The Lord Will Restore His People

31:1 At that time I will be the God of all the clans of Israel and they will be my people. I, the Lord, affirm it!” 31:2 The Lord says, “The people of Israel who survived death at the hands of the enemy will find favor in the wilderness as they journey to find rest for themselves. 31:3 In a far-off land the Lord will manifest himself to them. He will say to them, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love. That is why I have continued to be faithful to you. 31:4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, so that you will once again be built up. Once again you will take up the tambourine and join in the happy throng of dancers. 31:5 Once again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria. Those who plant them will once again enjoy their fruit. 31:6 Yes, a time is coming when watchmen will call out on the mountains of Ephraim, “Come! Let us go to Zion to worship the Lord our God!”’” 31:7 Moreover, the Lord says, “Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob. Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard. Then say, ‘Lord, rescue your people. Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.’ 31:8 Then I will reply, ‘I will bring them back from the land of the north. I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth. Blind and lame people will come with them, so will pregnant women and women about to give birth. A vast throng of people will come back here. 31:9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition. I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. I will lead them besides streams of water, along smooth paths where they will never stumble. I will do this because I am Israel’s father; Ephraim is my firstborn son.’” 31:10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations. Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea. Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them. He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.” 31:11 For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob. He will secure their release from those who had overpowered them. 31:12 They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion. They will be radiant with joy over the good things the Lord provides, the grain, the fresh wine, the olive oil, the young sheep and calves he has given to them. They will be like a well-watered garden and will not grow faint or weary any more. 31:13 The Lord says, “At that time young women will dance and be glad. Young men and old men will rejoice. I will turn their grief into gladness. I will give them comfort and joy in place of their sorrow. 31:14 I will provide the priests with abundant provisions. My people will be filled to the full with the good things I provide.” 31:15 The Lord says, “A sound is heard in Ramah, a sound of crying in bitter grief. It is the sound of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are gone.” 31:16 The Lord says to her, “Stop crying! Do not shed any more tears! For your heartfelt repentance will be rewarded. Your children will return from the land of the enemy. I, the Lord, affirm it! 31:17 Indeed, there is hope for your posterity. Your children will return to their own territory. I, the Lord, affirm it! 31:18 I have indeed heard the people of Israel say mournfully, ‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. You disciplined us and we learned from it. Let us come back to you and we will do so, for you are the Lord our God. 31:19 For after we turned away from you we repented. After we came to our senses we beat our breasts in sorrow. We are ashamed and humiliated because of the disgraceful things we did previously.’ 31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children. They are the children I take delight in. For even though I must often rebuke them, I still remember them with fondness. So I am deeply moved with pity for them and will surely have compassion on them. I, the Lord, affirm it! 31:21 I will say, ‘My dear children of Israel, keep in mind the road you took when you were carried off. Mark off in your minds the landmarks. Make a mental note of telltale signs marking the way back. Return, my dear children of Israel. Return to these cities of yours. 31:22 How long will you vacillate, you who were once like an unfaithful daughter? For I, the Lord, promise to bring about something new on the earth, something as unique as a woman protecting a man!’” 31:23 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will restore the people of Judah to their land and to their towns. When I do, they will again say of Jerusalem, ‘May the Lord bless you, you holy mountain, the place where righteousness dwells.’ 31:24 The land of Judah will be inhabited by people who live in its towns as well as by farmers and shepherds with their flocks. 31:25 I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint. 31:26 Then they will say, ‘Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep when I wake up and look around.’” 31:27 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah. 31:28 In the past I saw to it that they were uprooted and torn down, that they were destroyed and demolished. But now I will see to it that they are built up and firmly planted. I, the Lord, affirm it!” 31:29 “When that time comes, people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but the children’s teeth have grown numb.’ 31:30 Rather, each person will die for his own sins. The teeth of the person who eats the sour grapes will themselves grow numb. 31:31 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 31:32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the Lord. 31:33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people. 31:34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.” The Lord Guarantees Israel’s Continuance 31:35 The Lord has made a promise to Israel. He promises it as the one who fixed the sun to give light by day and the moon and stars to give light by night. He promises it as the one who stirs up the sea so that its waves roll. He promises it as the one who is known as the Lord who rules over all. 31:36 The Lord affirms, “The descendants of Israel will not cease forever to be a nation in my sight. That could only happen if the fixed ordering of the heavenly lights were to cease to operate before me.” 31:37 The Lord says, “I will not reject all the descendants of Israel because of all that they have done. That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored,” says the Lord. 31:38 “Indeed a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when the city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt as my special city. It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate. 31:39 The boundary line will extend beyond that, straight west from there to the Hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah. 31:40 The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown and all the terraced fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far north as the Horse Gate will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.” Jeremiah Buys a Field

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Jeremiah 31 is a strong promise of return, healing, and renewal. The Lord says he will gather Israel and Judah back from exile, rebuild their life in the land, and turn grief into joy. The center of the chapter is the new covenant: God will put his law within his people, forgive their sin, and make them truly know him.

This chapter moves from hope for return to the deepest promise of all. The Lord will not forget the people he judged. He will bring them back, lead them gently, and give them rest. He will restore Judah and also the northern tribes. Mourning will give way to joy. The land will be lived in again, and Jerusalem will be rebuilt.

The chapter also shows that the people’s sorrow is meant to lead to repentance. They confess their sin. The Lord answers with compassion. He does not excuse rebellion, but he does not abandon his people either.

The high point is the new covenant. This covenant will not be like the old one that Israel broke. The Lord himself will write his law on their hearts. That means true obedience will come from within, not just from outside pressure. He will forgive their sin and remember it no more. This promise belongs first to Israel and Judah in Jeremiah’s own setting. Later Scripture shows its full fulfillment in Christ, but that does not cancel Jeremiah’s original promise.

The chapter also says that each person will answer to God for his own sin. It rejects the idea that people can hide behind inherited blame. The Lord judges sin truly, yet he also promises mercy, renewal, and a lasting future for his people.

• The Lord promises to regather his scattered people from exile.
• Restoration includes real joy, rebuilt towns, worship, and daily life in the land.
• God’s love and faithfulness stand behind the promise, not Israel’s merit.
• The people’s repentance is real, but God’s compassion is the deeper ground of hope.
• The new covenant is promised to Israel and Judah, not as a vague spiritual idea but as a true covenant promise.
• In the new covenant, God will write his law on their hearts and forgive their sin.
• The chapter rejects fatalism: each person is responsible before God for his own sin.
• The Lord guarantees that Israel will not cease to exist before him.
• Jerusalem will be rebuilt and will never again be torn down or destroyed.

• Warning: do not flatten Jeremiah 31 into a generic promise of personal success or vague renewal.
• Warning: do not erase Israel and Judah from the chapter’s original promise.
• Warning: handle 31:22 carefully; the wording points to something new and surprising, but the exact image is difficult.
• Promise: the Lord will gather his people back from exile.
• Promise: grief will be turned into joy.
• Promise: the Lord will give a new covenant with inward obedience and full forgiveness.
• Command: return to the Lord.
• Command: hear the Lord’s promise to the nations.

Jeremiah 31 shows God’s plan to restore the people he judged, without denying their sin. He keeps his covenant purposes alive. The chapter points forward to the new covenant, where God himself provides the inward change and forgiveness his people need. Later Scripture shows this promise reaching its fullest expression in Christ, while Jeremiah first speaks to Israel and Judah’s future restoration.

Do not rely on outward religion alone. Ask God for a heart that truly knows him and obeys him. Also, do not give in to hopelessness. If God can restore exiled Israel, he can call sinners back to himself. But the chapter also warns that each person must deal honestly with his own sin before God.

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