door^(P) for me, ¹³I still had no peace of mind,^(Q) because I did not find my brother Titus^(R) there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.^(S)

¹⁴But thanks be to God,^(T) who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma^(U) of the knowledge^(V) of him everywhere. ¹⁵For we are to God the pleasing aroma^(W) of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.^(X) ¹⁶To the one we are an aroma that brings death;^(Y) to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?^(Z) ¹⁷Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.^(AA) On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity,^(AB) as those sent from God.^(AC)