Jeremiah 31
1 At that time, I will be the God of all Israel's families, and they will be my people, declares the Lord.
“In that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
2 This is what the Lord says: The Israelites who survive death by the sword were blessed by the Lord in the desert as they looked for peace and quiet.
Thus says the Lord: “The people who had remained after the sword, found grace in the desert. Israel will go to his rest.”
3 Long ago the Lord came and told us, My love for you will last forever. I hold you close to me with my trustworthy love.
The Lord appeared to me from a distance: “And I have loved you in perpetual charity. Therefore, showing pity, I have drawn you.
4 I'm going to rebuild you, and it will happen. You will be rebuilt, Virgin Israel. You will pick up your tambourines again and run outside to dance with joy.
And I will build you up again. And you shall be built up, O virgin of Israel. Still shall you be adorned with your timbrels, and still shall you go forth to the singing of those who play.
5 You will replant vineyards on Samaria's hills; those who plant and will enjoy the grapes.
Still shall you plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters will plant, and they will not gather the vintage until the time arrives.
6 A day is coming when watchmen will call out from the hills of Ephraim, “Come on, let's go up to Zion, to worship the Lord our God!”
For there will be a day on which the guardians on mount Ephraim will cry out: ‘Arise! And let us ascend on Zion to the Lord our God!’”
7 This is what the Lord says: Sing happily for the descendants of Jacob; shout for the greatest of all nations! Let everybody know! Praise and call out, “Lord, save your people, those who are left of Israel!”
For thus says the Lord: “Exult in the joy of Jacob, and neigh before the head of the Gentiles. Shout, and sing, and say: ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’
8 Watch, because I will bring them back from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Everyone will return, even the blind and the lame, pregnant women, even mothers giving birth—a great gathering coming home,
Behold, I will lead them from the land of the north, and I will gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, she who is with child, together with she who is giving birth: a great assembly returning to this place.
9 They will come back with tears in their eyes, and they will be praying as I take them home. I will lead them beside streams of waters, on level paths where they won't stumble. For I am Israel's Father; Ephraim is my firstborn.
They will approach with weeping. And I will lead them back with mercy. And I will lead them through the torrents of water, by an upright way, and they will not stumble in it. For I have become Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”
10 Listen, nations, to what the Lord has to say, and let others know about in faraway countries: The Lord who scattered Israel will gather them together and keep them safe, just like a shepherd looks after his flock.
Listen to the word of the Lord, O Gentiles, and announce it amid the islands that are far away, and say: “Whoever has scattered Israel will gather him, and he will guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.”
11 The Lord has redeemed the descendants of Jacob and rescued them from their enemies who had defeated them.
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and he has freed him from the hand of one more powerful.
12 They will return and celebrate with happy shouts on Mount Zion; their faces will beam over the Lord's wonderful gifts—the grain, new wine, and olive oil, and the young of their flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden; and they won't ever be depressed again.
And they will arrive and give praise on Mount Zion. And they will flow together, to the good things of the Lord, over grain, and wine, and oil, and the offspring of cattle and herds. And their soul will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer be hungry.
13 The girls will dance in celebration; young men and old people will join in too. I will turn their sorrow into joy, and I will comfort them and change their sadness into happiness.
Then the virgin will rejoice with singing, the young and the old together, and I will turn their mourning into gladness, and I will console them and gladden them after their sorrow.
14 I will give my priests everything they need and more, and my people will be more than satisfied with my goodness towards them, declares the Lord.
And I will inebriate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people will be filled with my good things, says the Lord.”
15 This is what the Lord says: The sound of terrible weeping and mourning is heard in Ramah. It's Rachel crying for her children. They are dead, and she can't be comforted
Thus says the Lord: “A voice has been heard on high: of lamentation, mourning, and weeping; of Rachel crying for her sons and refusing to be consoled over them, because they are not.”
16 This is what the Lord says: Don't cry anymore, don't weep anymore, because you're going to be rewarded for what you've done, declares the Lord. Your children will return from the country of your enemies.
Thus says the Lord: “Let your voice cease from crying and your eyes from tears. For there is a reward for your work, says the Lord. And they will return from the land of the enemy.
17 So you can have hope for the future, declares the Lord. Your children will return to their own country.
And there is hope for your very end, says the Lord. And the sons will return to their own borders.
18 Don't worry, I've heard Ephraim's groans, saying, “You disciplined me really hard as if I was a calf that hadn't been trained. Please bring me back, let me return, for you are the Lord my God.
Listening, I heard Ephraim going into captivity: ‘You have chastised me, and I was instructed, like a young untamed bull. Convert me, and I shall be converted. For you are the Lord my God.
19 When I came back to you I was sorry, and once I understood, I held my head in sadness. I was ashamed and I blushed, embarrassed at what I'd done when I was young.”
For after you converted me, I did penance. And after you revealed to me, I struck my thigh. I am confounded and ashamed. For I have endured the disgrace of my youth.’
20 But isn't Ephraim still my precious son, my lovely child? Even though I often have to scold him, I can't forget him. So I'm torn inside with longing, wanting to show how much I care about him! declares the Lord.
Certainly, Ephraim is an honorable son to me; surely, he is a tender child. For I will still remember him, as in the time when I first spoke about him. Because my heart is stirred up over him, surely I will take pity on him, says the Lord.
21 Put up markers on the road; make signposts for yourselves. You need to be sure you can find the highway, the road you traveled on. Come back, Virgin Israel, come back to your towns.
Establish a watchtower for yourself. Place yourself in bitterness. Direct your heart into the upright way, in which you used to walk. Return, return, O virgin of Israel, to these your cities!
22 How long are you going to waver in your decision, you unfaithful daughter? For the Lord has made something new happen here: a woman is going to protect a man.
How long will you be absorbed in delights, O wandering daughter? For the Lord has created something new upon the earth: a woman will encompass a man.”
23 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: When I bring them back home from exile, they will say again in the land of Judah and in its towns: “May the Lord bless you, holy mountain of Jerusalem, home of what is good and right.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Still they will speak this word in the land of Judah, and in its cities, when I will convert their captivity: ‘May the Lord bless you, the beauty of justice, the holy mountain.’
24 The people of Judah and all its towns will live together in the land, the farmers and those who move around with their flocks,
And they will live in it: Judah together with all its cities, the farmer and those who drive the flocks.
25 because I'm going to give rest to those who are tired and give strength to all those who are weak.”
For I have inebriated the weary soul, and I have satisfied every hungry soul.
26 At this I woke up and looked around. I'd had a very pleasant sleep.
Over this, I was awakened, as if from a deep sleep. And I saw, and my sleep became sweet to me.
27 Look! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make the numbers of people and livestock grow in Israel and Judah.
Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and with the offspring of cattle.
28 I took care of them by uprooting them and tearing them down, by wiping them out and destroying them and bringing them disaster. Now I will take care of them by building them up and helping them grow, declares the Lord.
And just as I have watched over them, so that I may root up, and tear down, and scatter, and destroy, and afflict, so will I watch over them, so that I may build and plant them, says the Lord.
29 At that time people won't repeat this proverb, “The fathers ate the unripe grapes, but their children got the sour taste.”
In those days, they will no longer say: ‘The fathers ate a bitter grape, and the teeth of the sons have been affected.’
30 No. Each person will die because of their own sins. If anyone eats unripe grapes, they will get the sour taste themselves.
Instead, each one will die for his own iniquity. Each man who will have eaten a bitter grape, his own teeth will be affected.
31 Look! The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and Judah.
Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will form a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
32 It won't be like the agreement that I made with their forefathers when I held their hands and led them out of Egypt. They broke that agreement, even though I was faithful like a husband to them, declares the Lord.
not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand, so as to lead them away from the land of Egypt, the covenant which they nullified, though I was the ruler over them, says the Lord.
33 But this is the agreement I'm going to make with the people of Israel at that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws inside them and write them in their minds. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
But this will be the covenant that I will form with the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord: I will give my law to their inner most being, and I will write it upon their heart. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 No one will need to teach a neighbor or their brother, telling them, “You ought to know the Lord.” For everyone will know me, from the smallest to the greatest. I will forgive them when they do wrong, and I will forget about their sins.
And they will no longer teach, a man his neighbor, and a man his brother, saying: ‘Know the Lord.’ For all will know me, from the littlest of them even to the greatest, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will no longer remember their sin.
35 This is what the Lord says, who provides the sun to give light during the day, who places in order the moon and stars to give light at night, who makes the sea rough so that its waves roar; his name is the Lord Almighty:
Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun as the light of the day, who puts the moon and the stars in order as the light of the night, who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar: the Lord of hosts is his name.
36 Only if I allowed this order to fell apart, declares the Lord, would Israel's descendants stop being my people.
If these laws fail in my sight, says the Lord, then the offspring of Israel will also fail, so that they will not be a people in my sight for all time.”
37 This is what the Lord says: Only if the heavens above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth below could be investigated, would I reject all of Israel's descendants because of everything they've done, declares the Lord.
Thus says the Lord: “If the heavens above are able to be measured, and if the foundations of the earth beneath can be examined, I also will cast aside all the offspring of Israel, because of all that they have done, says the Lord.
38 The time is coming, declares the Lord, when this city will be rebuilt for the Lord, all the way from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.
Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when a city will be built for the Lord from the tower of Hananel, even to the Gate of the Corner;
39 The builder's measuring line will again stretch out directly to Gareb Hill and then turn toward Goah.
and the measuring line will go on even further in his sight, over the hill of Gareb, and it will encircle Goah
40 The entire valley, where the dead are buried and the trash is dumped, and all the fields from the Kidron Valley as far as the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the Lord. Jerusalem will never again be torn down or destroyed.
and the entire Valley of dead bodies and ashes, and the entire region of death, even to the torrent of Kedron, and to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east. All this will be the holy place of the Lord. It will not be rooted up, and it will not be torn down, anymore, forever.”
