Restoration for Israel and Judah

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: (A)Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. (B)For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, (C)when I will restore (D)the fortunes of my people, (E)Israel and Judah, says the Lord, (F)and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning (G)Israel and Judah:

“Thus says the Lord:
We have heard a cry of panic,
    of terror, and no peace.
Ask now, and see,
    can a man bear a child?
(H)Why then do I see every man
    with his hands on his stomach (I)like a woman in labor?
    (J)Why has every face turned pale?
Alas! (K)That day is so great
    (L)there is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
    yet he shall be saved out of it.

“And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will (M)break his (N)yoke from off your neck, and I will (O)burst your bonds, (P)and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.[a] But they shall serve the Lord their God and (Q)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10 (R)“Then fear not, (S)O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,
    nor be dismayed, O Israel;
for behold, (T)I will save you from far away,
    (U)and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
(V)Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
    and none shall make him afraid.
11 (W)For I am with you to save you,
declares the Lord;
(X)I will make a full end of all the nations
    among whom I scattered you,
    but of you I will not make a full end.
(Y)I will (Z)discipline you in just measure,
    and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

12 “For thus says the Lord:
(AA)Your hurt is incurable,
    (AB)and your wound is grievous.
13 There is none to uphold your cause,
    no medicine for your wound,
    (AC)no healing for you.
14 (AD)All your lovers have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of (AE)an enemy,
    the punishment (AF)of a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
    (AG)because your sins are flagrant.
15 (AH)Why do you cry out over your hurt?
    (AI)Your pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
    (AJ)because your sins are flagrant,
    I have done these things to you.
16 (AK)Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
    and (AL)all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
(AM)those who plunder you shall be plundered,
    (AN)and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
17 (AO)For I will restore (AP)health to you,
    and (AQ)your wounds I will heal,
declares the Lord,
because (AR)they have called you an outcast:
    (AS)‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’

18 “Thus says the Lord:
Behold, (AT)I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
    and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt on (AU)its mound,
    and the palace shall stand where it used to be.
19 (AV)Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
    and the voices of those who celebrate.
(AW)I will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
    I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
20 (AX)Their children shall be as they were of old,
    and their congregation shall be established before me,
    and I will punish all who oppress them.
21 (AY)Their prince shall be one of themselves;
    (AZ)their ruler shall come out from their midst;
(BA)I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,
    (BB)for who would dare of himself to approach me?
declares the Lord.
22 (BC)And you shall be my people,
    and I will be your God.”

23 (BD)Behold (BE)the storm of the Lord!
    Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
    it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
24 (BF)The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
    until he has executed and accomplished
    the intentions of his mind.
(BG)In the latter days you will understand this.

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

31 (BH)“At that time, declares the Lord, (BI)I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”

Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
    found grace in the wilderness;
(BJ)when Israel sought for rest,
    the Lord appeared to him[b] from far away.
(BK)I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    therefore (BL)I have continued (BM)my faithfulness to you.
(BN)Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
    O virgin Israel!
(BO)Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
    and shall go forth in (BP)the dance of the merrymakers.
(BQ)Again you shall plant vineyards
    on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
    and shall enjoy the fruit.
For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
    in (BR)the hill country of Ephraim:
(BS)‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord our God.’”

For thus says the Lord:
(BT)“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
    and raise shouts for (BU)the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
    (BV)‘O Lord, save your people,
    the remnant of Israel.’
Behold, I will bring them (BW)from the north country
    and (BX)gather them from (BY)the farthest parts of the earth,
among them (BZ)the blind and the lame,
    the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
    a great company, they shall return here.
(CA)With weeping they shall come,
    (CB)and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them (CC)walk by brooks of water,
    (CD)in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for (CE)I am a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is (CF)my firstborn.

10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
    and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will (CG)gather him,
    and will keep him (CH)as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
11 (CI)For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
    and has redeemed him from (CJ)hands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
    (CK)and they shall be radiant (CL)over the goodness of the Lord,
(CM)over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
    and over the young of the flock and the herd;
(CN)their life shall be like a watered garden,
    (CO)and they shall languish no more.
13 (CP)Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
    and the young men and the old shall be merry.
(CQ)I will turn their mourning into joy;
    I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 (CR)I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
    and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord.”

15 Thus says the Lord:
(CS)“A voice is heard in (CT)Ramah,
    lamentation and bitter weeping.
(CU)Rachel is weeping for her children;
    she refuses to be comforted for her children,
    (CV)because they are no more.”

16 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
    and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the Lord,
    and (CW)they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 (CX)There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
    and your children shall come back to their own country.
18 I have heard (CY)Ephraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
    like an untrained calf;
(CZ)bring me back that I may be restored,
    for you are the Lord my God.
19 For after (DA)I had turned away, I relented,
    and after I was instructed, (DB)I struck my thigh;
(DC)I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 (DD)Is Ephraim my dear son?
    (DE)Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
    I do remember him still.
(DF)Therefore my heart[c] yearns for him;
    I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.

21 (DG)“Set up road markers for yourself;
    make yourself guideposts;
(DH)consider well the highway,
    (DI)the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
    return to these your cities.
22 (DJ)How long will you waver,
    (DK)O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
    a woman encircles a man.”

23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, (DL)when I restore their fortunes:

(DM)“‘The Lord bless you, (DN)O habitation of righteousness,
    (DO)O holy hill!’

24 (DP)And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and (DQ)the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. 25 For I will (DR)satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

27 (DS)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when (DT)I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with (DU)the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that (DV)as I have watched over them (DW)to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, (DX)so I will watch over them (DY)to build and to plant, declares the Lord. 29 In those days they shall no longer say:

(DZ)“‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
    and the children's teeth are set on edge.’

30 (EA)But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

The New Covenant

31 (EB)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make (EC)a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when (ED)I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, (EE)though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 (EF)For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: (EG)I will put my law within them, and I will write it (EH)on their hearts. (EI)And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ (EJ)for they shall all know me, (EK)from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For (EL)I will forgive their iniquity, and (EM)I will remember their sin no more.”

35 Thus says the Lord,
who (EN)gives the sun for light by day
    and (EO)the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
    (EP)the Lord of hosts is his name:
36 (EQ)“If this fixed order departs
    from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
    from being a nation before me forever.”

37 Thus says the Lord:
“If the heavens above can be measured,
    and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
(ER)then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
    for all that they have done,
declares the Lord.”

38 (ES)“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord (ET)from the Tower of Hananel to (EU)the Corner Gate. 39 (EV)And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. 40 (EW)The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the (EX)brook Kidron, to the corner of (EY)the Horse Gate toward the east, (EZ)shall be sacred to the Lord. (FA)It shall not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 30:8 Or serve him
  2. Jeremiah 31:3 Septuagint; Hebrew me
  3. Jeremiah 31:20 Hebrew bowels

Restoration of Israel

30 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write(A) in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days(B) are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring(C) my people Israel and Judah back from captivity[a] and restore(D) them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: “This is what the Lord says:

“‘Cries of fear(E) are heard—
    terror, not peace.
Ask and see:
    Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,(F)
    every face turned deathly pale?(G)
How awful that day(H) will be!
    No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble(I) for Jacob,
    but he will be saved(J) out of it.

“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
    ‘I will break the yoke(K) off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;(L)
    no longer will foreigners enslave them.(M)
Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
    and David(N) their king,(O)
    whom I will raise up for them.

10 “‘So do not be afraid,(P) Jacob my servant;(Q)
    do not be dismayed, Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I will surely save(R) you out of a distant place,
    your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,(S)
    and no one will make him afraid.(T)
11 I am with you(U) and will save you,’
    declares the Lord.
‘Though I completely destroy all the nations
    among which I scatter you,
    I will not completely destroy(V) you.
I will discipline(W) you but only in due measure;
    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’(X)

12 “This is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wound(Y) is incurable,
    your injury beyond healing.(Z)
13 There is no one to plead your cause,(AA)
    no remedy for your sore,
    no healing(AB) for you.
14 All your allies(AC) have forgotten you;
    they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy(AD) would
    and punished you as would the cruel,(AE)
because your guilt is so great
    and your sins(AF) so many.
15 Why do you cry out over your wound,
    your pain that has no cure?(AG)
Because of your great guilt and many sins
    I have done these things to you.(AH)

16 “‘But all who devour(AI) you will be devoured;
    all your enemies will go into exile.(AJ)
Those who plunder(AK) you will be plundered;
    all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
17 But I will restore you to health
    and heal(AL) your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,(AM)
    Zion for whom no one cares.’(AN)

18 “This is what the Lord says:

“‘I will restore the fortunes(AO) of Jacob’s tents(AP)
    and have compassion(AQ) on his dwellings;
the city will be rebuilt(AR) on her ruins,
    and the palace will stand in its proper place.
19 From them will come songs(AS) of thanksgiving(AT)
    and the sound of rejoicing.(AU)
I will add to their numbers,(AV)
    and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor,(AW)
    and they will not be disdained.
20 Their children(AX) will be as in days of old,
    and their community will be established(AY) before me;
    I will punish(AZ) all who oppress them.
21 Their leader(BA) will be one of their own;
    their ruler will arise from among them.(BB)
I will bring him near(BC) and he will come close to me—
    for who is he who will devote himself
    to be close to me?’
declares the Lord.
22 “‘So you will be my people,(BD)
    and I will be your God.(BE)’”

23 See, the storm(BF) of the Lord
    will burst out in wrath,
a driving wind swirling down
    on the heads of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger(BG) of the Lord will not turn back(BH)
    until he fully accomplishes
    the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
    you will understand(BI) this.

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God(BJ) 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(BK) in the wilderness;
    I will come to give rest(BL) to Israel.”

The Lord appeared to us in the past,[b] saying:

“I have loved(BM) you with an everlasting love;
    I have drawn(BN) you with unfailing kindness.
I will build you up again,
    and you, Virgin(BO) Israel, will be rebuilt.(BP)
Again you will take up your timbrels(BQ)
    and go out to dance(BR) with the joyful.(BS)
Again you will plant(BT) vineyards
    on the hills of Samaria;(BU)
the farmers will plant them
    and enjoy their fruit.(BV)
There will be a day when watchmen(BW) cry out
    on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
    to the Lord our God.’”(BX)

This is what the Lord says:

“Sing(BY) with joy for Jacob;
    shout for the foremost(BZ) of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
    Lord, save(CA) your people,
    the remnant(CB) of Israel.’
See, I will bring them from the land of the north(CC)
    and gather(CD) them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind(CE) and the lame,(CF)
    expectant mothers and women in labor;
    a great throng will return.
They will come with weeping;(CG)
    they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead(CH) them beside streams of water(CI)
    on a level(CJ) path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,(CK)
    and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

10 “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;
    proclaim it in distant coastlands:(CL)
‘He who scattered(CM) Israel will gather(CN) them
    and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’(CO)
11 For the Lord will deliver Jacob
    and redeem(CP) them from the hand of those stronger(CQ) than they.
12 They will come and shout for joy(CR) on the heights(CS) of Zion;
    they will rejoice in the bounty(CT) of the Lord
the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,(CU)
    the young of the flocks(CV) and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,(CW)
    and they will sorrow(CX) no more.
13 Then young women will dance and be glad,
    young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning(CY) into gladness;
    I will give them comfort(CZ) and joy(DA) instead of sorrow.
14 I will satisfy(DB) the priests(DC) with abundance,
    and my people will be filled with my bounty,(DD)
declares the Lord.

15 This is what the Lord says:

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

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Restrain your voice from weeping
    and your eyes from tears,(DH)
for your work will be rewarded,(DI)
declares the Lord.
    “They will return(DJ) from the land of the enemy.
17 So there is hope(DK) for your descendants,”
declares the Lord.
    “Your children(DL) will return to their own land.

18 “I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
    ‘You disciplined(DM) me like an unruly calf,(DN)
    and I have been disciplined.
Restore(DO) me, and I will return,
    because you are the Lord my God.
19 After I strayed,(DP)
    I repented;
after I came to understand,
    I beat(DQ) my breast.
I was ashamed(DR) and humiliated
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’(DS)
20 Is not Ephraim my dear son,
    the child(DT) in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
    I still remember(DU) him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
    I have great compassion(DV) for him,”
declares the Lord.

21 “Set up road signs;
    put up guideposts.(DW)
Take note of the highway,(DX)
    the road that you take.
Return,(DY) Virgin(DZ) Israel,
    return to your towns.
22 How long will you wander,(EA)
    unfaithful(EB) Daughter Israel?
The Lord will create a new thing(EC) on earth—
    the woman will return to[c](ED) the man.”

23 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity,[d](EE) the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord bless(EF) you, you prosperous city,(EG) you sacred mountain.’(EH) 24 People will live(EI) together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks.(EJ) 25 I will refresh the weary(EK) and satisfy the faint.”(EL)

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

27 “The days are coming,”(EN) declares the Lord, “when I will plant(EO) the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28 Just as I watched(EP) over them to uproot(EQ) and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster,(ER) so I will watch over them to build and to plant,”(ES) declares the Lord. 29 “In those days people will no longer say,

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

30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin;(EV) 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(EW)
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant(EX)
    I made with their ancestors(EY)
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,(EZ)
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband(FA) to[e] them,[f]
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(FB)
    and write it on their hearts.(FC)
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.(FD)
34 No longer will they teach(FE) their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know(FF) me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive(FG) their wickedness
    and will remember their sins(FH) no more.”

35 This is what the Lord says,

he who appoints(FI) the sun
    to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
    to shine by night,(FJ)
who stirs up the sea(FK)
    so that its waves roar(FL)
    the Lord Almighty is his name:(FM)
36 “Only if these decrees(FN) vanish from my sight,”
    declares the Lord,
“will Israel(FO) ever cease
    being a nation before me.”

37 This is what the Lord says:

“Only if the heavens above can be measured(FP)
    and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject(FQ) 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(FR) for me from the Tower of Hananel(FS) to the Corner Gate.(FT) 39 The measuring line(FU) will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley(FV) where dead bodies(FW) and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley(FX) on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate,(FY) will be holy(FZ) to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 30:3 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah
  2. Jeremiah 31:3 Or Lord has appeared to us from afar
  3. Jeremiah 31:22 Or will protect
  4. Jeremiah 31:23 Or I restore their fortunes
  5. Jeremiah 31:32 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac / and I turned away from
  6. Jeremiah 31:32 Or was their master