Jeremiah 31

1 At that time, saith Jehovah, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.2 Thus saith Jehovah, The people that were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.3 Jehovah appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.4 Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: again shalt thou be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.5 Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit thereof.6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the hills of Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto Jehovah our God.7 For thus saith Jehovah, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Jehovah, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall they return hither.9 They shall come with weeping; and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.10 Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off; and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as shepherd doth his flock.11 For Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.12 And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow unto the goodness of Jehovah, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jehovah.15 Thus saith Jehovah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not.16 Thus saith Jehovah: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.17 And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jehovah; and thy children shall come again to their own border.18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God.19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah.21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee guide-posts; set thy heart toward the highway, even the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.22 How long wilt thou go hither and thither, O thou backsliding daughter? for Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man.23 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity: Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness.24 And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together, the husbandmen, and they that go about with flocks.25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and every sorrowful soul have I replenished.26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.27 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.28 And it shall come to pass that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith Jehovah.29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.31 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah.33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people:34 and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.35 Thus saith Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name:36 If these ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.37 Thus saith Jehovah: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Jehovah.38 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the city shall be built to Jehovah from the tower of Hananel unto the gate of the corner.39 And the measuring line shall go out further straight onward unto the hill Gareb, and shall turn about unto Goah.40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto Jehovah; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

JEREMIAH 31

Israel Will Return to God

1 The [Lord] said:
Israel, I promise
that someday all your tribes
will again be my people,
and I will be your God.

2 In the desert I was kind
to those who escaped death.
I gave them peace,
and when the time is right,
I'll do the same for you.t
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The [Lord] Will Rebuild Israel

3 Some time ago, the [Lord] appeared to met and told me to say:
Israel, I will always love you;
that's why I've been so patient
and kind.

4 You are precious to me,
and so I will rebuild
your nation.
Once again you will dance for joy
and play your tambourines.

5 You will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria
and enjoy the grapes.

6 Someday those who guard
the hill country of Ephraim
will shout, “Let's go to Zion
and worship the [Lord] our God.”

Israel Will Return //to Its Own Land

7 The [Lord] says:
Celebrate and sing for Israel,
the greatest of nations.
Offer praises and shout,
“Come and rescue
your people, [Lord]!
Save what's left of Israel.”

8 I, the [Lord], will bring
my people back from Babyloniat
and everywhere else on earth.
The blind and the lame
will be there.
Expectant mothers
and women about to give birth
will come and be part
of that great crowd.

9 They will weep and pray
as I bring them home.
I will lead them
to streams of water.
They will walk on a levelt road
and not stumble.
I am a father to Israel, t
my favorite children.

10 Listen to me, you nations
nearby or across the sea.
I scattered the people of Israel,
but I will gather them again.
I will protect them like a shepherd
guarding a flock;

11 I will rescue them from enemies
who could overpower them.

12 My people will come
to Mount Zion
and celebrate;
their faces will glow
because of my blessings.
I'll give them grain, grapes,
and olive oil,
as well as sheep and cattle.
Israel will be prosperous
and grow like a garden
with plenty of water.

13 Young women and young men,
together with the elderly,
will celebrate and dance,
because I will comfort them
and turn their sorrow
into happiness.

14 I will bless my people
with more food
than they need,
and the priests will enjoy
the choice cuts of meat.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The [Lord] Offers Hope

15  t In Ramaht a voice is heard,
crying and weeping loudly.
Rachel mourns for her childrent
and refuses to be comforted,
because they are dead.
*

16 But I, the [Lord], say
to dry your tears.
Someday your children
will come home
from the enemy's land.
Then all you have done for them
will be greatly rewarded.

17 So don't lose hope.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

18 The people of Israelt moan
and say to me,
“We were like wild bulls,
but you, [Lord], broke us,
and we learned to obey.
You are our God—
please let us come home.

19 When we were young,
we strayed and sinned,
but then we realized
what we had done.
We are ashamed and disgraced
and want to return to you.”

20 People of Israel,
you are my own dear children.
Don't I love you best of all?
Though I often make threats,
I want you to be near me,
so I will have mercy on you.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

21 With rock piles and signposts,
mark the road well,
my dear people.
The road by which you left
by will now lead you home.

22 Will you ever decide
to be faithful?
I will make sure that someday
things will be different,
as different as a woman
protecting a man.t

The [Lord] Will Bring //Judah Home

23 The [Lord] All-Powerful, the God of Israel, said:
I promise to set the people of Judah free and to lead them back to their hometowns. And when I do, they will once again say,
“We pray that the [Lord]
will bless his home,
the sacred hill in Jerusalem
where his temple stands.”
24 The people will live in Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah. Some will be farmers, and others will be shepherds. 25 Those who feel tired and worn out will find new life and energy,

26 and when they sleep, they will wake up refreshed.t
27 Someday, Israel and Judah will be my field where my people and their livestock will grow. 28 In the past, I took care to uproot them, to tear them down, and to destroy them. But when that day comes, I will take care to plant them and help them grow.

29 t No longer will anyone go around saying,
“Sour grapes eaten by parents
leave a sour taste in the mouths
of their children.”

30 When that day comes, only those who eat sour grapes will get the sour taste, and only those who sin will be put to death.

The New Agreement //with Israel and Judah

31  t t The [Lord] said:
The time will surely come when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and Judah.

32 It will be different from the agreement I made with their ancestors when I led them out of Egypt. Although I was their God, they broke that agreement.

33  t Here is the new agreement that I, the [Lord], will make with the people of Israel:
“I will write my laws
on their hearts and minds.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.

34  t “No longer will they have to teach one another to obey me. I, the [Lord], promise that all of them will obey me, ordinary people and rulers alike. I will forgive their sins and forget the evil things they have done.”

35 I am the [Lord] All-Powerful.
I command the sun
to give light each day,
the moon and stars
to shine at night,
and ocean waves to roar.

36 I will never forget
to give those commands,
and I will never let Israel
stop being a nation.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

37 Can you measure the heavens?
Can you explore
the depths of the earth?
That's how hard it would be
for me to reject Israel forever,
even though they have sinned.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

Jerusalem Will Be Rebuilt

38 The [Lord] said:
Someday, Jerusalem will truly belong to me. It will be rebuilt with a boundary line running from Hananel Tower to Corner Gate. 39 From there, the boundary will go in a straight line to Gareb Hill, then turn toward Goah. 40 Even that disgusting Hinnom Valleyt will be sacred to me, and so will the eastern slopes that go down from Horse Gate into Kidron Valley. Jerusalem will never again be destroyed.