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
耶利米书 31
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
以色列必回归与复兴
31 “到那时，我必作以色列各家族的 神，他们要作我的子民。”这是耶和华的宣告。
2 耶和华这样说：
“在刀剑下幸存的人民，
在旷野蒙受了恩宠；
以色列来到她安息之处。”
3 耶和华在古时（“在古时”或译：“从远处”）曾向以色列（按照《马索拉文本》，“以色列”应作“我”；现参照《七十士译本》翻译）显现，说：
“我以永远的爱爱你，
因此，我对你的慈爱延续不息（“我对你的慈爱延续不息”或译：“我要以慈爱吸引你”）。
4 童女以色列啊！
我要再次建立你，你就必被建立。
你要再次拿起铃鼓，
出去和那些欢乐的人一同跳舞。
5 你要再次在撒玛利亚的众山上栽种葡萄园，
栽种的人栽种了，必可享用所结的果子。
6 因为有一天，守望的人要在以法莲山上呼叫，说：
‘起来吧！我们上锡安去朝见耶和华我们的 神。’”
7 耶和华这样说：
“你们要为雅各喜乐欢呼，
要为那在列国为首的呼喊。
你们要宣告，要颂赞，说：
‘耶和华啊！求你拯救你的子民，
就是以色列的余民。’
8 看哪！我必把他们从北方之地领回来，
把他们从地极招集起来；
在他们中间有瞎眼的、瘸腿的、
孕妇、产妇，都在一起；
他们成群结队返回这里。
9 我引导他们的时候，
他们必哭着而来，并且向我乞恩恳求。
我要使他们走在溪水旁，
行在平直的路上，他们必不会绊跌；
因为我是以色列的父亲，
以法莲是我的长子。
雅各得蒙救赎
10 “列国啊！你们要听耶和华的话，
要在远方的海岛传扬，说：
‘那赶散以色列的 神，必再招集他们；
必看守他们，像牧人看守自己的羊群一样。’
11 因为耶和华买赎了雅各，
从比他更强的人手中把他救赎了出来。
12 他们必来到锡安的高处欢呼；
他们必容光焕发，因为耶和华赐他们各样的美物，
就是五谷、新酒和油，
还有羊羔和牛犊。
他们必像有水灌溉的园子，
永不再枯干。
13 那时，童女必欢乐跳舞，
年轻的和年老的一起欢乐。
我必使他们的悲哀变为喜乐，
我必安慰他们，
使他们从忧愁中得着欢乐。
14 我必用肥脂使祭司的心满足；
我的子民必因我的美物饱足。”
这是耶和华的宣告。
15 耶和华这样说：
“在拉玛听见有声音，
是痛哭哀号的声音；
拉结为她的儿女哀哭，
不肯受安慰，
因为他们都不在了。”
16 耶和华这样说：
“止住你的声音，不要哭泣，
抑制你的眼睛不要再流泪，
因为你所作的必有果效；
他们必从仇敌之地回来。”
这是耶和华的宣告。
17 “你的前途必有希望；
你的儿女必返回自己的地方。”
这是耶和华的宣告。
18 “我清楚听见以法莲为自己哀叹，说：
‘你管教了我，
我像一头不驯服的牛犊受管教；
求你使我回转，我就得以回转，
因为你是耶和华我的 神。
19 我回转以后，就深深悔悟；
我醒觉以后，就拍腿悔恨。
因为我承受年幼时的耻辱，
我感到羞耻和惭愧。’
20 以法莲是我亲爱的儿子吗？
是我喜悦的孩子吗？
每逢我说话攻击他，
我必再次记念他。
因此，我的心恋慕他；
我必定怜悯他。”
这是耶和华的宣告。
21 你要为自己设立路标，
竖立路牌；
你要留心大路，
就是你走过的路。
童女以色列啊，回转吧！
回到你这些城市那里。
22 转离正道的女儿哪，
你转来转去要到几时呢？
因为耶和华在地上创造了一件新事，
就是女的要环绕男的。
耶和华眷爱自己的子民
23 万军之耶和华以色列的 神这样说：“我使被掳的人归回的时候，他们在犹大地，在犹大的城镇里，必再说这样的话：‘公义的居所啊，圣山哪，愿耶和华赐福给你！’ 24 犹大各城的人、耕地的和领着群畜游牧的，都要一起住在犹大。 25 疲倦的人，我必使他振作；愁苦的人，我必使他满足。” 26 这时，我醒过来，四周观看；我睡得很香甜。
27 “看哪！日子快到（这是耶和华的宣告），我必使以色列家和犹大家人口和牲畜繁衍。 28 我先前怎样留意把他们拔出、拆毁、倾覆、毁灭和降灾；将来我也必照样留意把他们建立和栽种起来。”这是耶和华的宣告。
29 “在那些日子，人必不再说：
‘父亲吃了酸葡萄，
儿子的牙齿酸倒了。’
30 因为各人必因自己的罪孽死亡；吃酸葡萄的，那人的牙齿必酸倒。
订立新约
31 “看哪！日子快到（这是耶和华的宣告），我要与以色列家和犹大家订立新的约。 32 这新约不像从前我拉他们祖先的手，领他们出埃及地的日子，与他们所立的约；我虽然是他们的丈夫，他们却违背了我的约。”这是耶和华的宣告。 33 “但那些日子以后，我要与以色列家所立的约是这样（这是耶和华的宣告）：我要把我的律法放在他们里面，写在他们的心里。我要作他们的 神，他们要作我的子民。 34 他们各人必不再教导自己的邻舍和自己的同胞，说：‘你们要认识耶和华。’因为所有的人，从最小到最大的都必认识我。我也要赦免他们的罪孽，不再记着他们的罪恶。”这是耶和华的宣告。
35 那使太阳白昼发光，
派定月亮和星辰照耀黑夜，
又搅动海洋，使海浪澎湃的，
万军之耶和华是他的名，
他这样说：
36 “这些定律若能从我面前废掉，
以色列的后裔也就会在我面前断绝，
永远不再成为一个国家。”
这是耶和华的宣告。
37 耶和华这样说：
“人若能量度在上的诸天，
测透地下面的根基，
我也就会因以色列后裔所作的一切，
弃绝他们众人。”
这是耶和华的宣告。
38 “看哪！日子快到（这是耶和华的宣告），这城从哈楠业城楼直到角门，必为耶和华重建起来。 39 量度的准绳还要往外量，直到迦立山，绕到歌亚。 40 拋尸和倒灰的整个山谷，以及从汲沦溪直到东边马门拐角一带所有的墓地，都必归耶和华为圣，永远不再拔出，不再倾覆。”
Jeremiah 31
Living Bible
31 At that time, says the Lord, all the families of Israel shall recognize me as the Lord; they shall act like my people. 2 I will care for them as I did those who escaped from Egypt, to whom I showed my mercies in the wilderness, when Israel sought for rest. 3 For long ago the Lord had said to Israel: I have loved you, O my people, with an everlasting love; with loving-kindness I have drawn you to me. 4 I will rebuild your nation, O virgin of Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with the timbrels. 5 Again you will plant your vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there.
6 The day shall come when watchmen on the hills of Ephraim will call out and say, “Arise, and let us go up to Zion to the Lord our God.” 7 For the Lord says: Sing with joy for all that I will do for Israel, the greatest of the nations! Shout out with praise and joy: “The Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel.” 8 For I will bring them from the north and from earth’s farthest ends, not forgetting their blind and lame, young mothers with their little ones, those ready to give birth. It will be a great company who comes. 9 Tears of joy shall stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They shall walk beside the quiet streams and not stumble. For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my oldest child.
10 Listen to this message from the Lord, you nations of the world, and publish it abroad: The Lord who scattered his people will gather them back together again and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock. 11 He will save Israel from those who are too strong for them! 12 They shall come home and sing songs of joy upon the hills of Zion and shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord—the good crops, the wheat, the wine, and the oil, and the healthy flocks and herds. Their life shall be like a watered garden, and all their sorrows shall be gone. 13 The young girls will dance for joy, and menfolk—old and young—will take their part in all the fun; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and I will comfort them and make them rejoice, for their captivity with all its sorrows will be behind them. 14 I will feast the priests with the abundance of offerings brought to them at the Temple; I will satisfy my people with my bounty, says the Lord.
15 The Lord spoke to me again, saying: In Ramah there is bitter weeping—Rachel[a] is weeping for her children and cannot be comforted, for they are gone. 16 But the Lord says: Don’t cry any longer, for I have heard your prayers[b] and you will see them again; they will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy. 17 There is hope for your future, says the Lord, and your children will come again to their own land.
18 I have heard Ephraim’s groans: “You have punished me greatly; but I needed it all, as a calf must be trained for the yoke. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the Lord, my God. 19 I turned away from God, but I was sorry afterwards. I kicked myself for my stupidity. I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in younger days.”
20 And the Lord replies: Ephraim is still my son, my darling child. I had to punish him, but I still love him. I long for him and surely will have mercy on him.
21 As you travel into exile, set up road signs pointing back to Israel. Mark your pathway well. For you shall return again, O virgin Israel, to your cities here. 22 How long will you vacillate, O wayward daughter? For the Lord will cause something new and different to happen—Israel will search for God.[c]
23 The Lord, the God of Israel, says: When I bring them back again, they shall say in Judah and her cities, “The Lord bless you, O center of righteousness, O holy hill!” 24 And city dwellers and farmers and shepherds alike shall live together in peace and happiness. 25 For I have given rest to the weary and joy to all the sorrowing.
26 (Then Jeremiah wakened. “Such sleep is very sweet!” he said.)
27 The Lord says: The time will come when I will greatly increase the population and multiply the number of cattle here in Israel. 28 In the past I painstakingly destroyed the nation, but now I will carefully build it up. 29 The people shall no longer quote this proverb—“Children pay for their fathers’ sins.”[d] 30 For everyone shall die for his own sins—the person eating sour grapes is the one whose teeth are set on edge.
31 The day will come, says the Lord, when I will make a new contract with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It won’t be like the one I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a contract they broke, forcing me to reject them,[e] says the Lord. 33 But this is the new contract I will make with them: I will inscribe my laws upon their hearts,[f] so that they shall want to honor me; then they shall truly be my people and I will be their God. 34 At that time it will no longer be necessary to admonish one another to know the Lord. For everyone, both great and small, shall really know me then, says the Lord, and I will forgive and forget their sins.
35 The Lord who gives us sunlight in the daytime and the moon and stars to light the night, and who stirs the sea to make the roaring waves—his name is Lord Almighty—says this: 36 I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to do away with these laws of nature! 37 Not until the heavens can be measured and the foundations of the earth explored, will I consider casting them away forever for their sins!
38-39 For the time is coming, says the Lord, when all Jerusalem shall be rebuilt for the Lord, from the tower of Hananel at the northeast corner,[g] to the Corner Gate at the northwest; and from the hill of Gareb at the southwest, across to Goah on the southeast. 40 And the entire city, including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley, and all the fields out to the brook of Kidron, and from there to the Horse Gate on the east side of the city, all shall be holy to the Lord; it shall never again be captured or destroyed.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 31:15 Rachel, symbolic mother of the Northern tribes, who were taken away by the Assyrians as slaves.
- Jeremiah 31:16 for I have heard your prayers, literally, “for your work shall be rewarded.”
- Jeremiah 31:22 Israel will search for God, literally, “a woman shall court a suitor” or “a woman shall encompass a man.”
- Jeremiah 31:29 Children pay for their fathers’ sins, literally, “The fathers eat the sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
- Jeremiah 31:32 a contract they broke, forcing me to reject them. Some versions read, “a covenant they broke, even though I cared for them as a husband does his wife.” See Hebrews 8:9b.
- Jeremiah 31:33 upon their hearts, i.e., rather than upon tablets of stone, as were the Ten Commandments. so that they shall want to honor me. In Jeremiah 17:1 their sin was inscribed on their hearts, so that they wanted above all to disobey. This change seems to describe an experience very much like, if not the same as, the new birth.
- Jeremiah 31:38 northeast corner . . . northwest . . . southwest . . . southeast, implied.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.