Jeremiah 31:1–30
31 “At athe same time,” says the Lord, b“I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when cI went to give him rest.”
3 The Lord has appeared 1of old to me, saying:
“Yes, dI have loved you with ean everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have fdrawn you.
4 Again gI will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your htambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
5 iYou shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;
The planters shall plant and 2eat them as ordinary food.
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
j‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’ ”
k“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among 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 lfrom the north country,
And mgather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
9 nThey shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk oby the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My pfirstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the 3isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel qwill gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For rthe Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him sfrom the hand of one stronger than he.
12 Therefore they shall come and sing in tthe height of Zion,
Streaming to uthe goodness of the Lord
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a vwell-watered garden,
wAnd they shall sorrow no 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 to joy,
Will comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
14 I will 4satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”
15 Thus says the Lord:
x“A voice was heard in yRamah,
Lamentation and bitter zweeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because athey are no more.”
“Refrain your voice from bweeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 There is chope in your future, says the Lord,
That your children shall come back to their own border.
18 “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have dchastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
eRestore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 Surely, fafter my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was gashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
hTherefore My 5heart yearns for him;
iI will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.
Make landmarks;
jSet your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
6Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.
22 How long will you kgad about,
O you lbacksliding daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: m‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and nmountain of holiness!’ 24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and oin all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. 25 For I have 7satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”
26 After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was psweet to me.
27 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that qI 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 rwatched over them sto pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them tto build and to plant, says the Lord. 29 uIn those days they shall say no more:
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 vBut every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.