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.”

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

31 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things.

For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God.

For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.

They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

10 Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.

11 For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.

15 Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

16 Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God.

19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.

21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

22 How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.

23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.

24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.

25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.

26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

27 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.

28 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord.

29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.

30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that 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 I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

35 Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name:

36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

37 Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.

38 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.

40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All

10 The law is only a shadow(A) of the good things(B) that are coming—not the realities themselves.(C) For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect(D) those who draw near to worship.(E) Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.(F) But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.(G) It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats(H) to take away sins.(I)

Therefore, when Christ came into the world,(J) he said:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
    but a body you prepared for me;(K)
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll(L)
    I have come to do your will, my God.’”[a](M)

First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”(N)—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.”(O) He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy(P) through the sacrifice of the body(Q) of Jesus Christ once for all.(R)

11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices,(S) which can never take away sins.(T) 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins,(U) he sat down at the right hand of God,(V) 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.(W) 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect(X) forever those who are being made holy.(Y)

15 The Holy Spirit also testifies(Z) to us about this. First he says:

16 “This is the covenant I will make with them
    after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
    and I will write them on their minds.”[b](AA)

17 Then he adds:

“Their sins and lawless acts
    I will remember no more.”[c](AB)

18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

A Call to Persevere in Faith

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence(AC) to enter the Most Holy Place(AD) by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way(AE) opened for us through the curtain,(AF) that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest(AG) over the house of God,(AH) 22 let us draw near to God(AI) with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,(AJ) having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience(AK) and having our bodies washed with pure water.(AL) 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope(AM) we profess,(AN) for he who promised is faithful.(AO) 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,(AP) 25 not giving up meeting together,(AQ) as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another(AR)—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.(AS)

26 If we deliberately keep on sinning(AT) after we have received the knowledge of the truth,(AU) no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire(AV) that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.(AW) 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God(AX) underfoot,(AY) who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant(AZ) that sanctified them,(BA) and who has insulted the Spirit(BB) of grace?(BC) 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d](BD) and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”[e](BE) 31 It is a dreadful thing(BF) to fall into the hands(BG) of the living God.(BH)

32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light,(BI) when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.(BJ) 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution;(BK) at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.(BL) 34 You suffered along with those in prison(BM) and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.(BN) 35 So do not throw away your confidence;(BO) it will be richly rewarded.

36 You need to persevere(BP) so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.(BQ) 37 For,

“In just a little while,
    he who is coming(BR) will come
    and will not delay.”[f](BS)

38 And,

“But my righteous[g] one will live by faith.(BT)
    And I take no pleasure
    in the one who shrinks back.”[h](BU)

39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 10:7 Psalm 40:6-8 (see Septuagint)
  2. Hebrews 10:16 Jer. 31:33
  3. Hebrews 10:17 Jer. 31:34
  4. Hebrews 10:30 Deut. 32:35
  5. Hebrews 10:30 Deut. 32:36; Psalm 135:14
  6. Hebrews 10:37 Isaiah 26:20; Hab. 2:3
  7. Hebrews 10:38 Some early manuscripts But the righteous
  8. Hebrews 10:38 Hab. 2:4 (see Septuagint)

10 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.

But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.

For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;

Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,

16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

21 And having an high priest over the house of God;

22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;

33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.

34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.

35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.