Jeremiah Chapter 31
Showing all 40 verses for Jeremiah Chapter 31.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. "
"At that time, says the LORD, I will be God to every family of Israel, and they will be my people."
Whatever you've done, my door isn't closed to you. I'm not sorting your family in or out based on how well you've behaved - I'm choosing to belong to you, and inviting you to belong to me. Come home.
"Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. "
"This is what the LORD says: the people who survived the sword found favour out in the wilderness - that's when I gave Israel rest."
Look at how I've carried you through before you decide I've abandoned you now. Grace found your ancestors in the wilderness with nothing; it will find you too.
"The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. "
"The LORD appeared to me long ago and said: I have loved you with a love that never ends - that's why I've kept drawing you back to me with kindness."
I loved you before you did anything to deserve it, and I'll keep loving you after you fail again. That love isn't the prize for getting it right - it's the reason you're able to get up and try.
"Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. "
"I will rebuild you, and you will be rebuilt, virgin Israel. You'll pick up your tambourines again and go out dancing with the celebrating crowd."
Recovery isn't just surviving - it's dancing again. I want your joy back, not only your safety. Don't feel guilty for celebrating after a hard season; that's exactly what healing looks like.
"Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. "
"You will plant vineyards again on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and actually get to enjoy the harvest themselves."
I want you to enjoy the fruit of your own labour, not have it stolen from you by fear, war, or exploitation. Plant your life expecting to eat from it.
"For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God. "
"There will be a day when watchmen up on Mount Ephraim will call out: Come on, let's go up to Zion, to the LORD our God!"
I'm in the business of ending divisions people assume are permanent. Old rivalries don't get the last word. Come towards what unites you, not what separates you.
"For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. "
"This is what the LORD says: sing with joy for Jacob, shout for the greatest of the nations. Announce it, praise it, say: LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel!"
When good breaks through after hard times, say so loudly. Don't be embarrassed by joy - let people see that hope was worth having.
"Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. "
"Watch - I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the far ends of the earth, blind and lame together, pregnant women and women in labour - a huge crowd returning."
I don't leave the slow, the weak, or the vulnerable behind to keep the pace up. If you feel like you're the one who can't keep up, you're exactly who I'm making room for.
"They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. "
"They'll come weeping, and I'll lead them with comfort. I'll guide them by streams of water on a level path where they won't stumble, because I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn."
It's alright to cry on the way to healing - tears and being led home aren't opposites. I walk beside you on ground you won't trip on, not ahead of you shouting instructions.
"Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. "
"Listen to the LORD's word, you nations, announce it in the distant coastlands: the one who scattered Israel will gather him and watch over him like a shepherd watches his flock."
The same hand that let you go through hardship is the hand bringing you back. I'm not a different person on the other side of your difficult season - I was shepherding you through it the whole time.
"For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. "
"For the LORD has bought Jacob back and rescued him from the grip of someone stronger than he was."
When you're outmatched by something bigger than you - addiction, grief, a system stacked against you - that's exactly when I step in. You don't have to win alone.
"Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. "
"So they'll come and sing on the heights of Zion, streaming towards the LORD's goodness - grain, wine, oil, young sheep and cattle. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and they won't grieve any more."
I care about your actual life - food on the table, not just your soul. Don't split your needs into 'spiritual' and 'practical' as if I only care about one. I want you flourishing, not merely surviving.
"Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. "
"Then young women will dance for joy, young men and old men together, because I will turn their mourning into celebration, comfort them, and give them joy instead of sorrow."
Your mourning isn't permanent, even if it feels that way now. I don't just tolerate your grief - I intend to turn it into dancing, in my own time.
"And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD. "
"I will fill the priests with plenty, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness, says the LORD."
Even the people who spend their lives serving others need to be filled up too. If you're always pouring out for others, I intend for you to be satisfied as well, not just useful.
"Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. "
"This is what the LORD says: a voice was heard in Ramah - grieving and bitter weeping - Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are gone."
I don't rush you past your grief to get to the happy ending. Rachel's tears were real, and so are yours - name the loss honestly, and let it be heard before anyone asks you to feel better.
"Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. "
"This is what the LORD says: hold back your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, because your work will be rewarded - they will return from the enemy's land."
Your grief has a purpose you can't see yet, and it won't last forever. I'm not asking you to fake being fine - I'm telling you there's a return, a reward, on the other side of this.
"And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border. "
"There is hope for your future, says the LORD - your children will come back to their own land."
However this chapter of your story ends, it isn't the last chapter. Hold on to the shape of where this is going, even when you can't see the road.
"I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. "
"I have definitely heard Ephraim mourning: You disciplined me and I was disciplined, like an untrained young bull. Bring me back and I will come back, because you are the LORD my God."
Admitting you needed correcting isn't weakness - it's the doorway back. Ask me to turn you around; I won't drag you, but I will meet you the moment you ask.
"Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. "
"After I was turned around, I regretted my ways; after I understood, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I carried the disgrace of my youth."
Feeling genuine shame about your past isn't something to rush past - let yourself feel it honestly. But don't let it become the place you live; it's a doorway to change, not a cell.
"Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD. "
"Is Ephraim my dear son, my favourite child? Even though I've spoken against him, I keep remembering him. My heart aches for him - I will definitely show him mercy, says the LORD."
Even when I have to let you face consequences, my heart still aches for you the whole time. Discipline was never the opposite of love - it's how love sometimes has to show up.
"Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. "
"Set up road markers, put up signposts. Pay attention to the highway, the road you travelled. Come back, virgin Israel, come back to these cities of yours."
Turning your life around isn't just a feeling - put up your own markers. Notice what led you astray and mark a clear way back, so you don't lose the path again.
"How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man. "
"How long will you wander, unfaithful daughter? The LORD has created something new on earth: a woman will surround/protect a man."
Don't assume your future has to look exactly like your past, even the good parts of it. I do new things, not just repeats - stay open to a shape of restoration you didn't expect.
"Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. "
"This is what the LORD of hosts, God of Israel, says: once again they will use this phrase in Judah and its cities, when I restore them: The LORD bless you, home of justice, holy mountain."
A truly good home isn't just peaceful - it's fair. Work not just for a comfortable life but for a just one, where people can genuinely trust the ground they stand on.
"And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks. "
"Judah itself and all its cities together will be inhabited - farmers and those who move with their flocks."
Don't underestimate the value of an ordinary, settled life - work, home, routine. That quiet stability is itself a gift worth being grateful for.
"For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. "
"For I have refreshed the weary soul and filled every sorrowful soul."
If you're worn out or grieving, that's not a spiritual failure - it's exactly the condition I come to meet. Come to me tired; I'm not looking for you to arrive already fixed.
"Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me. "
"At this I woke up and looked around, and my sleep had been pleasant."
Even the person carrying hard news to others deserves rest too. If you're the one holding everyone else up, I want you to have your own sweet sleep, your own moments of relief.
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. "
"Watch - the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of people and of animals."
After loss, life gets planted again - families, work, community. Don't assume an empty season is permanent; growth returns, even if it takes time to see it.
"And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD. "
"And just as I watched over them to uproot, tear down, demolish, destroy and harm - so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD."
The same attentiveness I gave you through your hardest season, I now give to your rebuilding. I don't switch off once the hard part is over - I stay just as involved in your growth.
"In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. "
"In those days people will no longer say, The fathers ate sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge."
Your family's mistakes don't have to be your life sentence. You're not just an echo of your parents' failures - you get to answer for your own choices, and that includes real freedom to change.
"But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. "
"Instead, everyone will die for their own sin - whoever eats the sour grapes, their own teeth will be set on edge."
I judge you by your own choices, not your family tree. That cuts both ways - you can't blame your way out, but you also aren't trapped by anyone else's failure.
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: "
"Watch - the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new agreement with the house of Israel and the house of Judah."
I'm not offering you a repaired version of an old, broken system - I'm offering something genuinely new. Don't measure what I'm doing in your life by old rules that were always going to be broken.
"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: "
"Not like the agreement I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt - an agreement they broke, even though I was faithful to them like a husband, says the LORD."
Rules alone were never going to be enough, because you kept breaking them, not because I stopped caring. What's coming isn't more rules - it's a change on the inside.
"But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. "
"But this is the agreement I will make with the house of Israel after that time, says the LORD: I will put my law inside them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people."
I'm not interested in you following rules out of fear or obligation. I want what's right to become part of who you actually are, written into your heart, so it comes from love, not pressure.
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. "
"No longer will people need to teach their neighbour or their brother, saying, Know the LORD - because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD. For I will forgive their wrongdoing and remember their sin no more."
You don't need anyone else's permission or credentials to know me directly - that access is already yours. And when I forgive you, I mean it completely; I'm not keeping a private list of your failures to bring up later.
"Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: "
"This is what the LORD says - the one who gives the sun for daylight, sets the rules for the moon and stars to shine at night, and stirs up the sea so its waves roar: the LORD of hosts is his name."
Look at the sunrise, the tides, the stars - that reliability is my character on display every day. If you can trust the sun to come up, you can trust me to keep my word to you.
"If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. "
"If those laws of nature ever stopped working before me, says the LORD, then Israel's descendants could also stop being a nation before me forever - but not until then."
My commitment to you is tied to things more permanent than your mood or your mistakes. I'm not the kind of promise-keeper whose word depends on how today went.
"Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. "
"This is what the LORD says: if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I would reject all of Israel's descendants because of everything they've done - but not otherwise, says the LORD."
However badly you think you've messed up, total rejection isn't on the table - it's as impossible as measuring the sky. That's not me ignoring what you did; it's me telling you it doesn't get the final word.
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. "
"Watch - the days are coming, says the LORD, when the city will be rebuilt for the LORD, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate."
My promises land in real places and real details, not just warm feelings. Expect the hope I give you to show up in tangible ways you can actually point to.
"And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. "
"And the measuring line will stretch out further, over the hill of Gareb, and round to Goah."
Rebuilding your life isn't magic - it takes deliberate measuring, planning, and real work, just like rebuilding a city. I'm with you in that unglamorous, practical process too.
"And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever. "
"The whole valley of the dead bodies and ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron brook, to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the LORD; it will never be uprooted or torn down again."
There's no part of your life so tainted by past pain or wrongdoing that it's beyond being made new. The very ground you thought was ruined for good can become the most secure, sacred part of your story.