Jeremiah 31

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

“In that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

2 Thus saith the Lord, The people which escaped the sworde, founde grace in the wildernes: he walked before Israel to cause him to rest.

Thus says the Lord: “The people who had remained after the sword, found grace in the desert. Israel will go to his rest.”

3 The Lord hath appeared vnto me of old, say they: Yea, I haue loued thee with an euerlasting loue, therefore with mercie I haue drawen thee.

The Lord appeared to me from a distance: “And I have loved you in perpetual charity. Therefore, showing pity, I have drawn you.

4 Againe I will builde thee, and thou shalt be builded, O virgine Israel: thou shalt stil be adorned with thy timbrels, and shalt goe foorth in the dance of them that be ioyfull.

And I will build you up again. And you shall be built up, O virgin of Israel. Still shall you be adorned with your timbrels, and still shall you go forth to the singing of those who play.

5 Thou shalt yet plant vines vpon the mountaines of Samaria, and the planters that plant them, shall make them common.

Still shall you plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters will plant, and they will not gather the vintage until the time arrives.

6 For the dayes shall come that the watchmen vpon the mount of Ephraim shall cry, Arise, and let vs go vp vnto Zion to the Lord our God.

For there will be a day on which the guardians on mount Ephraim will cry out: ‘Arise! And let us ascend on Zion to the Lord our God!’”

7 For thus saith the Lord, Reioyce with gladnesse for Iaakob, and shoute for ioye among the chiefe of the Gentiles: publish praise, and say, O Lord, saue thy people, the remnant of Israel.

For thus says the Lord: “Exult in the joy of Jacob, and neigh before the head of the Gentiles. Shout, and sing, and say: ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’

8 Beholde, I will bring them from the North countrey, and gather them from the coastes of the world, with the blinde and the lame among them, with the woman with childe, and her that is deliuered also: a great companie shall returne hither.

Behold, I will lead them from the land of the north, and I will gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, she who is with child, together with she who is giving birth: a great assembly returning to this place.

9 They shall come weeping, and with mercie will I bring them againe: I will lead them by the riuers of water in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first borne.

They will approach with weeping. And I will lead them back with mercy. And I will lead them through the torrents of water, by an upright way, and they will not stumble in it. For I have become Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

10 Heare the worde of the Lord, O ye Gentiles, and declare in the yles afarre off, and say, Hee that scattered Israel, wil gather him and wil keepe him, as a shepheard doeth his flocke.

Listen to the word of the Lord, O Gentiles, and announce it amid the islands that are far away, and say: “Whoever has scattered Israel will gather him, and he will guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.”

11 For the Lord hath redeemed Iaakob, and ransomed him from the hande of him, that was stronger then he.

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and he has freed him from the hand of one more powerful.

12 Therefore they shall come, and reioyce in the height of Zion, and shall runne to the bountifulnes of the Lord, euen for the wheat and for the wine, and for the oyle, and for the increase of sheepe, and bullocks: and their soule shalbe as a watered garden, and they shall haue no more sorow.

And they will arrive and give praise on Mount Zion. And they will flow together, to the good things of the Lord, over grain, and wine, and oil, and the offspring of cattle and herds. And their soul will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer be hungry.

13 Then shall ye virgine reioyce in the dance, and the yong men and the old men together: for I wil turne their mourning into ioy, and wil comfort them, and giue them ioy for their sorowes.

Then the virgin will rejoice with singing, the young and the old together, and I will turn their mourning into gladness, and I will console them and gladden them after their sorrow.

14 And I wil replenish the soule of the Priests with fatnesse, and my people shalbe satisfied with my goodnesse, saith the Lord.

And I will inebriate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people will be filled with my good things, says the Lord.”

15 Thus saith the Lord, A voyce was heard on hie, a mourning and bitter weeping. Rahel weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

Thus says the Lord: “A voice has been heard on high: of lamentation, mourning, and weeping; of Rachel crying for her sons and refusing to be consoled over them, because they are not.”

16 Thus saith the Lord, Refraine thy voyce from weeping, and thine eyes from teares: for thy worke shalbe rewarded, saith the Lord, and they shall come againe from the land of the enemie:

Thus says the Lord: “Let your voice cease from crying and your eyes from tears. For there is a reward for your work, says the Lord. And they will return from the land of the enemy.

17 And there is hope in thine ende, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come againe to their owne borders.

And there is hope for your very end, says the Lord. And the sons will return to their own borders.

18 I haue heard Ephraim lamenting thus, Thou hast corrected me, and I was chastised as an vntamed calfe: conuert thou me, and I shalbe conuerted: for thou art the Lord my God.

Listening, I heard Ephraim going into captivity: ‘You have chastised me, and I was instructed, like a young untamed bull. Convert me, and I shall be converted. For you are the Lord my God.

19 Surely after that I conuerted, I repented: and after that I was instructed, I smote vpon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, euen confounded, because I did beare the reproch of my youth.

For after you converted me, I did penance. And after you revealed to me, I struck my thigh. I am confounded and ashamed. For I have endured the disgrace of my youth.’

20 Is Ephraim my deare sonne or pleasant childe? yet since I spake vnto him, I still remembred him: therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I wil surely haue compassion vpon him, saith the Lord.

Certainly, Ephraim is an honorable son to me; surely, he is a tender child. For I will still remember him, as in the time when I first spoke about him. Because my heart is stirred up over him, surely I will take pity on him, says the Lord.

21 Set thee vp signes: make thee heapes: set thine heart towarde the path and way, that thou hast walked: turne againe, O virgine of Israel: turne againe to these thy cities.

Establish a watchtower for yourself. Place yourself in bitterness. Direct your heart into the upright way, in which you used to walk. Return, return, O virgin of Israel, to these your cities!

22 How long wilt thou goe astray, O thou rebellious daughter? for the Lord hath created a newe thing in the earth: A WOMAN shall compasse a man.

How long will you be absorbed in delights, O wandering daughter? For the Lord has created something new upon the earth: a woman will encompass a man.”

23 Thus saith the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Yet shall they say this thing in the land of Iudah, and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring againe their captiuitie, The Lord blesse thee, O habitation of iustice and holy mountaine.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Still they will speak this word in the land of Judah, and in its cities, when I will convert their captivity: ‘May the Lord bless you, the beauty of justice, the holy mountain.’

24 And Iudah shall dwell in it, and all the cities thereof together, the husbandmen and they that goe foorth with the flocke.

And they will live in it: Judah together with all its cities, the farmer and those who drive the flocks.

25 For I haue saciate the wearie soule, and I haue replenished euery sorowfull soule.

For I have inebriated the weary soul, and I have satisfied every hungry soul.

26 Therefore I awaked and behelde, and my sleepe was sweete vnto me.

Over this, I was awakened, as if from a deep sleep. And I saw, and my sleep became sweet to me.

27 Beholde, the dayes come, saith the Lord, that I will sowe the house of Israel, and the house of Iudah with the seede of man and with the seede of beast.

Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and with the offspring of cattle.

28 And like as I haue watched vpon them, to plucke vp and to roote out, and to throw downe, and to destroy, and to plague them, so wil I watch ouer them, to build and to plant them, saith ye Lord.

And just as I have watched over them, so that I may root up, and tear down, and scatter, and destroy, and afflict, so will I watch over them, so that I may build and plant them, says the Lord.

29 In those dayes shall they say no more, The fathers haue eaten a sowre grape, and the childrens teeth are set on edge.

In those days, they will no longer say: ‘The fathers ate a bitter grape, and the teeth of the sons have been affected.’

30 But euery one shall die for his owne iniquitie: euery man that eateth the sowre grape, his teeth shalbe set on edge.

Instead, each one will die for his own iniquity. Each man who will have eaten a bitter grape, his own teeth will be affected.

31 Beholde, the dayes come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new couenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Iudah,

Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will form a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

32 Not according to ye couenant that I made with their fathers, when I tooke them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, the which my couenant they brake, although I was an husband vnto them, saith the Lord.

not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand, so as to lead them away from the land of Egypt, the covenant which they nullified, though I was the ruler over them, says the Lord.

33 But this shall be the couenant that I will make with the house of Israel, After those dayes, saith the Lord, I will put my Lawe in their inward partes, and write it in their hearts, and wil be their God, and they shalbe my people.

But this will be the covenant that I will form with the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord: I will give my law to their inner most being, and I will write it upon their heart. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more euery man his neighbour and euery man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me from the least of them vnto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I wil forgiue their iniquitie, and will remember their sinnes no more.

And they will no longer teach, a man his neighbor, and a man his brother, saying: ‘Know the Lord.’ For all will know me, from the littlest of them even to the greatest, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will no longer remember their sin.

35 Thus saith the Lord, which giueth the sunne for a light to the day, and the courses of the moone and of the starres for a light to the night, which breaketh the sea, when the waues thereof roare: his Name is the Lord of hostes.

Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun as the light of the day, who puts the moon and the stars in order as the light of the night, who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar: the Lord of hosts is his name.

36 If these ordinances depart out of my sight, saith the Lord, then shall the seede of Israel cease from being a nation before me, for euer.

If these laws fail in my sight, says the Lord, then the offspring of Israel will also fail, so that they will not be a people in my sight for all time.”

37 Thus saith the Lord, If the heauens can be measured, or the fundations of the earth be searched out beneath, then wil I cast off all the seed of Israel, for all that they haue done, saith the Lord.

Thus says the Lord: “If the heavens above are able to be measured, and if the foundations of the earth beneath can be examined, I also will cast aside all the offspring of Israel, because of all that they have done, says the Lord.

38 Behold, the dayes come, saith the Lord, that the citie shalbe built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel, vnto the gate of the corner.

Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when a city will be built for the Lord from the tower of Hananel, even to the Gate of the Corner;

39 And the line of the measure shall go foorth in his presence vpon the hil Gareb, and shall compasse about to Goath.

and the measuring line will go on even further in his sight, over the hill of Gareb, and it will encircle Goah

40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields vnto the brooke of Kidron, and vnto the corner of the horsegate toward the East, shalbe holy vnto the Lord, neither shall it be plucked vp nor destroyed any more for euer.

and the entire Valley of dead bodies and ashes, and the entire region of death, even to the torrent of Kedron, and to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east. All this will be the holy place of the Lord. It will not be rooted up, and it will not be torn down, anymore, forever.”