Jeremiah 31

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

1 "At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people."

2  Thus says the Lord:
"The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest,
3  the Lord appeared to himt from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
4  Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
5  Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit.
6  For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
'Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.'"

7  For thus says the Lord:
"Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
'O Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.'
8  Behold, I will bring them from the north country
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
9  With weeping they shall come,
and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.

10  "Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.'
11  For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
12  They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall be like a watered garden,
and they shall languish no more.
13  Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14  I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord."

15  Thus says the Lord:
"A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more."

16  Thus says the Lord:
"Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the Lord,
and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17  There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
and your children shall come back to their own country.
18  I have heard Ephraim grieving,
'You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;
bring me back that I may be restored,
for you are the Lord my God.
19  For after I had turned away, I relented,
and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh;
I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.'
20  Is Ephraim my dear son?
Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
Therefore my heartt yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.

21  "Set up road markers for yourself;
make yourself guideposts;
consider well the highway,
the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
return to these your cities.
22  How long will you waver,
O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
a woman encircles a man."

23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes:
"'The Lord bless you, O habitation of righteousness,
O holy hill!'

24 And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks.25 For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish."

26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

27 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.28 And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord.

29 In those days they shall no longer say:
"'The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.'

30 But everyone shall die for his own sin. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

The New Covenant

31 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."

35  Thus says the Lord,
who gives the sun for light by day
and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name:
36  "If this fixed order departs
from before me, declares the Lord,
then shall the offspring of Israel cease
from being a nation before me forever."

37  Thus says the Lord:
"If the heavens above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel
for all that they have done,
declares the Lord."

38 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.39 And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah.40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the Lord. It shall not be uprooted or overthrown anymore forever."

Jeremiah 31

1 At that time I will be the God of all the clans of Israels
and they will be my people.
I, the Lord, affirm it!”t

Israel Will Be Restored and Join Judah in Worship

2 The Lord says,
“The people of Israel who survived
death at the hands of the enemyts
will find favor in the wilderness
as they journey to find rest for themselves.

3 In a far-off land the Lord will manifest himself to them.
He will say to them, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love.
That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.t

4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel,ts
so that you will once again be built up.
Once again you will take up the tambourine
and join in the happy throng of dancers.s

5 Once again you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria.s
Those who plant them
will once again enjoy their fruit.s

6 Yes, a time is coming
when watchmens will call out on the mountains of Ephraim,
“Come! Let us go to Zion
to worship the Lord our God!”’”s

7 Moreover,t the Lord says,
“Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob.
Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations.t
Make your praises heard.t
Then say, ‘Lord, rescue your people.
Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.’s

8 Then I will reply,t ‘I will bring them back from the land of the north.
I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth.
Blind and lame people will come with them,
so will pregnant women and women about to give birth.
A vast throng of people will come back here.

9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition.
I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance.t
I will lead them besides streams of water,
along smooth paths where they will never stumble.s
I will do this because I am Israel’s father;
Ephraims is my firstborn son.’”

10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations.
Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.
Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them.
He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”

11 For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob.
He will secure their releases from those who had overpowered them.t

12 They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion.
They will be radiant with joyt over the good things the Lord provides,
the grain, the fresh wine, the olive oil,
the young sheep and calves he has given to them.
They will be like a well-watered garden
and will not grow faint or weary any more.

13 The Lord says,t “At that time young women will dance and be glad.
Young men and old men will rejoice.s
I will turn their grief into gladness.
I will give them comfort and joy in place of their sorrow.

14 I will provide the priests with abundant provisions.t
My people will be filled to the full with the good things I provide.”

15 The Lord says,
“A sound is heard in Ramah,s
a sound of crying in bitter grief.
It is the sound of Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted, because her children are gone.”t

16 The Lord says to her,t
“Stop crying! Do not shed any more tears!t
For your heartfelt repentancet will be rewarded.
Your children will return from the land of the enemy.
I, the Lord, affirm it!t

17 Indeed, there is hope for your posterity.t
Your children will return to their own territory.
I, the Lord, affirm it!t

18 I have indeedt heard the people of Israelt say mournfully,
‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke.ts
You disciplined us and we learned from it.t
Let us come back to you and we will do so,ts
for you are the Lord our God.

19 For after we turned away from you we repented.
After we came to our sensest we beat our breasts in sorrow.t
We are ashamed and humiliated
because of the disgraceful things we did previously.’ts

20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.
They are the children I take delight in.t
For even though I must often rebuke them,
I still remember them with fondness.
So I am deeply moved with pity for themt
and will surely have compassion on them.
I, the Lord, affirm it!t

21 I will say,ts ‘My dear children of Israel,t keep in mind
the road you took when you were carried off.t
Mark off in your minds the landmarks.
Make a mental note of telltale signs marking the way back.
Return, my dear children of Israel.
Return to these cities of yours.

22 How long will you vacillate,t
you who were once like an unfaithful daughter?s
For I, the Lord, promiset to bring about something news on the earth,
something as unique as a woman protecting a man!’”t

Judah Will Be Restored

23 The Lord God of Israel who rules over allt says,
“I will restore the people of Judah to their land and to their towns.
When I do, they will again sayt of Jerusalem,ts
‘May the Lord bless you, you holy mountain,
the place where righteousness dwells.’s

24 The land of Judah will be inhabited by people who live in its towns
as well as by farmers and shepherds with their flocks.t

25 I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary
and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint.ts

26 Then they will say, ‘Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep
when I wake up and look around.’”t

Israel and Judah Will Be Repopulated

27 “Indeed, a time is coming,”ts says the Lord,t “when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah.ts

28 In the past I saw to it that they were uprooted and torn down, that they were destroyed and demolished. But now I will see to it that they are built up and firmly planted.t I, the Lord, affirm it!”t

The Lord Will Make a New Covenant with Israel and Judah

29 “When that time comes, people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but the children’s teeth have grown numb.’ts

30 Rather, each person will die for his own sins. The teeth of the person who eats the sour grapes will themselves grow numb.s
31 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord,t “when I will make a new covenantt with the people of Israel and Judah.t32 It will not be like the oldt covenant that I made with their ancestorsts when I delivered themt from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,”ts says the Lord.t

33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israelt after I plant them back in the land,”t says the Lord.t “I willt put my law within themt and write it on their hearts and minds.ts I will be their God and they will be my people.s

34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me.ts For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,”s says the Lord. “Fort I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

The Lord Guarantees Israel’s Continuance

35 The Lord has made a promise to Israel.
He promises it as the one who fixed the sun to give light by day
and the moon and stars to give light by night.
He promises it as the one who stirs up the sea so that its waves roll.
He promises it as the one who is known as the Lord who rules over all.t

36 The Lord affirms,t “The descendants of Israel will not
cease forever to be a nation in my sight.
That could only happen if the fixed ordering of the heavenly lights
were to cease to operate before me.”t

37 The Lord says, “I will not reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all that they have done.s
That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured
or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored,”t
says the Lord.t

Jerusalem Will Be Enlarged

38 “Indeed a time is coming,”ss says the Lord,t “when the city of Jerusalems will be rebuilt as my special city.t It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate.ts39 The boundary line will extend beyond that, straight west from there to the Hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah.ts

40 The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are throwns and all the terraced fieldss out to the Kidron Valleys on the east as far northt as the Horse Gates will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord.ts The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”