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Chapter 31

Restoration of Israel

At that time, says the Lord:
    I will be the God of all the families of Israel,
    and they will be my people.
Thus says the Lord:
    The people who survived the sword
    found favor in the wilderness.
When the people of Israel sought for rest,
    the Lord appeared to them from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    therefore, I have continued to be merciful to you.
I will build you up again,
    and you will be rebuilt,
    O virgin Israel.
You will once again carry your tambourines
    and go forth to dance with the merry throng.
You will once again plant vineyards
    on the mountains of Samaria,
    and those who plant them will enjoy their fruit.
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
    will cry out on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord, our God.’ ”

The Glorious Return

For thus says the Lord:
    Raise shouts of joy for Jacob;
    sing your praises for the chief of the nations.
Proclaim your praises as you say,
    “The Lord has delivered his people,
    the remnant of Israel.”
Behold, I will bring them back
    from the land of the north,
and I will gather them together
    from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the lame,
    expectant mothers and women in labor;
    they will return as a vast throng.
They will return, weeping uncontrollably,
    but I will console them as I lead them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
    along a level path where they will not stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
10 Pay heed, you nations, to the word of the Lord;
    proclaim it even on the distant coastlands and say:
He who scattered Israel will now gather them together
    and watch over his flock like a shepherd.
11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
    and redeemed him from the hands of a foe
    far too strong for him.
12 The people will come forth
    and shout for joy on the heights of Zion
    as they behold the bounty of the Lord:
the grain, the new wine, and the oil,
    the young of the flocks and herds.
They themselves will be like a well-watered garden,
    and never again will sorrow afflict them.
13 Then the young girls will dance in their happiness,
    and the old and the young men will rejoice.
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
    I will comfort them
    and replace their sorrow with joy.
14 I will strengthen my priests with choice food,
    and my people will be overwhelmed with my lavish gifts,
    says the Lord.

No More Mourning

15 Thus says the Lord:
    A voice is heard in Ramah
    marked by lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is mourning for her children,
    and she refuses to be consoled
    because they are no more.[a]
16 Thus says the Lord to her:
    Cease your cries of lamentation
    and wipe the tears from your eyes.
For your labors will be rewarded, says the Lord,
    and your children will return from the land of mercy.
17 Thus there is hope for your future, says the Lord;
    your children will return to their homeland.
18 I have indeed heard Ephraim pleading,
    “You chastised me, and I accepted your discipline,
    I was like an untamed calf.
Bring me back! Allow me to return,
    for you are the Lord, my God.
19 After I turned away, I repented;
    once I began to understand, I beat my breast.
I was ashamed and humiliated,
    and I reproach myself for the sins of my youth.”
20 Thus says the Lord:
    Is not Ephraim still my dear son,
    the child in whom I delight?
No matter how often I speak against him,
    I still remember him lovingly.
Therefore, my heart yearns for him,
    and I have great compassion for him.

Blessing and Restoration

21 Set up road markers for yourself;
    make yourself guideposts.
Concentrate your thoughts on the road,
    the route along which you traveled.
Return, O virgin Israel;
    come back to these towns of yours.
22 How long will you wander aimlessly,
    O rebellious daughter?
For the Lord has created something new on the earth:
    a woman must strengthen a man.[b]

23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: In the land of Judah and in its towns, they will once again use these words when I restore their fortunes,

“May the Lord bless you,
    O holy mountain,
    abode of righteousness.”

24 And in the land of Judah and all its towns, the farmers and those who care for the flocks will dwell together. 25 For I will provide the weary with all they need, and I will restore the strength of all those who have grown faint with hunger.

26 At this moment I awakened and looked around, and I realized that my sleep had been pleasant.[c]

27 The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of men and the seed of animals. 28 And as I once watched over them to uproot and pull down, to demolish, destroy, and inflict disaster, so now I will watch over them to build and to plant, says 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 For each one will die for his own sins. The teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes will be set on edge.

31 The New Covenant. The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.[d] 32 However, it will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt, a covenant that they broke even though I was their master.

33 However, this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will establish my law in their minds and inscribe it in their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will there be any need for them to teach one another, or to say to one another, “Know the Lord,” because they will all know me, says the Lord, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their iniquity and no longer remember their sin.

Assurance of God’s Promise

35 Thus says the Lord:
    who provides us with the sun to light our day
    and the moon and the stars to shine at night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar,
    and whose name is the Lord of hosts:
36 If this established order were ever to cease
    in my presence, says the Lord,
then the race of Israel would cease forever
    to be a nation before me.
37 Thus says the Lord:
    Only if the heavens above can be measured
    and the foundations of the earth below can be fathomed
will I reject the entire race of Israel
    because of all they have done, says the Lord.

38 Jerusalem Rebuilt. The days are coming, says the Lord, when this city will be rebuilt for the Lord, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 [e]The measuring line will then be stretched from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40 The entire valley, with its corpses and ashes, and all the fields sloping toward the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be sacred to the Lord. Never again will that city be uprooted or destroyed.

Chapter 32

Promise of Restoration. This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah had been imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard that was attached to the royal palace.

King Zedekiah had ordered Jeremiah to be confined there, saying, “Why do you continue to prophesy in this manner? According to you, this is what the Lord says, ‘I intend to hand over this city to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Nor will King Zedekiah of Judah escape the clutches of the Chaldeans; rather, he will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will speak with him face to face and behold him with his own eyes. Then Zedekiah will be taken to Babylon, where he will remain until I am ready to deal with him. If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will experience no success.’ ”

Jeremiah replied: This word of the Lord was delivered to me: Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you and say, “Purchase for yourself my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. As my closest relative, you have the first right of redemption.” Then, just as the Lord had foretold, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, “Buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of redemption and possession is yours as next of kin. Therefore, purchase it for yourself.” I then knew that this was the word of the Lord.

Therefore, I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out the money to him—seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed the deed, sealed it, had it witnessed, and weighed the money on the scales. 11 Then I took the deed of purchase,[f] both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the unsealed one, 12 and handed them over to Baruch, the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase and of all the Judeans who then happened to be sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

13 In their presence I gave the following instructions to Baruch: 14 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take the documents of the deed of purchase, both the sealed and the unsealed copies, and place them in an earthenware jar so that they may be preserved for a long period of time. 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.

16 After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah, I offered this prayer to the Lord, 17 “Ah, Lord God, you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is impossible for you. 18 You show your steadfast love to thousands, but you permit children to be punished for the guilt of their parents, O great and mighty God whose name is the Lord of hosts. 19 Great in counsel and mighty in deed, your eyes observe closely all the ways of men, rewarding each one according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve.

20 “You performed marvelous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and you have continued to do so in Israel and among all mankind, gaining renown that continues to this very day. 21 With a mighty hand and outstretched arm you led your people out of Egypt amid signs and wonders and great terror.

22 “You gave them this land which you had promised with an oath to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 They entered and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or live in accordance with your law. And since they refused to do what you had commanded, you permitted all these disasters to befall them.

24 “Behold, the siege-works are already in position to force your people into submission, and the city, a victim of sword, famine, and pestilence, will be handed over to the Chaldeans who are attacking it. What you threatened has come to pass, as you yourself can see. 25 And yet, Lord God, you yourself told me, ‘Purchase the field with money and summon witnesses.’ However, the city has already succumbed to the power of the Chaldeans.”

26 Then this word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything impossible for me to accomplish? 28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: I intend to hand over this city to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he will take it. 29 While attacking this city, the Chaldeans will enter it, set it on fire, and burn it to the ground, along with the houses on whose roofs the people provoked me to anger by burning incense to Baal and by pouring out libations to other gods.

30 From their youth the people of Israel and the people of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight. Indeed the people of Israel have done nothing but provoke me with the works of their hands, says the Lord. 31 From the day this city was built until today, it has so aroused my anger and my wrath that I intend to remove it from my sight, 32 because of all the evil that the people of Israel and the people of Judah have perpetrated to provoke me. 33 They have turned their backs to me, not their faces, and although I continued to teach them, they would not listen or accept correction.

34 They defiled the house that bears my name by setting up within it their loathsome idols. 35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to immolate their sons and daughters to Molech. I gave them no command to do so, nor did the thought ever enter my mind that they would do such an abominable deed and thereby cause Judah to sin.

36 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, in regard to this city about which you say, “It has been handed over into the power of the king of Babylon by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence:” 37 Behold, I am determined to gather them together from all the lands to which I banished them in my furious anger and intense wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live there in peace. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will grant them unity of heart and unity of conduct so that they will fear me always, for their own good as well as for the good of their children after them.

40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them never to cease ensuring their welfare, and I will put the fear of me into their hearts so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will delight in doing good to them, and I will plant them firmly in this land with all my heart and soul.

42 For thus says the Lord: Just as I afflicted this people with such great calamity, so I will grant them all the good things I have promised them. 43 Once again fields will be purchased in this land about which you are saying, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been handed over to the Chaldeans.” 44 Fields will be purchased with money; deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin, in the districts around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, of the hill country, of the foothills, and of the Negeb. For I will restore their fortunes, says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 31:15 In Ramah, which lay between Benjamin and Ephraim, that is, in the land of the descendants of Rachel, Jacob’s wife (Gen 35:24; 41:51), a caravan of deportees to Babylon will be formed (Jer 40:1), a moving image of the common mother who mourns for the children snatched from her. Matthew the evangelist would later use it in reference to the children slain at Bethlehem (Mt 2:17-18).
  2. Jeremiah 31:22 The verse is obscure. The same Hebrew verb is used in Deut 32:10 and Ps 32:10 of God’s solicitous care for humanity. The usual interpretation of the present verse is that Israel, formerly so faithless, will show the greatest love and attachment to her husband.
  3. Jeremiah 31:26 “During this vision, I seemed to be dreaming.”
  4. Jeremiah 31:31 Like a sudden gush of water comes this beautiful insight of Jeremiah, one of the high points of Old Testament thought; it is a verse that should be committed to memory and constantly meditated on. The former law with its exterior demands will become God’s gift and an interior impulse, because God will awaken in souls a love for him and the strength to be faithful. Jesus will bring the gift of it in the Gospel when he announces “the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you” (Lk 22:20; see Heb 8:7-13).
  5. Jeremiah 31:39 Gareb and Goah are places unknown to us. The boundaries of the new city will include even places formerly unholy: the valley of dead bodies and ashes, that is, the Valley of Gehenna and of the Kidron, which were formerly places of idolatrous practices (see Jer 2:23; 7:31). For the Tower of Hananel and the Horse Gate, see Neh 3:1, 28.
  6. Jeremiah 32:11 The deed of purchase was written out twice on a single page; one copy was then rolled up and sealed, the other was left hanging open so that everyone could consult it.

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.”

This 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.”

The 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.
I 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)
Again you will plant(K) vineyards
    on the hills of Samaria;(L)
the farmers will plant them
    and enjoy their fruit.(M)
There 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)

This 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.’
See, 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.
They 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)
11 For the Lord will deliver Jacob
    and redeem(AG) them from the hand of those stronger(AH) than they.
12 They 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.
13 Then 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.
14 I will satisfy(AS) the priests(AT) with abundance,
    and my people will be filled with my bounty,(AU)
declares the Lord.

15 This 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)

16 This 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.
17 So 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.
19 After 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)
20 Is 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.
22 How 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.”

23 This 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) 24 People will live(BZ) together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks.(CA) 25 I will refresh the weary(CB) and satisfy the faint.”(CC)

26 At 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. 28 Just 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)

30 Instead, 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.
32 It 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)
34 No 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.”

35 This 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.”

37 This 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) 39 The measuring line(DL) will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40 The 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.”

Jeremiah Buys a Field

32 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth(DR) year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth(DS) year of Nebuchadnezzar. The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging(DT) Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined(DU) in the courtyard of the guard(DV) in the royal palace of Judah.

Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy(DW) as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture(DX) it. Zedekiah(DY) king of Judah will not escape(DZ) the Babylonians[f](EA) but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. He will take(EB) Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him,(EC) declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”(ED)

Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth,(EE) because as nearest relative it is your right and duty(EF) to buy it.’

“Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field(EG) at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; so I bought the field(EH) at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels[g] of silver.(EI) 10 I signed and sealed the deed,(EJ) had it witnessed,(EK) and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— 12 and I gave this deed to Baruch(EL) son of Neriah,(EM) the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed(EN) and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’(EO)

16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch(EP) son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:

17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord,(EQ) you have made the heavens and the earth(ER) by your great power and outstretched arm.(ES) Nothing is too hard(ET) for you. 18 You show love(EU) to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps(EV) of their children(EW) after them. Great and mighty God,(EX) whose name is the Lord Almighty,(EY) 19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.(EZ) Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind;(FA) you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.(FB) 20 You performed signs and wonders(FC) in Egypt(FD) and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown(FE) that is still yours. 21 You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand(FF) and an outstretched arm(FG) and with great terror.(FH) 22 You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.(FI) 23 They came in and took possession(FJ) of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law;(FK) they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster(FL) on them.

24 “See how the siege ramps(FM) are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague,(FN) the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said(FO) has happened,(FP) as you now see. 25 And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field(FQ) with silver and have the transaction witnessed.(FR)’”

26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.(FS) Is anything too hard for me?(FT) 28 Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar(FU) king of Babylon, who will capture it.(FV) 29 The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down,(FW) along with the houses(FX) where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings(FY) to other gods.(FZ)

30 “The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth;(GA) indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger(GB) with what their hands have made,(GC) declares the Lord. 31 From the day it was built until now, this city(GD) has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove(GE) it from my sight. 32 The people of Israel and Judah have provoked(GF) me by all the evil(GG) they have done—they, their kings and officials,(GH) their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. 33 They turned their backs(GI) to me and not their faces; though I taught(GJ) them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.(GK) 34 They set up their vile images(GL) in the house that bears my Name(GM) and defiled(GN) it. 35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom(GO) to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek,(GP) though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind(GQ)—that they should do such a detestable(GR) thing and so make Judah sin.(GS)

36 “You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague(GT) it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather(GU) them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger(GV) and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.(GW) 38 They will be my people,(GX) and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness(GY) of heart and action, so that they will always fear(GZ) me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant(HA) with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire(HB) them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.(HC) 41 I will rejoice(HD) in doing them good(HE) and will assuredly plant(HF) them in this land with all my heart and soul.(HG)

42 “This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity(HH) on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised(HI) them. 43 Once more fields will be bought(HJ) in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate(HK) waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’ 44 Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds(HL) will be signed, sealed and witnessed(HM) in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev,(HN) because I will restore(HO) their fortunes,[h] declares the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 31:3 Or Lord has appeared to us from afar
  2. Jeremiah 31:22 Or will protect
  3. Jeremiah 31:23 Or I restore their fortunes
  4. Jeremiah 31:32 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac / and I turned away from
  5. Jeremiah 31:32 Or was their master
  6. Jeremiah 32:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 5, 24, 25, 28, 29 and 43
  7. Jeremiah 32:9 That is, about 7 ounces or about 200 grams
  8. Jeremiah 32:44 Or will bring them back from captivity