Jeremiah 31
1 “At that time,” a declaration of YHWH, “I am the God of all families of Israel, And they are My people.”
At that time, I will be the God of all Israel's families, and they will be my people, declares the Lord.
2 Thus said YHWH: “A people remaining from the sword Have found grace in the wilderness When Israel went to find rest.”
This is what the Lord says: The Israelites who survive death by the sword were blessed by the Lord in the desert as they looked for peace and quiet.
3 YHWH has appeared to me from afar, “I have loved you with perpetual love, Therefore I have drawn you [with] kindness.
Long ago the Lord came and told us, My love for you will last forever. I hold you close to me with my trustworthy love.
4 I build you again, And you have been built, O virgin of Israel, You put on your tambourines again, And have gone out in the chorus of the playful.
I'm going to rebuild you, and it will happen. You will be rebuilt, Virgin Israel. You will pick up your tambourines again and run outside to dance with joy.
5 You plant vineyards in mountains of Samaria again, Planters have planted, and made common.
You will replant vineyards on Samaria's hills; those who plant and will enjoy the grapes.
6 For there is a day, Watchmen have cried on Mount Ephraim, Rise, and we go up to Zion, to our God YHWH”;
A day is coming when watchmen will call out from the hills of Ephraim, “Come on, let's go up to Zion, to worship the Lord our God!”
7 For thus said YHWH: “Sing [with] joy for Jacob, And cry aloud at the head of the nations, Sound, praise, and say, Save, O YHWH, Your people, the remnant of Israel.
This is what the Lord says: Sing happily for the descendants of Jacob; shout for the greatest of all nations! Let everybody know! Praise and call out, “Lord, save your people, those who are left of Israel!”
8 Behold, I am bringing them in from the north country, And have gathered them from the sides of the earth, Blind and lame [are] among them, Conceiving and travailing one—together, A great assembly—they return here.
Watch, because I will bring them back from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Everyone will return, even the blind and the lame, pregnant women, even mothers giving birth—a great gathering coming home,
9 They come in with weeping, And I bring them with supplications, I cause them to go to streams of waters, In a right way—they do not stumble in it, For I have been a Father to Israel, And Ephraim—he [is] My firstborn.”
They will come back with tears in their eyes, and they will be praying as I take them home. I will lead them beside streams of waters, on level paths where they won't stumble. For I am Israel's Father; Ephraim is my firstborn.
10 Hear a word of YHWH, O nations, And declare among the far off in the islands, and say: He who is scattering Israel gathers him, And has kept His flock as a shepherd,
Listen, nations, to what the Lord has to say, and let others know about in faraway countries: The Lord who scattered Israel will gather them together and keep them safe, just like a shepherd looks after his flock.
11 For YHWH has ransomed Jacob, And redeemed him from a hand stronger than he.
The Lord has redeemed the descendants of Jacob and rescued them from their enemies who had defeated them.
12 And they have come in, And have sung in the high place of Zion, And flowed to the goodness of YHWH, For wheat, and for new wine, and for oil, And for the young of the flock and herd, And their soul has been as a watered garden, And they do not add to grieve anymore.
They will return and celebrate with happy shouts on Mount Zion; their faces will beam over the Lord's wonderful gifts—the grain, new wine, and olive oil, and the young of their flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden; and they won't ever be depressed again.
13 “Then a virgin rejoices in a chorus, Both young men and old men—together, And I have turned their mourning to joy, And have comforted them, And gladdened them above their sorrow,
The girls will dance in celebration; young men and old people will join in too. I will turn their sorrow into joy, and I will comfort them and change their sadness into happiness.
14 And satisfied the soul of the priests [with] fatness, And My people are satisfied with My goodness,” A declaration of YHWH.
I will give my priests everything they need and more, and my people will be more than satisfied with my goodness towards them, declares the Lord.
15 Thus said YHWH: “A voice is heard in Ramah, Wailing [and] the weeping of bitterness, Rachel is weeping for her sons, She has refused to be comforted for her sons, because they are not.”
This is what the Lord says: The sound of terrible weeping and mourning is heard in Ramah. It's Rachel crying for her children. They are dead, and she can't be comforted
16 Thus said YHWH: “Withhold your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, For there is a reward for your work,” A declaration of YHWH, “And they have turned back from the land of the enemy.
This is what the Lord says: Don't cry anymore, don't weep anymore, because you're going to be rewarded for what you've done, declares the Lord. Your children will return from the country of your enemies.
17 And there is hope for your latter end,” A declaration of YHWH, “And the sons have turned back [to] their border.
So you can have hope for the future, declares the Lord. Your children will return to their own country.
18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself, You have disciplined me, And I am disciplined, as a heifer [that is] not taught, Turn me back, and I turn back, For You [are] my God YHWH.
Don't worry, I've heard Ephraim's groans, saying, “You disciplined me really hard as if I was a calf that hadn't been trained. Please bring me back, let me return, for you are the Lord my God.
19 For after my turning back I regretted, And after my being instructed I struck on the thigh, I have been ashamed, I have also blushed, For I have borne the reproach of my youth.
When I came back to you I was sorry, and once I understood, I held my head in sadness. I was ashamed and I blushed, embarrassed at what I'd done when I was young.”
20 Is Ephraim a precious son to Me? A child of delights? For since My speaking against him, I still thoroughly remember him, Therefore My bowels have been moved for him, I love him greatly,” A declaration of YHWH.
But isn't Ephraim still my precious son, my lovely child? Even though I often have to scold him, I can't forget him. So I'm torn inside with longing, wanting to show how much I care about him! declares the Lord.
21 “Set up signs for yourself, Make heaps for yourself, Set your heart to the highway, the way you went, Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these cities of yours.
Put up markers on the road; make signposts for yourselves. You need to be sure you can find the highway, the road you traveled on. Come back, Virgin Israel, come back to your towns.
22 Until when do you withdraw yourself, O backsliding daughter? For YHWH has prepared a new thing in the land, Woman surrounds man.”
How long are you going to waver in your decision, you unfaithful daughter? For the Lord has made something new happen here: a woman is going to protect a man.
23 Thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: “Still they say this word in the land of Judah, And in its cities, In My turning back [to] their captivity, YHWH blesses you, habitation of righteousness, Mountain of holiness.
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: When I bring them back home from exile, they will say again in the land of Judah and in its towns: “May the Lord bless you, holy mountain of Jerusalem, home of what is good and right.
24 And farmers have dwelt in Judah, And in all its cities together, And they have journeyed in order.
The people of Judah and all its towns will live together in the land, the farmers and those who move around with their flocks,
25 For I have satiated the weary soul, And I have filled every grieved soul.”
because I'm going to give rest to those who are tired and give strength to all those who are weak.”
26 On this I have awoken, and I behold, and my sleep has been sweet to me.
At this I woke up and looked around. I'd had a very pleasant sleep.
27 “Behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And I have sown the house of Israel, And the house of Judah, With seed of man and seed of beast.
Look! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make the numbers of people and livestock grow in Israel and Judah.
28 And it has been, as I watched over them to pluck up, And to break down, and to throw down, And to destroy, and to afflict; So I watch over them to build, and to plant,” A declaration of YHWH.
I took care of them by uprooting them and tearing them down, by wiping them out and destroying them and bringing them disaster. Now I will take care of them by building them up and helping them grow, declares the Lord.
29 “In those days they no longer say: Fathers have eaten unripe fruit, And the sons’ teeth are blunted.
At that time people won't repeat this proverb, “The fathers ate the unripe grapes, but their children got the sour taste.”
30 But—each dies for his own iniquity, Every man who is eating the unripe fruit, His teeth are blunted.
No. Each person will die because of their own sins. If anyone eats unripe grapes, they will get the sour taste themselves.
31 Behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And I have made a new covenant With the house of Israel And with the house of Judah,
Look! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and Judah.
32 Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers, In the day of My laying hold on their hand, To bring them out of the land of Egypt, In that they made My covenant void, And I ruled over them,” A declaration of YHWH.
It won't be like the agreement that I made with their forefathers when I held their hands and led them out of Egypt. They broke that agreement, even though I was faithful like a husband to them, declares the Lord.
33 “For this [is] the covenant that I make, With the house of Israel, after those days,” A declaration of YHWH, “I have given My law in their inward part, And I write it on their heart, And I have been their God, And they are My people.
But this is the agreement I'm going to make with the people of Israel at that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws inside them and write them in their minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
34 And they do not teach anymore Each his neighbor, and each his brother, Saying, Know YHWH, For they all know Me, from their least to their greatest,” A declaration of YHWH; “For I pardon their iniquity, And I make no more mention of their sin.”
No one will need to teach a neighbor or their brother, telling them, “You ought to know the Lord.” For everyone will know me, from the smallest to the greatest. I will forgive them when they do wrong, and I will forget about their sins.
35 Thus said YHWH, Who is giving the sun for a light by day, The statutes of moon and stars for a light by night, Quieting the sea when its billows roar, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name:
This is what the Lord says, who provides the sun to give light during the day, who places in order the moon and stars to give light at night, who makes the sea rough so that its waves roar; his name is the Lord Almighty:
36 “If these statutes depart from before Me,” A declaration of YHWH, “Even the seed of Israel ceases From being a nation before Me [for] all the days.”
Only if I allowed this order to fell apart, declares the Lord, would Israel's descendants stop being my people.
37 Thus said YHWH: “If the heavens above can be measured, And the foundations of earth searched below, Even I kick against all the seed of Israel, For all that they have done,” A declaration of YHWH.
This is what the Lord says: Only if the heavens above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth below could be investigated, would I reject all of Israel's descendants because of everything they've done, declares the Lord.
38 “Behold, days [are coming],” A declaration of YHWH, “And the city has been built for YHWH, From the Tower of Hananeel to the Corner Gate.
The time is coming, declares the Lord, when this city will be rebuilt for the Lord, all the way from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.
39 And the measuring line has gone out again before it, over the height of Gareb, And it has gone around to Goah.
The builder's measuring line will again stretch out directly to Gareb Hill and then turn toward Goah.
40 And all the valley of the carcasses and of the ashes, And all the fields to the Brook of Kidron, To the corner of the Horse Gate eastward, [Are] holy to YHWH, It is not plucked up, Nor is it thrown down anymore for all time!”
The entire valley, where the dead are buried and the trash is dumped, and all the fields from the Kidron Valley as far as the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the Lord. Jerusalem will never again be torn down or destroyed.
