Jeremiah 31 - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the ^(A)God of all the ^(B)families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

² This is what the Lord says:
“The people who survived the sword
^(C)Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to ^(D)find its rest.”
³ The Lord appeared to ^[a]him ^[b]long ago, saying,
“I have ^(E)loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you out with ^(F)kindness.
^{4 (G)}I will build you again and you will be rebuilt,
Virgin of Israel!
You will ^[c]take up your ^(H)tambourines again,
And go out to the dances of the ^(I)revelers.
⁵ Again you will ^(J)plant vineyards
On the ^[d]hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will ^[e]enjoy the fruit.
⁶ For there will be a day when watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
‘Arise, and ^(K)let’s go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’”

⁷ For this is what the Lord says:
“^(L)Sing aloud with joy for Jacob,
And be joyful with the ^[f](M)chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘Lord, ^(N)save Your people,
The ^(O)remnant of Israel!’
⁸ Behold, I am ^(P)bringing them from the north country,
And I will ^(Q)gather them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them those who are ^(R)blind and those who ^(S)limp,
The pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
They will return here as a great assembly.
^{9 (T)}They will come with weeping,
And by pleading I will bring them;
I will lead them by ^(U)streams of waters,
On a straight path on which they will ^(V)not stumble;
For I am a ^(W)father to Israel,
And Ephraim is ^(X)My firstborn.”

¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,
And declare it in the ^(Y)coastlands far away,
And say, “He who scattered Israel will ^(Z)gather him,
And He will keep him as a ^(AA)shepherd keeps his flock.”
¹¹ For the Lord has ^(AB)ransomed Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was ^(AC)stronger than he.
¹² “They will ^(AD)come and shout for joy on the ^(AE)height of Zion,
And they will be ^(AF)radiant over the ^[g]bounty of the Lord—
Over the ^(AG)grain, the new wine, the oil,
And over the young of the ^(AH)flock and the herd.
And their life will be like a ^(AI)watered garden,
And they will ^(AJ)never languish again.
¹³ Then the virgin will rejoice in the ^(AK)dance,
And the young men and the old together;
For I will ^(AL)turn their mourning into joy
And comfort them, and give them ^(AM)joy for their sorrow.
¹⁴ I will refresh the soul of the priests with ^[h]abundance,
And My people will be ^(AN)satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.

¹⁵ This is what the Lord says:
“^(AO)A voice is heard in ^(AP)Ramah,
Lamenting and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She ^(AQ)refuses to be comforted for her children,
Because ^(AR)they are no more.”

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says:

“^(AS)Restrain your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your ^(AT)work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord,
“And they will ^(AU)return from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷ There is ^(AV)hope for your future,” declares the Lord,
“And your children will return to their own territory.
¹⁸ I have certainly heard Ephraim ^(AW)grieving,
‘You have ^(AX)disciplined me, and I was corrected,
Like an untrained ^(AY)calf;
^(AZ)Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.
¹⁹ For after I turned back, I ^(BA)repented;
And after I was instructed, I ^[i](BB)slapped my thigh;
I was ^(BC)ashamed and also humiliated
Because I bore the shame of my youth.’
²⁰ Is ^(BD)Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My ^[j](BE)heart yearns for him;
I will certainly ^(BF)have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.

²¹ “Set up roadmarks for yourself,
Place guideposts for yourself;
^(BG)Direct your ^[k]mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
^(BH)Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
²² How long will you waver,
You ^(BI)rebellious daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
A woman will shelter a man.”

²³ This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I ^(BJ)restore their fortunes,

‘The Lord bless you, O ^(BK)place of righteousness,
O ^(BL)holy hill!’

²⁴ Judah and all its cities will ^(BM)live together in it, the farmers and those who travel with flocks. ^{25 (BN)}For I give plenty of water to the weary ones, and ^[l]refresh everyone who languishes.” ²⁶ At this I ^(BO)awoke and looked, and my ^(BP)sleep had been pleasant to me.

A New Covenant

²⁷ “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will ^(BQ)sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of mankind and the seed of animals. ²⁸ And just as I have ^(BR)watched over them to ^(BS)uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to ^(BT)build and to plant them,” declares the Lord.

²⁹ “In those days they will no longer say,
‘^(BU)The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
^[m]But it is the children’s teeth that have become blunt.’

³⁰ But ^(BV)everyone will die for his own wrongdoing; each person who eats the sour grapes, his own teeth will become blunt.

³¹ “^(BW)Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a ^(BX)new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the ^(BY)covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I ^(BZ)took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My ^(CA)covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. ³³ “For ^(CB)this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “^(CC)I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and ^(CD)I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ They will ^(CE)not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all ^(CF)know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will ^(CG)forgive their wrongdoing, and their ^(CH)sin I will no longer remember.”

³⁵ This is what the Lord says,
He who ^(CI)gives the sun for light by day
And the ^[n]fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who ^(CJ)stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
^(CK)The Lord of armies is His name:
³⁶ “^(CL)If ^[o]this fixed order departs
From Me,” declares the Lord,
“Then the descendants of Israel also will ^(CM)cease
To be a nation before Me ^[p]forever.”
³⁷ This is what the Lord says:
“^(CN)If the heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also ^(CO)reject all the descendants of Israel
For everything that they have done,” declares the Lord.

³⁸ “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the ^(CP)city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the ^(CQ)Tower of Hananel to the ^(CR)Corner Gate. ³⁹ The ^(CS)measuring line will go out farther straight ahead, to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. ⁴⁰ And ^(CT)the entire valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook ^(CU)Kidron to the corner of the ^(CV)Horse Gate toward the east, shall be ^(CW)holy to the Lord; it will not be uprooted or overthrown ever again.”

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 31:3 Lit me
2. Jeremiah 31:3 Or from far away
3. Jeremiah 31:4 Lit adorn yourself with
4. Jeremiah 31:5 Or mountains
5. Jeremiah 31:5 Lit defile
6. Jeremiah 31:7 Lit head
7. Jeremiah 31:12 Lit goodness
8. Jeremiah 31:14 Lit fatness
9. Jeremiah 31:19 I.e., in regret
10. Jeremiah 31:20 Lit inward parts
11. Jeremiah 31:21 Lit heart
12. Jeremiah 31:25 Lit fill
13. Jeremiah 31:29 I.e., the children suffer for the fathers’ sins
14. Jeremiah 31:35 Lit statutes
15. Jeremiah 31:36 Lit these statutes
16. Jeremiah 31:36 Lit all the days

Cross references

1. Jeremiah 31:1 : Jer 30:22
2. Jeremiah 31:1 : Gen 17:7, 8; Is 41:10; Rom 11:26-28
3. Jeremiah 31:2 : Num 14:20
4. Jeremiah 31:2 : Ex 33:14; Num 10:33; Deut 1:33; Josh 1:13
5. Jeremiah 31:3 : Deut 4:37; 7:8; Mal 1:2
6. Jeremiah 31:3 : Ps 25:6
7. Jeremiah 31:4 : Jer 24:6; 33:7
8. Jeremiah 31:4 : Is 30:32
9. Jeremiah 31:4 : Jer 30:19
10. Jeremiah 31:5 : Ps 107:37; Is 65:21; Ezek 28:26; Amos 9:14
11. Jeremiah 31:6 : Is 2:3; Jer 31:12; 50:4, 5; Mic 4:2
12. Jeremiah 31:7 : Ps 14:7; Jer 20:13
13. Jeremiah 31:7 : Deut 28:13; Is 61:9
14. Jeremiah 31:7 : Ps 28:9
15. Jeremiah 31:7 : Is 37:31; Jer 23:3
16. Jeremiah 31:8 : Jer 3:18; 23:8
17. Jeremiah 31:8 : Deut 30:4; Is 43:6; Ezek 34:13
18. Jeremiah 31:8 : Is 42:16
19. Jeremiah 31:8 : Is 40:11; Ezek 34:16; Mic 4:6
20. Jeremiah 31:9 : Ps 126:5; Jer 50:4
21. Jeremiah 31:9 : Is 43:20; 49:10
22. Jeremiah 31:9 : Is 63:13
23. Jeremiah 31:9 : Is 64:8; Jer 3:4, 19
24. Jeremiah 31:9 : Ex 4:22
25. Jeremiah 31:10 : Is 66:19; Jer 25:22
26. Jeremiah 31:10 : Jer 50:19
27. Jeremiah 31:10 : Is 40:11; Ezek 34:12
28. Jeremiah 31:11 : Is 44:23; 48:20; Jer 15:21; 50:34
29. Jeremiah 31:11 : Ps 142:6
30. Jeremiah 31:12 : Jer 31:6, 7
31. Jeremiah 31:12 : Ezek 17:23
32. Jeremiah 31:12 : Is 2:2; Mic 4:1
33. Jeremiah 31:12 : Hos 2:22; Joel 3:18
34. Jeremiah 31:12 : Jer 31:24; 33:12, 13
35. Jeremiah 31:12 : Is 58:11
36. Jeremiah 31:12 : Is 35:10; 60:20; 65:19; John 16:22; Rev 21:4
37. Jeremiah 31:13 : Judg 21:21; Ps 30:11; Zech 8:4, 5
38. Jeremiah 31:13 : Is 61:3
39. Jeremiah 31:13 : Is 51:11
40. Jeremiah 31:14 : Jer 50:19
41. Jeremiah 31:15 : Matt 2:18
42. Jeremiah 31:15 : Josh 18:25; Judg 4:5; Is 10:29; Jer 40:1
43. Jeremiah 31:15 : Gen 37:35; Ps 77:2
44. Jeremiah 31:15 : Gen 5:24; 42:13, 36; Jer 10:20
45. Jeremiah 31:16 : Is 25:8; 30:19
46. Jeremiah 31:16 : Ruth 2:12; Heb 6:10
47. Jeremiah 31:16 : Jer 30:3; Ezek 11:17
48. Jeremiah 31:17 : Jer 29:11
49. Jeremiah 31:18 : Jer 3:21
50. Jeremiah 31:18 : Job 5:17; Ps 94:12
51. Jeremiah 31:18 : Hos 4:16
52. Jeremiah 31:18 : Ps 80:3, 7, 19; Jer 17:14; Lam 5:21; Acts 3:26
53. Jeremiah 31:19 : Ezek 36:31; Zech 12:10
54. Jeremiah 31:19 : Ezek 21:12; Luke 18:13
55. Jeremiah 31:19 : Jer 3:25
56. Jeremiah 31:20 : Hos 11:8
57. Jeremiah 31:20 : Gen 43:30; Judg 10:16; Is 63:15; Hos 11:8
58. Jeremiah 31:20 : Is 55:7; 57:18; Hos 14:4; Mic 7:18
59. Jeremiah 31:21 : Jer 50:5
60. Jeremiah 31:21 : Is 48:20; 52:11
61. Jeremiah 31:22 : Jer 3:6; 49:4
62. Jeremiah 31:23 : Jer 30:18; 32:44
63. Jeremiah 31:23 : Is 1:26; Jer 50:7
64. Jeremiah 31:23 : Ps 48:1; 87:1; Zech 8:3
65. Jeremiah 31:24 : Jer 31:12; Ezek 36:10; Zech 8:4-8
66. Jeremiah 31:25 : Ps 107:9; Jer 31:12, 14; Matt 5:6; John 4:14
67. Jeremiah 31:26 : Zech 4:1
68. Jeremiah 31:26 : Prov 3:24
69. Jeremiah 31:27 : Ezek 36:9, 11; Hos 2:23
70. Jeremiah 31:28 : Jer 44:27; Dan 9:14
71. Jeremiah 31:28 : Jer 1:10; 18:7
72. Jeremiah 31:28 : Jer 24:6
73. Jeremiah 31:29 : Lam 5:7; Ezek 18:2
74. Jeremiah 31:30 : Deut 24:16; Is 3:11; Ezek 18:4, 20
75. Jeremiah 31:31 : Jer 31:31-34; Heb 8:8-12
76. Jeremiah 31:31 : Jer 32:40; 33:14; Ezek 37:26; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; 2 Cor 3:6; Heb 8:8-12; 10:16, 17
77. Jeremiah 31:32 : Ex 19:5; 24:6-8; Deut 5:2, 3
78. Jeremiah 31:32 : Deut 1:31; Is 63:12
79. Jeremiah 31:32 : Jer 11:7, 8
80. Jeremiah 31:33 : Jer 32:40; Heb 10:16
81. Jeremiah 31:33 : Ps 40:8; 2 Cor 3:3
82. Jeremiah 31:33 : Jer 24:7; 30:22; 32:38
83. Jeremiah 31:34 : 1 Thess 4:9; 1 John 2:27
84. Jeremiah 31:34 : Is 11:9; 54:13; Jer 24:7; Hab 2:14; John 6:45; 1 John 2:20
85. Jeremiah 31:34 : Jer 33:8; 50:20; Mic 7:18; Rom 11:27
86. Jeremiah 31:34 : Is 43:25; Heb 10:17
87. Jeremiah 31:35 : Gen 1:14-18; Deut 4:19; Ps 19:1-6; 136:7-9
88. Jeremiah 31:35 : Is 51:15
89. Jeremiah 31:35 : Jer 10:16; 32:18; 50:34
90. Jeremiah 31:36 : Ps 89:36, 37; 148:6; Is 54:9, 10; Jer 33:20-26
91. Jeremiah 31:36 : Amos 9:8, 9
92. Jeremiah 31:37 : Is 40:12; Jer 33:22
93. Jeremiah 31:37 : Jer 33:24-26; Rom 11:2-5, 26, 27
94. Jeremiah 31:38 : Jer 30:18; 31:4
95. Jeremiah 31:38 : Neh 3:1; 12:39; Zech 14:10
96. Jeremiah 31:38 : 2 Kin 14:13; 2 Chr 26:9
97. Jeremiah 31:39 : Zech 2:1
98. Jeremiah 31:40 : Jer 7:32; 8:2
99. Jeremiah 31:40 : 2 Sam 15:23; 2 Kin 23:6, 12; John 18:1
100. Jeremiah 31:40 : 2 Kin 11:16; 2 Chr 23:15; Neh 3:28
101. Jeremiah 31:40 : Joel 3:17; Zech 14:20