< 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—this is Yahweh's declaration—I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people.”
2 Thus said YHWH: “A people remaining from the sword Have found grace in the wilderness When Israel went to find rest.”
Yahweh says this, “The people who have survived the sword have found favor in the wilderness; I will go out to give rest to Israel.”
3 YHWH has appeared to me from afar, “I have loved you with perpetual love, Therefore I have drawn you [with] kindness.
Yahweh appeared to me in the past and said, “I have loved you, Israel, with everlasting love. So I have drawn you toward myself with covenant faithfulness.
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 will build you up again so you will be built, virgin Israel. You will again pick up your tambourines and go out with happy dances.
5 You plant vineyards in mountains of Samaria again, Planters have planted, and made common.
You will plant vineyards again on the mountains of Samaria; the farmers will plant and put the fruit to good use.
6 For there is a day, Watchmen have cried on Mount Ephraim, Rise, and we go up to Zion, to our God YHWH”;
For a day will come when the watchmen in the mountains of Ephraim will proclaim, 'Arise, let us go up to Zion to Yahweh 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.
For Yahweh says this, “Shout for joy over Jacob! Shout in gladness for the chief people of the nations! Let praise be heard. Say, 'Yahweh has rescued his people, the remnant 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.
See, I am about to bring them from the northern lands. I will gather them from the farthest parts of the earth. The blind and lame will be among them; pregnant women and those who are about to give birth will be with them. A great assembly will return here.
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 weeping; I will lead them as they make their pleas. I will have them journey to streams of water on a straight road. They will not stumble on it, for I will be a father to Israel, and Ephraim will be 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,
“Hear the word of Yahweh, nations. Report along the coasts in the distance. You nations must say, 'The one who scattered Israel is gathering her up and keeping her as a shepherd keeps his sheep.'
11 For YHWH has ransomed Jacob, And redeemed him from a hand stronger than he.
For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from the hand that was too strong for him.
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.
Then they will come and rejoice on the heights of Zion. Their faces will shine because of Yahweh's goodness, over the corn and the new wine, over the oil and the offspring of the flocks and herds. For their lives will become like a watered garden, and they will never again feel any more sorrow.
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,
Then virgins will rejoice with dancing, and young and old men will be together. For I will change their mourning into celebration. I will have compassion on them and cause them to rejoice instead of sorrowing.
14 And satisfied the soul of the priests [with] fatness, And My people are satisfied with My goodness,” A declaration of YHWH.
Then I will saturate the lives of the priests in abundance. My people will fill themselves with my goodness—this is Yahweh's declaration.”
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.”
Yahweh says this: “A voice is heard in Ramah, wailing and bitter weeping. It is Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted over them, for they live no longer.”
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.
Yahweh says this, “Hold your voice back from weeping and your eyes from tears; there is a reward for your work—this is Yahweh's declaration—your children will return from the land of the enemy.
17 And there is hope for your latter end,” A declaration of YHWH, “And the sons have turned back [to] their border.
There is hope for your future—this is Yahweh's declaration—your descendants will return inside their borders.”
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.
“I have certainly heard Ephraim sorrowing, 'You punished me, and I have been punished like an untrained calf. Bring me back and I will be brought back, for you are Yahweh 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.
For after I turned back to you, I was sorry; after I was trained, I slapped my thigh. I was ashamed and humiliated, for I have borne the guilt of my youth.'
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.
Is not Ephraim my precious child? Is he not my dear, delightful son? For whenever I speak against him, I certainly still call him to my loving mind. In this way my heart longs for him. I will certainly have compassion on him—this is Yahweh's declaration.”
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.
Place road signs for yourself. Set up guideposts for yourself. Set your mind on the right path, the way you should take. Come back, virgin Israel! Come back to these cities of yours.
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 will you waver, faithless daughter? For Yahweh has created something new on earth—a woman surrounds a strong 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.
Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, says this, “When I bring back the people to their land, they will say this in the land of Judah and its cities, 'May Yahweh bless you, you righteous place where he lives, you holy mountain.'
24 And farmers have dwelt in Judah, And in all its cities together, And they have journeyed in order.
For Judah and all its cities will live together there, as will farmers and those who set out with flocks.
25 For I have satiated the weary soul, And I have filled every grieved soul.”
For I will cause those who are weary to drink, and I fill up those who are faint.”
26 On this I have awoken, and I behold, and my sleep has been sweet to me.
After this I awoke, and I realized that my sleep had been refreshing.
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 days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will sow the houses of Israel and Judah with the descendants of man and beast.
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.
In the past, I kept them under surveillance in order to uproot them and to tear them down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring them harm. But in the coming days, I will watch over them, in order to build them up and to plant them—this is Yahweh's declaration.
29 “In those days they no longer say: Fathers have eaten unripe fruit, And the sons’ teeth are blunted.
In those days no one will say any longer, 'Fathers have eaten sour grapes, but the children's teeth are dulled.'
30 But—each dies for his own iniquity, Every man who is eating the unripe fruit, His teeth are blunted.
For each man will die in his own iniquity; everyone who eats sour grapes, his teeth will be dulled.
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 days are coming —this is Yahweh's declaration— when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of 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 will not be like the covenant that I established with their fathers in the days when I took them by their hand to bring them out from the land of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, although I was a husband for them. —this is Yahweh's declaration.
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.
This is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after these days —this is Yahweh's declaration. I will place my law within them and will write it on their heart, for 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.”
Then each man will no longer teach his neighbor, or a man teach his brother and say, 'Know Yahweh!' For all of them will know me, from the smallest of them to the greatest —this is Yahweh's declaration— for I will forgive their iniquity and will no longer call their sins to mind.”
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:
Yahweh says this, it is he who makes the sun to shine by day and fixes the moon and stars to shine by night. He is the one who sets the sea in motion so that its waves roar— Yahweh of hosts is his name.
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 these permanent things vanish from my sight—this is Yahweh's declaration— will Israel's descendants ever stop from forever being a nation before me.”
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.
Yahweh says this, “Only if the highest heavens can be measured, and only if the earth's foundation below can be discovered, will I reject all of Israel's descendants because of all that they have done—this is Yahweh's declaration.”
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.
“Look, the days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when the city will be rebuilt for me, 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.
Then the measuring line will go out again farther, to the hill of Gareb and around 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 whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the terraced fields going out to the Kidron Valley as far as the corner of the Horse Gate on the east, will be set apart for Yahweh. The city will not be pulled up or overthrown again, forever.”