31:1This promise is to all the families of Israel, not only to the tribe of Judah. The restoration will include all people who trust God.
Life Application Study BibleJeremiahChapter 31
Jeremiah 31
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1253, 1254, 1255, 1256
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31Jeremiah 31
Hope for Restoration
131 “In that day,” says the Lor, “I will be the God of all the families of be my people.
2This is what the LORD says:“Those who survive the coming destructionwill find blessings even in the barren land,for I will give rest to the people of Israel.”
3Long ago the LORD said to Israel:“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
4I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.You will again be happyand dance merrily with your tambourines.
5Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samariaand eat from your own gardens there.
6The day will come when watchmen will shoutfrom the hill country of Ephraim,‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem*to worship the LORD our God.’”
7Now this is what the LORD says:“Sing with joy for Israel.*Shout for the greatest of nations!Shout out with praise and joy:‘Save your people, O LORD,the remnant of Israel!’
8For I will bring them from the northand from the distant corners of the earth.I will not forget the blind and lame,the expectant mothers and women in labor.A great company will return!
9Tears of joy will stream down their faces,and I will lead them home with great care.They will walk beside quiet streamsand on smooth paths where they will not stumble.For I am Israel's father,and Ephraim is my oldest child.
10“Listen to this message from the LORD,you nations of the world;proclaim it in distant coastlands:The LORD, who scattered his people,will gather them and watch over themas a shepherd does his flock.
11For the LORD has redeemed Israelfrom those too strong for them.
12They will come home and sing songs of joy on the heights of Jerusalem.They will be radiant because of the LORD’s good gifts—the abundant crops of grain, new wine, and olive oil,and the healthy flocks and herds.Their life will be like a watered garden,and all their sorrows will be gone.
13The young women will dance for joy,and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration.I will turn their mourning into joy.I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing.
14The priests will enjoy abundance,and my people will feast on my good gifts.I, the LORD, have spoken!”“A cry is heard in Ramah—deep anguish and bitter weeping.Rachel weeps for her children,refusing to be comforted—for her children are gone.”
16But now this is what the LORD says:“Do not weep any longer,for I will reward you,” says the LORD.“Your children will come back to youfrom the distant land of the enemy.
17There is hope for your future,” says the LORD.“Your children will come again to their own land.
18J have heard Israel* saying,‘You disciplined me severely,like a calf that needs training for the yoke.Turn me again to you and restore me,for you alone are the LORD my God.
19T turned away from God,but then I was sorry.I kicked myself for my stupidity!I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.’
20“Ts not Israel still my son,my darling child?” says the LORD.“T often have to punish him,but I still love him.
That’s why I long for himand surely will have mercy on him.
21Set up road signs;put up guideposts.Mark well the pathby which you came.Come back again, my virgin Israel;return to your towns here.
22How long will you wander,my wayward daughter?For the LORD will cause something new to happen—Israel will embrace her God.*”
23This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: “ When I bring them back from captivity, the people of Judah and its towns will again say, ‘The LORD bless you, O righteous home, O holy mountain!’ 24Townspeople and farmers and shepherds alike will live together in peace and happiness. 25For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.” 26At this, woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet. 27"The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will greatly increase the human population and the number of animals here in Israel and Judah. 28In the past I deliberately uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will just as deliberately plant it and build it up. I, the LORD, have spoken!
29“The people will no longer quote this proverb:‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste.’
30All people will die for their own sins—those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker. 31“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the LORD. 33“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying,‘ You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the LORD. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
35It is the LORD who provides the sun to light the dayand the moon and stars to light the night,and who stirs the sea into roaring waves.His name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,and this is what he says:
36“T am as likely to reject my people Israelas I am to abolish the laws of nature!”
37This is what the LORD says:“Just as the heavens cannot be measuredand the foundations of the earth cannot be explored,so I will not consider casting them awayfor the evil they have done.I, the LORD, have spoken!
38” The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when all Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39A measuring line will be stretched out over the hill of Gareb and across to Goah. 40And the entire area—including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley, and all the fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the Horse Gate— will be holy to the Lor. The city will never again be captured or destroyed.”
Textual footnotes
- 31:6 Hebrew Zion; also in 31:12.
- 31:7 Hebrew Jacob; also in 31:11. See note on 5:20.
Life Application Notes 12 notes
31:3God reaches toward his people with kindness motivated by deep and everlasting love. He is eager to do the best for them
31:14This means that many sacrifices will be made at the Temple so that the priests will have a feast with their portion. It is also a symbol of life and prosperity (Psalm 36:8; 63:5; tsaiah 55:2).
31:15Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, was the symbolic mother of the northern tribes, which were taken into captivity by the Assyrians. Rachel is pictured crying for the exiles at Ramah, a staging point of deportation. This verse is quoted in Matthew
31:18Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 31:20.
31:18-20These words picture grief and mourning. Although Israel, the northern kingdom, had sunk into the most degrading sins, God still loved the people. A remnant would turn to God by repenting of their sins, and God would forgive. God still loves you despite anything you may have done. He will forgive you if you turn back to him.
31:22Hebrew a woman will court a suitor.
31:29,30The people tried to blame God's judgment on the sins of their parents. One person's sin does indeed affect other people, but all people are still held personaily accountable for the sin in their own life (Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:2). What excuses do you use for your sins?
31:33God would write his law on their hearts rather than on tablets of stone, as he did the Ten Commandments. In 17:1 their sin was engraved on their hearts so that they wanted above all to disobey. This change seems to describe an experience very much like the new birth, with God taking the initiative. When we turn our life over to God, he, by his Holy Spirit, builds into us the desire to obey him.
31:33The old covenant, broken by the people, would be replaced by a new covenant. The foundation of this new covenant is Christ (Hebrews 8:6). It is revolutionary, involving not only Israel and Judah but even the Gentiles. It offers a unique personal relationship with God himself, with his laws written on individuals’ hearts instead of on stone. Jeremiah looked forward to the day when Jesus would come to establish this covenant. But for us today, this covenant is here. We have the wonderful opportunity to make a fresh start and establish a permanent, personal relationship with God (see 29:11; 32:38-40).
31:35-37God has the power to do away with the laws of nature or even to do away with his people. But he will do neither. This is not a prediction; it is a promise. This is God’s way of saying that he will not reject Israel any more than he will do away with nature's laws.
31:38-40These points mark the boundaries of restored Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah. Gareb and Goah are unknown. The graveyard and ash dump probably refer to the valley of Ben-Hinnom, where children were sacrified in pagan worship.
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Rachel's Sadness Turns to Joy SThis is what the LORD says:
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