GOD WILL COME TO GIVE REST TO ISRAEL
Key verse: 2
NIV
31 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God(A) 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 favor(B) in the wilderness;
I will come to give rest(C) to Israel.”
3 The Lord appeared to us in the past,[a] saying:
“I have loved(D) you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn(E) you with unfailing kindness.
4 I will build you up again,
and you, Virgin(F) Israel, will be rebuilt.(G)
Again you will take up your timbrels(H)
and go out to dance(I) with the joyful.(J)
5 Again you will plant(K) vineyards
on the hills of Samaria;(L)
the farmers will plant them
and enjoy their fruit.(M)
6 There will be a day when watchmen(N) cry out
on the hills of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’”(O)
7 This is what the Lord says:
“Sing(P) with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost(Q) of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
‘Lord, save(R) your people,
the remnant(S) of Israel.’
8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north(T)
and gather(U) them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind(V) and the lame,(W)
expectant mothers and women in labor;
a great throng will return.
9 They will come with weeping;(X)
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead(Y) them beside streams of water(Z)
on a level(AA) path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,(AB)
and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;
proclaim it in distant coastlands:(AC)
‘He who scattered(AD) Israel will gather(AE) them
and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’(AF)
11 For the Lord will deliver Jacob
and redeem(AG) them from the hand of those stronger(AH) than they.
12 They will come and shout for joy(AI) on the heights(AJ) of Zion;
they will rejoice in the bounty(AK) of the Lord—
the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,(AL)
the young of the flocks(AM) and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,(AN)
and they will sorrow(AO) no more.
13 Then young women will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning(AP) into gladness;
I will give them comfort(AQ) and joy(AR) instead of sorrow.
14 I will satisfy(AS) the priests(AT) with abundance,
and my people will be filled with my bounty,(AU)”
declares the Lord.
15 This is what the Lord says:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,(AV)
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,(AW)
because they are no more.”(AX)
16 This is what the Lord says:
“Restrain your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,(AY)
for your work will be rewarded,(AZ)”
declares the Lord.
“They will return(BA) from the land of the enemy.
17 So there is hope(BB) for your descendants,”
declares the Lord.
“Your children(BC) will return to their own land.
18 “I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
‘You disciplined(BD) me like an unruly calf,(BE)
and I have been disciplined.
Restore(BF) me, and I will return,
because you are the Lord my God.
19 After I strayed,(BG)
I repented;
after I came to understand,
I beat(BH) my breast.
I was ashamed(BI) and humiliated
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’(BJ)
20 Is not Ephraim my dear son,
the child(BK) in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
I still remember(BL) him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I have great compassion(BM) for him,”
declares the Lord.
21 “Set up road signs;
put up guideposts.(BN)
Take note of the highway,(BO)
the road that you take.
Return,(BP) Virgin(BQ) Israel,
return to your towns.
22 How long will you wander,(BR)
unfaithful(BS) Daughter Israel?
The Lord will create a new thing(BT) on earth—
the woman will return to[b](BU) the man.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 31:3 Or Lord has appeared to us from afar
- Jeremiah 31:22 Or will protect
Cross references
- Jeremiah 31:1 : S Lev 26:12
- Jeremiah 31:2 : Nu 14:20
- Jeremiah 31:2 : S Ex 33:14; S Dt 12:9
- Jeremiah 31:3 : S Dt 4:37
- Jeremiah 31:3 : Hos 11:4; Jn 6:44
- Jeremiah 31:4 : S 2Ki 19:21
- Jeremiah 31:4 : S Jer 1:10; S 30:18
- Jeremiah 31:4 : S Ge 31:27
- Jeremiah 31:4 : S Ex 15:20
- Jeremiah 31:4 : S Jer 30:19
- Jeremiah 31:5 : S Dt 20:6
- Jeremiah 31:5 : Jer 33:13; 50:19; Ob 1:19
- Jeremiah 31:5 : S Isa 37:30; Am 9:14
- Jeremiah 31:6 : S Isa 52:8; S 56:10
- Jeremiah 31:6 : ver 12; S Dt 33:19; Jer 50:4-5; Mic 4:2
- Jeremiah 31:7 : S Isa 12:6
- Jeremiah 31:7 : Dt 28:13; Isa 61:9
- Jeremiah 31:7 : Ps 14:7; 28:9
- Jeremiah 31:7 : S Isa 37:31
- Jeremiah 31:8 : S Jer 3:18
- Jeremiah 31:8 : S Ge 33:13; S Dt 30:4; S Ps 106:47; Eze 34:12-14
- Jeremiah 31:8 : Isa 42:16
- Jeremiah 31:8 : Eze 34:16; Mic 4:6
- Jeremiah 31:9 : S Ezr 3:12; Ps 126:5
- Jeremiah 31:9 : Isa 63:13
- Jeremiah 31:9 : S Nu 20:8; S Ps 1:3; S Isa 32:2
- Jeremiah 31:9 : S Isa 40:4; S 49:11
- Jeremiah 31:9 : S Ex 4:22; S Jer 3:4
- Jeremiah 31:10 : Isa 49:1; S 66:19; S Jer 25:22
- Jeremiah 31:10 : S Lev 26:33
- Jeremiah 31:10 : S Dt 30:4; S Isa 11:12; Jer 50:19
- Jeremiah 31:10 : Isa 40:11; Eze 34:12
- Jeremiah 31:11 : S Ex 6:6; Zec 9:16
- Jeremiah 31:11 : Ps 142:6
- Jeremiah 31:12 : S Ps 126:5
- Jeremiah 31:12 : Eze 17:23; 20:40; 40:2; Mic 4:1
- Jeremiah 31:12 : S Ps 36:8; Joel 3:18
- Jeremiah 31:12 : S Nu 18:12; Hos 2:21-22; Joel 2:19
- Jeremiah 31:12 : ver 24; S Isa 65:10
- Jeremiah 31:12 : S SS 4:15
- Jeremiah 31:12 : S Isa 30:19; S 62:5; Jn 16:22; S Rev 7:17
- Jeremiah 31:13 : S Isa 61:3
- Jeremiah 31:13 : S Isa 40:1
- Jeremiah 31:13 : Ps 30:11; S Isa 51:11
- Jeremiah 31:14 : ver 25
- Jeremiah 31:14 : Lev 7:35-36
- Jeremiah 31:14 : S Ps 36:8; S Isa 30:23
- Jeremiah 31:15 : S Jos 18:25
- Jeremiah 31:15 : S Ge 37:35
- Jeremiah 31:15 : S Jer 10:20; Mt 2:17-18*
- Jeremiah 31:16 : S Ps 30:5; S Isa 25:8; 30:19
- Jeremiah 31:16 : S Ru 2:12; S 2Ch 15:7
- Jeremiah 31:16 : Jer 30:3; Eze 11:17
- Jeremiah 31:17 : S Job 8:7; La 3:29
- Jeremiah 31:17 : S Jer 30:20
- Jeremiah 31:18 : S Job 5:17
- Jeremiah 31:18 : Jer 50:11; Hos 4:16; 10:11
- Jeremiah 31:18 : S Ps 80:3
- Jeremiah 31:19 : S Ps 95:10; S Jer 8:4; Eze 36:31
- Jeremiah 31:19 : Eze 21:12; Lk 18:13
- Jeremiah 31:19 : Ezr 9:6
- Jeremiah 31:19 : S Ps 25:7; S Jer 22:21
- Jeremiah 31:20 : La 3:33
- Jeremiah 31:20 : S Isa 44:21
- Jeremiah 31:20 : S 1Ki 3:26; S Ps 6:2; Isa 55:7; Mic 7:18
- Jeremiah 31:21 : Eze 21:19
- Jeremiah 31:21 : Isa 35:8; Jer 50:5
- Jeremiah 31:21 : Isa 52:11; S Jer 3:12
- Jeremiah 31:21 : ver 4
- Jeremiah 31:22 : S Jer 2:23
- Jeremiah 31:22 : S Jer 3:6
- Jeremiah 31:22 : Isa 43:19
- Jeremiah 31:22 : S Dt 32:10
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy
31 (A)“At that time, declares the Lord, (B)I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”
2 Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
(C)when Israel sought for rest,
3 the Lord appeared to him[a] from far away.
(D)I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore (E)I have continued (F)my faithfulness to you.
4 (G)Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
(H)Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in (I)the dance of the merrymakers.
5 (J)Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit.
6 For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
in (K)the hill country of Ephraim:
(L)‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’”
7 For thus says the Lord:
(M)“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for (N)the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
(O)‘O Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
8 Behold, I will bring them (P)from the north country
and (Q)gather them from (R)the farthest parts of the earth,
among them (S)the blind and the lame,
the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
9 (T)With weeping they shall come,
(U)and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them (V)walk by brooks of water,
(W)in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for (X)I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is (Y)my firstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will (Z)gather him,
and will keep him (AA)as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
11 (AB)For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and has redeemed him from (AC)hands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
(AD)and they shall be radiant (AE)over the goodness of the Lord,
(AF)over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
(AG)their life shall be like a watered garden,
(AH)and they shall languish no more.
13 (AI)Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
(AJ)I will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 (AK)I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord.”
15 Thus says the Lord:
(AL)“A voice is heard in (AM)Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
(AN)Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
(AO)because they are no more.”
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the Lord,
and (AP)they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 (AQ)There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
and your children shall come back to their own country.
18 I have heard (AR)Ephraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;
(AS)bring me back that I may be restored,
for you are the Lord my God.
19 For after (AT)I had turned away, I relented,
and after I was instructed, (AU)I struck my thigh;
(AV)I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 (AW)Is Ephraim my dear son?
(AX)Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
(AY)Therefore my heart[b] yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the Lord.
21 (AZ)“Set up road markers for yourself;
make yourself guideposts;
(BA)consider well the highway,
(BB)the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
return to these your cities.
22 (BC)How long will you waver,
(BD)O faithless daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:
a woman encircles a man.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 31:3 Septuagint; Hebrew me
- Jeremiah 31:20 Hebrew bowels
Cross references
- Jeremiah 31:1 : ch. 30:24
- Jeremiah 31:1 : [2 Cor. 6:18]; See ch. 30:22
- Jeremiah 31:2 : [ch. 30:10; Ps. 95:11; Isa. 63:14]
- Jeremiah 31:3 : Deut. 7:8; 10:15; Mal. 1:2; Rom. 11:28
- Jeremiah 31:3 : Ps. 36:10
- Jeremiah 31:3 : Hos. 11:4
- Jeremiah 31:4 : ver. 28; ch. 33:7
- Jeremiah 31:4 : Isa. 61:10
- Jeremiah 31:4 : ver. 13; Ex. 15:20; Judg. 11:34; 21:21; See 2 Sam. 6:14
- Jeremiah 31:5 : Isa. 65:21; Amos 9:14
- Jeremiah 31:6 : See Josh. 24:33
- Jeremiah 31:6 : Isa. 2:3; 27:13
- Jeremiah 31:7 : Isa. 12:6; 65:18
- Jeremiah 31:7 : Amos 6:1
- Jeremiah 31:7 : Ps. 118:25
- Jeremiah 31:8 : See ch. 3:18
- Jeremiah 31:8 : See ch. 23:3
- Jeremiah 31:8 : See ch. 6:22
- Jeremiah 31:8 : Isa. 35:5, 6
- Jeremiah 31:9 : ch. 50:4; [Ezra 3:13; 10:1]
- Jeremiah 31:9 : ch. 3:21; Zech. 12:10
- Jeremiah 31:9 : Isa. 35:6, 7; 49:10; [Ps. 23:2]
- Jeremiah 31:9 : Isa. 35:8; 43:19; 49:11
- Jeremiah 31:9 : Rom. 8:15
- Jeremiah 31:9 : [Ex. 4:22; Ps. 89:27]
- Jeremiah 31:10 : [See ver. 8 above]; See ch. 23:3
- Jeremiah 31:10 : Isa. 40:11
- Jeremiah 31:11 : Isa. 43:1; 44:23; 48:20
- Jeremiah 31:11 : [Isa. 49:24, 25]
- Jeremiah 31:12 : Isa. 2:2; Mic. 4:1
- Jeremiah 31:12 : Hos. 3:5
- Jeremiah 31:12 : [Deut. 12:17]
- Jeremiah 31:12 : Isa. 58:11
- Jeremiah 31:12 : Isa. 35:10
- Jeremiah 31:13 : See ver. 4
- Jeremiah 31:13 : [John 16:20]
- Jeremiah 31:14 : [ver. 25]
- Jeremiah 31:15 : Cited Matt. 2:18
- Jeremiah 31:15 : Josh. 18:25
- Jeremiah 31:15 : [Gen. 35:19, 20; 48:7; 1 Sam. 10:2]
- Jeremiah 31:15 : ch. 10:20
- Jeremiah 31:16 : Ezra 1:5; Hos. 1:11
- Jeremiah 31:17 : ch. 29:11
- Jeremiah 31:18 : [ver. 9]
- Jeremiah 31:18 : Ps. 80:3; Lam. 5:21
- Jeremiah 31:19 : Deut. 30:2
- Jeremiah 31:19 : Ezek. 21:12
- Jeremiah 31:19 : [ch. 3:25]
- Jeremiah 31:20 : [See ver. 18 above]; [ver. 9]
- Jeremiah 31:20 : [Prov. 8:30]
- Jeremiah 31:20 : Song 5:4; Isa. 16:11
- Jeremiah 31:21 : [Isa. 57:14; 62:10]
- Jeremiah 31:21 : ch. 50:4, 5
- Jeremiah 31:21 : [Isa. 57:14; 62:10]
- Jeremiah 31:22 : ch. 2:18, 23, 36
- Jeremiah 31:22 : ch. 49:4
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
The Israelites suffered due to their sins. The powerful nations surrounding them devoured them and captured them. They had no independence nor power.
But the word of God for them is not endless pain. Rather it is the word of hope. God promises to give them rest. God will build them up again, and they will sing and dance. They will enjoy their fruit.
God will deliver the Israelites from the hand of those stronger than them. They will sorrow no more. God will give them comfort and joy.
Through Jesus Christ, God made a way for us to return to him and be restored. In Jesus Christ, we will be healed. We will sing and dance. We will sorrow no more but have comfort and joy.
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for restoring us from our sin. May our heart grow toward you in deeper relationship. May we be full of joy and comfort in the healing and restoration that you give us.
One Word: Jesus restores us and gives us true rest