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Jeremiah 31
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Jeremiah 31
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 31
Good News of the Return
1 At that time—oracle of the Lord—
I will be the God of all the families of Israel,
and they shall be my people.(A)
2 [a]Thus says the Lord:
The people who escaped the sword
find favor in the wilderness.
As Israel comes forward to receive rest,
3 from afar the Lord appears:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.(B)
4 Again I will build you, and you shall stay built,
virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with merrymakers.
5 You shall again plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
those who plant them shall enjoy their fruits.(C)
6 Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
call out on Mount Ephraim:
“Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord, our God.”(D)
The Road of Return
7 For thus says the Lord:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The Lord has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel.(E)
8 Look! I will bring them back
from the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the earth,
the blind and the lame in their midst,
Pregnant women, together with those in labor—
an immense throng—they shall return.(F)
9 With weeping they shall come,
but with compassion I will guide them;
I will lead them to streams of water,
on a level road, without stumbling.
For I am a father to Israel,
Ephraim is my firstborn.(G)
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,
proclaim it on distant coasts, and say:
The One who scattered Israel, now gathers them;
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
11 The Lord shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from a hand too strong for him.(H)
12 Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the Lord’s blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
flocks of sheep and cattle;
They themselves shall be like watered gardens,
never again neglected.(I)
13 Then young women shall make merry and dance,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will show them compassion and have them rejoice after their sorrows.
14 I will lavish choice portions on the priests,
and my people shall be filled with my blessings—
oracle of the Lord.
End of Rachel’s Mourning
15 Thus says the Lord:
In Ramah[b] is heard the sound of sobbing,
bitter weeping!
Rachel mourns for her children,
she refuses to be consoled
for her children—they are no more!(J)
16 Thus says the Lord:
Cease your cries of weeping,
hold back your tears!
There is compensation for your labor—
oracle of the Lord—
they shall return from the enemy’s land.
17 There is hope for your future—oracle of the Lord—
your children shall return to their own territory.(K)
18 Indeed, I heard Ephraim rocking in grief:
You chastised me, and I was chastised;
I was like an untamed calf.
Bring me back, let me come back,
for you are the Lord, my God.(L)
19 For after I turned away, I repented;
after I came to myself, I struck my thigh;[c]
I was ashamed, even humiliated,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.(M)
20 Is Ephraim not my favored son,
the child in whom I delight?
Even though I threaten him,
I must still remember him!
My heart stirs for him,
I must show him compassion!—oracle of the Lord.(N)
Summons to Return Home
21 Set up road markers,
put up signposts;
Turn your attention to the highway,
the road you walked.
Turn back, virgin Israel,
turn back to these your cities.
22 How long will you continue to hesitate,
rebellious daughter?
The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth:
woman encompasses man.[d]
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: When I restore their fortunes in the land of Judah and in its cities, they shall again use this greeting: “May the Lord bless you, Tent of Justice, Holy Mountain!”(O) 24 Judah and all its cities, the farmers and those who lead the flock shall dwell there together. 25 For I will slake the thirst of the faint; the appetite of all the weary I will satisfy. 26 At this I awoke and opened my eyes; my sleep was satisfying.[e]
27 See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of human beings and the seed of animals. 28 As I once watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, to destroy, and to harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant—oracle of the Lord.(P) 29 In those days they shall no longer say,
30 but all shall die because of their own iniquity: the teeth of anyone who eats unripe grapes shall be set on edge.
The New Covenant.[g] 31 See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.(R) 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, though I was their master—oracle of the Lord.(S) 33 But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days—oracle of the Lord. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.(T) 34 They will no longer teach their friends and relatives, “Know the Lord!” Everyone, from least to greatest, shall know me—oracle of the Lord—for I will forgive their iniquity and no longer remember their sin.(U)
Certainty of God’s Promise
35 Thus says the Lord,
Who gives the sun to light the day,
moon and stars to light the night;
Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar,
whose name is Lord of hosts:(V)
36 If ever this fixed order gives way
before me—oracle of the Lord—
Then would the offspring of Israel cease
as a people before me forever.(W)
37 Thus says the Lord:
If the heavens on high could be measured,
or the foundations below the earth be explored,
Then would I reject all the offspring of Israel
because of all they have done—oracle of the Lord.
Jerusalem Rebuilt.[h] 38 See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when the city shall be rebuilt as the Lord’s,(X) from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 A measuring line shall be stretched from there straight to the hill Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valley of corpses and ashes, all the terraced slopes toward the Wadi Kidron, as far as the corner of the Horse Gate at the east, shall be holy to the Lord. Never again shall the city be uprooted or demolished.
Footnotes
- 31:2–3 Jeremiah describes the exiles of the Northern Kingdom on their way home from the nations where the Assyrians had resettled them (722/721 B.C.). The favor they discover in the wilderness is the appearance of the Lord (v. 3) coming to guide them to Jerusalem. Implicit in these verses is the presentation of the people’s return from captivity as a second exodus, a unifying theme in Second Isaiah (chaps. 40–55).
- 31:15 Ramah: a village about five miles north of Jerusalem, where one tradition locates Rachel’s tomb (1 Sm 10:2). The wife of Jacob/Israel, Rachel is the matriarchal ancestor of Ephraim, chief among the northern tribes. She personified Israel as a mother whose grief for her lost children is especially poignant because she had to wait a long time to bear them. Mt 2:18 applies this verse to Herod’s slaughter of the innocents.
- 31:19 Struck my thigh: a gesture signifying grief and dread (cf. Ez 21:17).
- 31:22 No satisfactory explanation has been given for this text. Jerome, for example, saw the image as a reference to the infant Jesus enclosed in Mary’s womb. Since Jeremiah often uses marital imagery in his description of a restored Israel, the phrase may refer to a wedding custom, perhaps women circling the groom in a dance. It may also be a metaphor describing the security of a new Israel, a security so complete that it defies the imagination and must be expressed as hyperbolic role reversal: any danger will be so insignificant that women can protect their men.
- 31:26 I awoke…satisfying: an intrusive comment.
- 31:29 “The parents…on edge”: Jeremiah’s opponents use this proverb to complain that they are being punished for sins of their ancestors. Jeremiah, however, insists that the Lord knows the depth of their wickedness and holds them accountable for their actions.
- 31:31–34 The new covenant is an occasional prophetic theme, beginning with Hosea. According to Jeremiah, (a) it lasts forever; (b) its law (torah) is written in human hearts; (c) it gives everyone true knowledge of God, making additional instruction (torah) unnecessary. The Dead Sea Scroll community claimed they were partners in a “new covenant.” The New Testament presents the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as inaugurating a new covenant open to anyone who professes faith in Jesus the Christ. Cf. Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; Hb 8:8–12. Know the Lord: cf. note on 22:15–16.
- 31:38–40 The landmarks in these verses outline the borders of Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah: the Tower of Hananel (Neh 3:1; 12:39) in the northeast and the Corner Gate (2 Kgs 14:13) in the northwest; Goah in the southeast and Gareb Hill in the southwest; the Valley of Ben-hinnom (“the Valley of corpses and ashes”), which met the Wadi Kidron in the southeast, and the Horse Gate in the eastern wall at the southeast corner of the Temple area.
Jeremiah 31
New International Version
Jeremiah 31
New International Version
31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God(A) of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
2 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.”
3 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.
4 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)
5 Again you will plant(K) vineyards
on the hills of Samaria;(L)
the farmers will plant them
and enjoy their fruit.(M)
6 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)
7 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.’
8 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.
9 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,
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
- Jeremiah 31:3 Or Lord has appeared to us from afar
- Jeremiah 31:22 Or will protect
- Jeremiah 31:23 Or I restore their fortunes
- Jeremiah 31:32 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac / and I turned away from
- Jeremiah 31:32 Or was their master
Jeremiah 31
King James Version
Jeremiah 31
King James Version
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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
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