Jeremiah 31

1 At that time, saith the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of and they shall be my people.

Yahweh says that at that time, he will be the God [who is worshiped by] all the clans in Israel, and they will be his people.

2 Thus saith the Lord: The people were left and escaped from the sword, found grace in the desert: Israel shall to his rest.

This is what Yahweh says: “Those [people] who remained alive and were not killed by [their enemies’] swords were blessed [by me even] in the desert; I enabled them to have peace.

3 The Lord hath appeared from afar to me. Yea I have loved thee with everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity on thee.

Long ago [I, ] Yahweh, said to [your ancestors, ] the Israeli people, ‘I have loved you and I will continue to love you forever. By faithfully loving you, I have brought you close to myself.’

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

And [now I tell you], my Israeli people whom I love [MET], that I will cause you to be a nation again. You will [joyfully] dance as you play your tambourines.

5 Thou shalt yet plant vineyards in the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and they shall not gather the vintage before the time.

Again you will plant your vineyards on the hills of Samaria, and you will eat the grapes [that grow there].

6 For there shall be a day, in which the watchmen on mount Ephraim, shall cry: Arise, and let us go up to Sion to the Lord our God.

There will be a time when watchmen will call out from the hills of Samaria [MTY], ‘Come, let’s go up to Jerusalem to [worship] Yahweh, our God!'”

7 For thus saith the Lord: Rejoice ye in the joy of Jacob, and neigh before the head of the Gentiles: shout ye, and sing, and say: Save, O Lord, thy people, the remnant of Israel.

And now Yahweh also says this: “Sing joyfully about [what I have done for] the people of Israel! Shout about [your nation, ] the greatest nation! Shout joyfully, praising me and saying, ‘Yahweh, rescue your people, the ones who are still alive!’

8 Behold I will bring them from the north country, and will gather them from the ends of the earth: and among them shall be the blind, and the lame, the woman with child, and she that is bringing forth, together, a great company of them returning hither.

Do that [because] I will bring them back from the northeast, from the most distant places on the earth. Among them will be blind people and lame people, women who are pregnant and women who are (having labor pains/about to give birth to babies). They will be a huge group of people!

9 They shall come with weeping: and I will bring them back in mercy: and I will bring them through the torrents of waters in a right way, and they shall not stumble in it: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

They will be crying as they return, and they will be praying [to me]. I will guide them along streams of water, on level paths where they will not stumble. [I will do this] because I am [like] a father to the Israeli people; [it is as though] Israel is my oldest son.”

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

Yahweh says, “[You people in the] nations of the world, listen to this message from me. Then proclaim it to [people who live along] the coasts far away. I scattered my people, but I will gather them [again] and will take care of them like [SIM] a shepherd takes care of his sheep.

11 For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and delivered him out of the hand of one that was mightier than he.

I will buy [my] Israeli people back from those who [conquered them because] they were more powerful [than my people].

12 And they shall come, and shall give praise in mount Sion: and they shall flow together to the good things of the Lord, for the corn, and wine, and oil, and the increase of cattle and herds, and their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall be hungry no more.

My people will return [to Jerusalem] and shout joyfully on the slopes of Zion Hill. They will rejoice about the things that I have abundantly given to them— grain and new wine and [olive] oil and young sheep and cattle. They themselves will be like a well-watered garden, and they will no longer be sad.

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

The young women will dance joyfully, and [all] the men, young ones and old ones, will join with them. I will cause them to rejoice instead of mourning; I will comfort them and cause them to be happy instead of being sad.

14 And I will fill the soul of the priests with fatness: and my people shall be filled with my good things, saith the Lord.

The priests will have plenty of things to eat and drink, and [all] my people will be filled with the good things that I give them. [That will certainly happen because I], Yahweh, have said it!”

15 Thus saith the Lord: A voice was heard on high of lamentation, of mourning, and weeping, of Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted for them, because they are not.

Yahweh [also] says this: “Women were weeping in Ramah [town on the border between Israel and Judah]; they were mourning and crying very loudly. [The women who were the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, the two grandsons of] Rachel [the wife of Jacob], were weeping about their children, and no one could comfort them because their children were [all] dead.

16 Thus saith the Lord: Let thy voice cease from weeping, and thy eyes from tears: for there is a reward for thy work, saith the Lord: and they shall return out of the land of the enemy.

[But now] this is what [I], Yahweh, say: ‘Do not cry [any more], because I will reward you [for the good things you have done for your children]. Your children will return from the land where their enemies [have taken them].

17 And here is hope for thy last end, saith the Lord: and the children shall return to their own borders.

[I], Yahweh, am telling you that there are things that you can confidently expect [me to do for you] in the future. Your children will return to their own land.’

18 Hearing I heard Ephraim when he went into captivity: thou hast chastised me, and I was instructed, as a young bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Convert me, and I shall be converted, for thou art the Lord my God.

I have heard [the people of] Israel grieving very much [and saying to me], ‘You punished us severely, like [SIM] calves are beaten [by their owners to train them for pulling a plow]. [So] bring us back [to obey/worship you again], because we are ready to return to you, because you [alone] are Yahweh, our God.

19 For after thou didst convert me, I did penance: and after thou didst shew unto me, I struck my thigh: I am confounded and ashamed, because I have borne the reproach of my youth.

We turned away [from you], but we repented; [after you] caused us to realize [that we were guilty]. We beat our chests to show that we were very ashamed [DOU] of the sins that we committed when we were young.’

20 Surely Ephraim is an honourable son to me, surely he is a tender child: for since I spoke of him, I will still remember him. Therefore are my bowels troubled for him: pitying I will pity him, saith the Lord.

But [I], Yahweh, say this: The Israeli people certainly are [RHQ] still my dear children [DOU]. It is often necessary for me to threaten [to punish] them, but I still love them. That is why I have not forgotten them, and I will certainly act mercifully toward them.

21 Set thee up a watchtower, make to thee bitterness: direct thy heart into the right way, wherein thou hast walked: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these thy cities.

[You Israeli people, ] set up road signs; put up posts [along the roads] to mark the road on which you walked [when you were taken from Jerusalem]. My precious/beloved Israeli people, come back to your towns here.

22 How long wilt thou be dissolute in deliciousness, O wandering daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth: A WOMAN SHALL COMPASS A MAN.

You people who have been like [MET] daughters who have forsaken their parents, how long will you continue to wander [away from me] [RHQ]? I, Yahweh, will cause something to happen on the earth that (is new/has not happened before): The women of Israel will be protecting their husbands as they travel [back here]!”

23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: As yet shall they say this word in the land of Juda, and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring back their captivity: The Lord bless thee, the beauty of justice, the holy mountain.

This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israeli people [worship], says: “When I bring them back from the countries to which they have been exiled, all the people from the towns in Judah will again say, [‘I hope that] Yahweh will bless this my home, the holy place where righteous [people will live]!’

24 And Juda and all his cities shall dwell therein together: the husbandmen and they that drive the flocks.

[The people of] Judah [who live in] the towns, including the farmers and the shepherds, will all live together [peacefully].

25 For I have inebriated the weary soul: and I have filled every hungry soul.

I will enable weary people to rest, and enable people who are very exhausted to become strong again.”

26 Upon this I was as it were awaked out of a sleep, and I saw, and my sleep was sweet to me.

I, [Jeremiah], woke up [after dreaming all those things], and I looked [around]. I had slept [very] delightfully!

27 Behold the days come, saith the Lord: and I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Juda with the seed of men, and with the seed of beasts.

[Then] Yahweh said [to me], “There will be a time when I will greatly increase [MET] the number of people and the number of livestock here in Israel and Judah.

28 And as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to throw down, and to scatter, and destroy, and afflict: so will I watch over them, to build up, and to plant them, saith the Lord.

[Previously], I caused [their enemies to] remove the people from their land and to destroy their land and to cause them to experience many disasters [DOU]. But in the future, I will enable them to build houses and to plant crops [here in Israel again]. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.

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

[Previously the people often said, ] ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but it is the children’s teeth that ache.’ [They meant that it was not fair for them to be punished for their ancestors’ sins]. But [when I bring them back to their land], they will no longer say that.

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

But now all people will die because of the sins that they themselves have committed.

31 Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda:

[I], Yahweh, say this: ‘There will be a time when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and Judah.

32 Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt: the covenant which they made void, and I had dominion over them, saith the Lord.

[This new agreement will] not be like the agreement that I made with their ancestors when I took them by their hands and led them out of Egypt. They broke that agreement, even though I [loved them like] [MET] husbands love their wives.’

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord: I will give my law in their bowels, and I will write it in their heart: and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

This is what I, Yahweh, say: ‘This is the new agreement that I will make with the people of Israel some day: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their inner beings. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

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

And it will not be [necessary] for them to teach their neighbors or their relatives and say, “[You need to] know Yahweh,” because everyone, including unimportant people and very important people, will [already] know me. And I will forgive them for having been very wicked, and I will never think again about the sins that they have committed.’”

35 Thus saith the Lord, who giveth the sun for the light of the day, the order of the moon and of the stars, for the light of the night: who stirreth up the sea, and the waves thereof roar, the Lord of hosts is his name.

Yahweh is the one who causes the sun to give light during the day, and who causes the moon and the stars to give light during the night. He stirs up the seas, with the result that waves roar. His name is the Commander of the armies of angels, and this is what he says:

36 If these ordinances shall fail before me, saith the Lord: then also the seed of Israel shall fail, so as not to be a nation before me for ever.

“I will not reject my Israeli people any more than I will get rid of the laws [that control the universe].

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

And this is what I say: ‘No one can measure the sky, and no one can find out what is supporting the earth. Similarly, I cannot reject forever the descendants of Jacob because of all the [evil] things that they have done.’ [That is certain, because] I, Yahweh, have said it!

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

[I], Yahweh, also say that there will be a time when [everything in] Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me, from the tower of Hananel [at the northeast corner, west] to [the gate named] the Corner Gate.

39 And the measuring line shall go out farther in his sight upon the hill Gareb: and it shall compass Goatha,

[Workers] will stretch a measuring line/string over Gareb Hill all the way [southwest] to Goah.

40 And the whole valley of dead bodies and of ashes, and all the country of death, even to the torrent Cedron, and the corner of the horse gate towards the east, the Holy of the Lord: it shall not be plucked up, and it shall not be destroyed any more for ever.

And the whole area, including the place where corpses and ashes are thrown in the [Kidron] Valley, and all the fields to the east as far as the Horse Gate, will become set apart for me. And the city [of Jerusalem] will never again be captured or destroyed.”