Jeremiah 31

1 “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people.”

At that time, Declareth Yahweh, I will become a God, to all the families of Israel; And, they, shall become my people.

2 This is what the LORD says: “The people who survived the sword found favor in the wilderness when Israel went to find rest.”

Thus, saith Yahweh, —There hath found favour in the desert people escaped from the sword, —I must go to cause him, even Israel, to rest.

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.

From afar, Yahweh hath appeared unto me, Yea with an age-abiding love, have I loved thee, For this cause, have I prolonged to thee lovingkindness.

4 Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.

Again, will I build thee and thou shalt be built, thou virgin, Israel, —Again, shalt thou deck thyself with thy timbrels, And go forth in the dance of them that make merry:

5 Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant and enjoy the fruit.

Again, shalt thou plant vineyards in the mountains of Samaria, The planters have planted, and have laid open the vineyards,

6 For there will be a day when watchmen will call out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Arise, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God!’”

For it is a day the watchmen have proclaimed throughout the hill country of Ephraim, —Arise ye and let us go up to Zion, unto Yahweh our God.

7 For this is what the LORD says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations! Make your praises heard, and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel!’

For, thus, saith Yahweh—Shout ye for Jacob with gladness, Make shrill thy voice, as the head of the nations, —Publish ye praise ye and say, Save thou O Yahweh thy people, the remnant of Israel.

8 Behold, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, including the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor. They will return as a great assembly!

Behold me bringing them in out of the land of the North, And I will gather them out of the remote parts of the earth, Among them, the blind and the lame The woman with child and she that giveth birth, together, —A great convocation, shall return hither:

9 They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”

With weeping, shall they come in, And with supplications, will I lead them, I will bring them unto rivers of waters By a smooth way, wherein they shall not stumble, —For I have become, to Israel, a father, And as for Ephraim, my firstborn, is he!

10 Hear, O nations, the word of the LORD, and proclaim it in distant coastlands: “The One who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock.

Hear ye the word of Yahweh, O ye nations, And declare ye in the Coastlands, afar off, —And say—He that scattereth Israel, will gather him, And watch over him as a shepherd his flock;

11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand that had overpowered him.

For Yahweh hath ransomed Jacob, —And redeemed him from the hand of one stronger than he.

12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD— the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish.

Then shall they come in and shall shout in triumph on the height of Zion, And shall stream unto the goodness of Yahweh To the wheat, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flocks and of the herds, —So shall their soul become like a garden well watered, And they shall not again languish any more.

13 Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.

Then shall the virgin rejoice, in the dance, And young men and elders [rejoice] together, And I will turn their mourning into gladness and will comfort them, And will make them rejoice from their sorrow;

14 I will fill the souls of the priests abundantly, and will fill My people with My goodness,”

Then will I satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, And my people with my goodness, shall be satisfied, Declareth Yahweh.

15 This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Thus, saith Yahweh—A voice, in Ramah, is heard, Wailing, bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, —She refuseth to be comforted for her children, For they are not!

16 This is what the LORD says: “Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the reward for your work will come, declares the LORD. Then your children will return from the land of the enemy.

Thus, saith Yahweh—Restrain thy voice from weeping, And thine eyes from tears, —For there is a reward for thy labour, Declareth Yahweh, So they shall return from the land of the enemy:

17 So there is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children will return to their own land.

Yea there is hope for thy future Declareth Yahweh, —And thy sons shall return to their own boundary.

18 I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.

I have, heard, Ephraim bemoaning himself, Thou hast chastised me and I have been chastised, Like a bullock, not broken in, Suffer me to return that I may return, For thou, art Yahweh my God.

19 After I returned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

Surely after my return, I was filled with regret, And after I came to know myself, I smote upon the thigh, —I turned pale and was even confounded For I had borne the reproach of my youthful days.

20 Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,”

Was Ephraim, a very precious son to me? Was he a most delightful child? For as often as I have spoken against him, I have, remembered, him again! For this cause, have my affections been deeply moved for him, I must have, compassion, upon him, Declareth Yahweh.

21 “Set up the roadmarks, establish the signposts. Keep the highway in mind, the road you have traveled. Return, O Virgin Israel, return to these cities of yours.

Erect thee waymarks Set thee up finger-posts, Apply thy heart to The highway—The road by which thou didst depart, —Return O virgin of Israel, Return unto these thy cities.

22 How long will you wander, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the land— a woman will shelter a man.”

How long wilt thou turn hither and thither, O apostate daughter? For Yahweh hath created a new thing in the earth, A female defendeth, a strong man!

23 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore them from captivity, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘May the LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling place, O holy mountain.’

Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, Again, shall they say this word, in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I cause their captivity to return, Yahweh, bless thee, Thou home of righteousness! Thou mountain of holiness!

24 And Judah and all its cities will dwell together in the land, the farmers and those who move with the flocks,

Then shall there dwell throughout Judah itself and all the cities thereof, together, —Husbandmen, who shall move about with a flock;

25 for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.”

For I have satiated the weary soul, —And every languishing soul, have I filled.

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

Upon this, I awoke and considered, —And, my sleep, had been sweet to me!

27 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and of beast.

Lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh—That I will sow, The house of Israel, and The house of Judah, With the seed of men, and With the seed of beasts;

28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.

And it shall come to pass, that—Just as I watched over them, to root up and to break down and to tear out and to destroy, and to break in pieces, So, will I watch over them, to build and to plant, Declareth Yahweh.

29 “In those days, it will no longer be said: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.’

In those days, shall they say no more, Fathers, did eat sour grapes, —And, children’s teeth, are blunted!

30 Instead, each will die for his own iniquity. If anyone eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will be set on edge.

But, every one, for his own iniquity, shall die, —Any human being who eateth the sour grapes, his own teeth, shall be blunted.

31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

Lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, —When I will solemnize—With the house of Israel and With the house of Judah, A new covenant:

32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt— a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,”

Not like the covenant which I solemnised with their fathers, In the day when I grasped their hand, to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt, —In that, they, brake my covenant Though, I, had become a husband unto them, Declareth Yahweh.

33 “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.

For, this, is the covenant which I will solemnize with the house of Israel after those days Declareth Yahweh, I will put my law within them, Yea, on their heart, will I write it, —So will I become their God, And they shall become my people.

34 No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”

Then shall they no longer teach Every man his neighbour, and Every man his brother, saying, Know ye Yahweh, —For, they all, shall know me, From the least of them Even unto the greatest of them, Declareth Yahweh, For I will forgive their iniquity, And their sin, will I remember, no more.

35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:

Thus, saith Yahweh—Who hath given the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, —Who excited the sea, and the waves thereof roared Yahweh of hosts, is his name: —

36 “Only if this fixed order departed from My presence, declares the LORD, would Israel’s descendants ever cease to be a nation before Me.”

If these ordinances depart from before me, Declareth Yahweh, —the seed of Israel also, may cease from being a nation before me, all the days,

37 This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth below searched out would I reject all of Israel’s descendants because of all they have done,”

Thus, saith Yahweh—If the heavens above can be measured, Or the foundations of the earth beneath, be searched out I also, may reject all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, Declareth Yahweh.

38 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for Me, from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

Lo days, are coming, Declareth Yahweh, That the city shall be built for Yahweh, From the tower of Hananeel, [As far as] the gate of the corner;

39 The measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah.

Then shall go forth again the measuring-line straight forward, Over the hill Gareb, And it shall go round to Goah;

40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the LORD. It will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

And, all the vale of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron torrent-bed, as far as the horse-gate corner on the east, Shall be holy unto Yahweh, —It shall not be rooted up, nor thrown down, any more, unto times age-abiding.