Jeremiah 31

1 “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be My people.”

2 This is what the LORD says: “The people who survived the sword found favor in the wilderness when Israel went to find rest.”

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.

4 Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.

5 Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant and enjoy the fruit.

6 For there will be a day when watchmen will call out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Arise, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God!’”

7 For this is what the LORD says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations! Make your praises heard, and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel!’

8 Behold, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, including the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor. They will return as a great assembly!

9 They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”

10 Hear, O nations, the word of the LORD, and proclaim it in distant coastlands: “The One who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock.

11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand that had overpowered him.

12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish.

13 Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.

14 I will fill the souls of the priests abundantly, and will fill My people with My goodness,” declares the LORD.

15 This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

16 This is what the LORD says: “Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the reward for your work will come, declares the LORD. Then your children will return from the land of the enemy.

17 So there is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children will return to their own land.

18 I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.

19 After I returned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

20 Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD.

21 “Set up the road markers, put up the signposts. Keep the highway in mind, the road you have traveled. Return, O Virgin Israel, return to these cities of yours.

22 How long will you wander, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the land—a woman will shelter a man.”

23 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore them from captivity, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘May the LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling place, O holy mountain.’

24 And Judah and all its cities will dwell together in the land, the farmers and those who move with the flocks,

25 for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.”

26 At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.

27 “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 of beast.

28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.

29 “In those days, it will no longer be said: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.’

30 Instead, each will die for his own iniquity. If anyone eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will be set on edge.

31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

33 “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.

34 No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”

35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:

36 “Only if this fixed order departed from My presence, declares the LORD, would Israel’s descendants ever cease to be a nation before Me.”

37 This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth below searched out would I reject all of Israel’s descendants because of all they have done,” declares the LORD.

38 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for Me, from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

39 The measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah.

40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the LORD. It will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

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.

2 Thus saith the LORD, The people [which were] left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; [even] Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.

3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, [saying], Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

4 Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat [them] as common things.

6 For there shall be a day, [that] the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.

7 For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts 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 return thither.

9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim [is] my firstborn.

10 ¶ Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare [it] in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd [doth] his flock.

11 For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of [him that was] stronger than he.

12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for 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, both young men and 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 the LORD.

15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, [and] bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they [were] not.

16 Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that 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 bullock unaccustomed [to the yoke]: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou [art] the LORD 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 pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.

21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, [even] the way [which] thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

22 How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.

23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, [and] mountain of holiness.

24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they [that] go forth with flocks.

25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.

26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

27 ¶ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, 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 throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.

29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, 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 grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, 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 an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

33 But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

35 ¶ Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, [and] the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts [is] his name:

36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, [then] the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

38 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

39 And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.

40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, [shall be] holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

1 In that day, saith the LORD, will I be God to all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

2 Thus saith the LORD; The remnant of the sword have found mercy in the wilderness: Israel goeth to his rest.

3 The LORD hath appeared unto me afar off, saying, I have loved thee evermore; therefore out of my goodness have I drawn thee unto me.

4 Now therefore, I will build thee again, and thou shalt be called built. Thou virgin Israel, thou shalt yet make merry, and go forth to the dance.

5 Again, thou shalt plant vineyards in the mountains of Samaria: they shall plant, and whistle for them.

6 For the time shall yet come, that the keepers of mount Ephraim shall cry: Come, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.

7 For thus saith the LORD, Shout for joy over Jacob, and shout for joy over the head of the Gentiles; shout aloud, and shout, and say, O LORD, help thy people, the remnant of Israel.

8 Behold, I will bring them out of the land of the north, and gather them from the ends of the earth, both blind, and lame, and with child, and women with child, and they shall return with a great multitude.

9 They shall come weeping and praying, and I will guide them: I will lead them by the rivers of water by a rough way, and they shall not stumble: for I am the father of Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

10 Hear ye, O ye Gentiles, the word of the LORD, and proclaim it abroad in the isles, saying, He that scattered Israel will gather them again, and will shepherd them as a shepherd shepherds his flock.

11 For the LORD will redeem Jacob, and deliver him out of the hand of the mighty.

12 And they shall come and rejoice in the high places of Zion, and shall heap themselves to the gifts of the LORD, even to corn, and wine, and oil, and young sheep, and oxen: and their soul shall be as a garden of waters, and shall be troubled no more.

13 Then shall the virgins rejoice in the dance, and the young men, and the old men together. For I will turn their mourning into joy, and comfort them, and make them glad after their affliction.

14 And I will fill the heart of the priests with joy, and my people shall have abundance of my gifts, saith the LORD.

15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice of mourning is heard, and bitter weeping in the high places: Rachel weepeth over her children, and will not be comforted over her children; for it is finished with them.

16 But thus saith the LORD; Cease thy crying, and thy weeping, and the tears of thine eyes: for thy labour shall be well rewarded, saith the LORD. They shall come again out of the land of the. Enemy.

17 And thy seed have much good to wait for, saith the LORD; for thy children shall return into their border.

18 I have heard the lamentation of Ephraim, Thou hast chastened me, and I am chastened like a horny calf. Turn thou me, and I shall be turned: for thou, O LORD, art my God.

19 When I was converted, I repented: for after that I was wrought, I smote myself on the hip. For I am ashamed, and stand in shame: for I have suffered the scorn of my youth.

20 Is not Ephraim my dear son, and my trusty child? For I remember the things which I spake unto him: therefore my heart breaketh against him, that I should have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.

21 Set thee up grave-marks, set thee mourning-marks, and set thy heart upon the highway that I have trodden. Return, O virgin Israel; Return to these thy cities!

22 How long wilt thou go astray, thou apostate daughter? For the LORD shall create a new thing in the land: the woman shall compass the man about.

23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; They shall speak this word again in the land of Judah, and in the cities thereof, when I turn their captivity: The LORD bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O holy mountain.

24 And Judah and all her cities shall dwell therein, and the husbandmen, and they that go about with flocks.

25 For I will refresh the weary soul, and the troubled soul.

26 Therefore I woke up and looked up and slept so softly.

27 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will seed the house of Israel, and the house of Judah, both man and beast.

28 And as I have watched over them to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.

29 In that day it shall no more be said, The fathers have eaten herbs, and the children's teeth are blunted,

30 But every man shall die for his iniquity: and every man that eateth herbs shall have his teeth dulled.

31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah,

32 Not as the covenant which I made with their fathers, when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant they kept not, and I constrained them, saith the LORD,

33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after that time, saith the LORD; I will put my law in their hearts, and write it in their minds; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

34 And no man shall teach another, nor brother another, saying, Know the LORD: but they shall all know me, both small and great, saith the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sin no more.

35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the moon and the stars for a light by night, according to their courses; which maketh the sea to roar with the waves thereof; O LORD of hosts is his name:

36 When these ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then shall the seed of Israel also cease, that they be no more a nation before me for ever.

37 Thus saith the LORD; If it be possible to measure the heavens above, and to search the foundations of the earth, I will also reject all the seed of Israel for all that they do, saith the LORD.

38 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city of the LORD shall be built from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the river.

39 And the line shall go forth beside it unto the hill. Gareb, and turn toward Gaath.

40 And all the valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the field, unto the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate eastward, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall never be broken up, nor cut down.