Jeremiah 31:1–32:44

31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the Godm of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

2 This is what the Lord says:

“The people who survive the sword

will find favorn in the wilderness;

I will come to give resto to Israel.”

3 The Lord appeared to us in the past,a saying:

“I have lovedp you with an everlasting love;

I have drawnq you with unfailing kindness.

4 I will build you up again,

and you, Virginr Israel, will be rebuilt.s

Again you will take up your timbrelst

and go out to danceu with the joyful.v

5 Again you will plantw vineyards

on the hills of Samaria;x

the farmers will plant them

and enjoy their fruit.y

6 There will be a day when watchmenz cry out

on the hills of Ephraim,

‘Come, let us go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God.’ ”a

7 This is what the Lord says:

“Singb with joy for Jacob;

shout for the foremostc of the nations.

Make your praises heard, and say,

‘Lord, saved your people,

the remnante of Israel.’

8 See, I will bring them from the land of the northf

and gatherg them from the ends of the earth.

Among them will be the blindh and the lame,i

expectant mothers and women in labor;

a great throng will return.

9 They will come with weeping;j

they will pray as I bring them back.

I will leadk them beside streams of waterl

on a levelm path where they will not stumble,

because I am Israel’s father,n

and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

10 “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;

proclaim it in distant coastlands:o

‘He who scatteredp Israel will gatherq them

and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’r

11 For the Lord will deliver Jacob

and redeems them from the hand of those strongert than they.

12 They will come and shout for joyu on the heightsv of Zion;

they will rejoice in the bountyw of the Lord—

the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,x

the young of the flocksy and herds.

They will be like a well-watered garden,z

and they will sorrowa no more.

13 Then young women will dance and be glad,

young men and old as well.

I will turn their mourningb into gladness;

I will give them comfortc and joyd instead of sorrow.

14 I will satisfye the priestsf with abundance,

and my people will be filled with my bounty,g”

declares the Lord.

15 This is what the Lord says:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,h

mourning and great weeping,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted,i

because they are no more.”j

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Restrain your voice from weeping

and your eyes from tears,k

for your work will be rewarded,l”

declares the Lord.

“They will returnm from the land of the enemy.

17 So there is hopen for your descendants,”

declares the Lord.

“Your childreno will return to their own land.

18 “I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:

‘You disciplinedp me like an unruly calf,q

and I have been disciplined.

Restorer me, and I will return,

because you are the Lord my God.

19 After I strayed,s

I repented;

after I came to understand,

I beatt my breast.

I was ashamedu and humiliated

because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’v

20 Is not Ephraim my dear son,

the childw in whom I delight?

Though I often speak against him,

I still rememberx him.

Therefore my heart yearns for him;

I have great compassiony for him,”

declares the Lord.

21 “Set up road signs;

put up guideposts.z

Take note of the highway,a

the road that you take.

Return,b Virginc Israel,

return to your towns.

22 How long will you wander,d

unfaithfule Daughter Israel?

The Lord will create a new thingf on earth—

the woman will return tob g the man.”

23 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity,c h the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The Lord blessi you, you prosperous city,j you sacred mountain.’k 24 People will livel together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks.m 25 I will refresh the wearyn and satisfy the faint.”o

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

27 “The days are coming,”q declares the Lord, “when I will plantr the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28 Just as I watcheds over them to uproott and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster,u so I will watch over them to build and to plant,”v declares the Lord. 29 “In those days people will no longer say,

‘The parentsw have eaten sour grapes,

and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’x

30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin;y whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will make a new covenantz

with the people of Israel

and with the people of Judah.

32 It will not be like the covenanta

I made with their ancestorsb

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,c

because they broke my covenant,

though I was a husbandd tod them,e”

declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel

after that time,” declares the Lord.

“I will put my law in their mindse

and write it on their hearts.f

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.g

34 No longer will they teachh their neighbor,

or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all knowi me,

from the least of them to the greatest,”

declares the Lord.

“For I will forgivej their wickedness

and will remember their sinsk no more.”

35 This is what the Lord says,

he who appointsl the sun

to shine by day,

who decrees the moon and stars

to shine by night,m

who stirs up the sean

so that its waves roaro—

the Lord Almighty is his name:p

36 “Only if these decreesq vanish from my sight,”

declares the Lord,

“will Israelr ever cease

being a nation before me.”

37 This is what the Lord says:

“Only if the heavens above can be measureds

and the foundations of the earth below be searched out

will I rejectt all the descendants of Israel

because of all they have done,”

declares the Lord.

38 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this city will be rebuiltu for me from the Tower of Hananelv to the Corner Gate.w 39 The measuring linex will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40 The whole valleyy where dead bodiesz and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valleya on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate,b will be holyc to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

Jeremiah Buys a Field

32 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenthd year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenthe year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besiegingf Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confinedg in the courtyard of the guardh in the royal palace of Judah.

3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesyi as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capturej it. 4 Zedekiahk king of Judah will not escapel the Babyloniansa m but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5 He will taken Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him,o declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’ ”p

6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth,q because as nearest relative it is your right and dutyr to buy it.’

8 “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my fields at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; 9 so I bought the fieldt at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekelsb of silver.u 10 I signed and sealed the deed,v had it witnessed,w and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy—12 and I gave this deed to Baruchx son of Neriah,y the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealedz and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’a

16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruchb son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:

17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord,c you have made the heavens and the earthd by your great power and outstretched arm.e Nothing is too hardf for you. 18 You show loveg to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the lapsh of their childreni after them. Great and mighty God,j whose name is the Lord Almighty,k 19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.l Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind;m you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.n 20 You performed signs and wonderso in Egyptp and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renownq that is still yours. 21 You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty handr and an outstretched arms and with great terror.t 22 You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.u 23 They came in and took possessionv of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law;w they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disasterx on them.

24 “See how the siege rampsy are built up to take the city. Because of the …