31:1 At that time I will be the God
of all the family groups of Israel¹
and they will be my people.
I, the LORD, affirm it.”²

31:2 The LORD says,

“The people of Israel who survived
death at the hands of the enemy³
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.⁴
31:4 I will rebuild you, my dear children, Israel,⁵
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.⁶
31:5 Once again you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria.
And those who plant them
will once again enjoy their fruit.⁷
31:6 Yes, a time is coming
when watchmen⁸ will call out on the mountains of Ephraim,
“Come! Let us go to Zion
to worship the LORD our God.”’”⁹

31:7 Moreover,¹⁰ the LORD says,

“Sing for joy for the descendants of Jacob.
Raise glad shouts for that foremost of the nations.¹¹
Make your praises heard.¹²
Then say, ‘LORD, rescue Your people.
Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.’¹³
31:8 And I will reply,¹⁴ ‘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.
And 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.¹⁵
I will lead them besides streams of water
along smooth paths where they will never stumble.¹⁶
I will do this because I am Israel’s father;
Ephraim¹⁷ is my first born son.’”
31:10 Hear what the LORD has to say, O nations.
And proclaim it in the far-away 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 set the descendants of Jacob free.
He will secure their release¹⁸ from those who had overpowered them.¹⁹
31:12 They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion.
They will be radiant with joy²⁰ 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 and weary any more.
31:13 The LORD says,²¹ “At that time young women will dance and be glad.
Young men and old men will rejoice.²²
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.²³
And 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,²⁴
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.”²⁵
31:16 The LORD says to her,²⁶
“Stop crying
and don’t shed any more tears.²⁷
For your continuous mourning²⁸ will be rewarded.
Your children will return from the land of the enemy.
I, the LORD, affirm it.²⁹
31:17 Indeed, there is hope for your posterity.³⁰
Your children will return to their own territory.
I, the LORD, affirm it.³¹
31:18 I have indeed³² heard the people of Israel³³ say mournfully,
‘We were like a calf untrained to the yoke.³⁴
You disciplined us and we learned from it.³⁵
Let us come back to you and we will do so³⁶
for you are the LORD our God.
31:19 For after we turned away from you we repented.
After we came to our senses³⁷ we beat our breast in sorrow.³⁸
We are ashamed and humiliated
because of the disgraceful things we did in our earlier history.’³⁹
31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.
They are the children I take delight in.⁴⁰
For even though I must often speak against them,
I still remember them with fondness.
So I am deeply moved with pity for them⁴¹
and will surely have compassion on them.
I, the LORD, affirm it.⁴²
31:21 I will say,⁴³ ‘My dear children of Israel,⁴⁴ keep in mind
the way you took when you were carried off.⁴⁵
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 dilly-dally,⁴⁶
you who were once like an unfaithful daughter?⁴⁷
For I, the LORD, promise⁴⁸ to bring about something new⁴⁹ on the earth,
something as unique as a woman protecting a man.’”⁵⁰

31:23 The LORD God of Israel who rules over all⁵¹ says,

“I will restore the people of Judah to their land and to their towns.
When I do, they will again say⁵² of Jerusalem,⁵³
‘May the LORD bless you, you holy mountain,
the place where righteousness dwells.’⁵⁴
31:24 The land of Judah will be inhabited by people who live in its towns
as well as with farmers and those who move about with their flocks.⁵⁵
31:25 I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary
and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint.⁵⁶
31:26 Then they will say, ‘Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep
when I wake up and look around.’”⁵⁷

31:27 “Indeed a time is coming,”⁵⁸ says the LORD,^{59 “}when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah.⁶⁰ 31:28 In the past I saw to it that they were uprooted and torn down, that they were destroyed and demolished. At that time I will see to it that they are built up and firmly planted.⁶¹ I, the LORD, affirm it.”⁶²

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.’⁶³ 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.”⁶⁴

31:31 “Indeed a time is coming,” says the LORD,⁶⁵ “when I will make a new agreement⁶⁶ with the people of Israel and Judah.⁶⁷ 31:32 It will not be like the old⁶⁸ agreement that I made with their ancestors⁶⁹ when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. For they violated that agreement even though I was a faithful husband to them,”⁷⁰ says the LORD.⁷¹ 31:33 “But I will make a new agreement with the whole nation of Israel⁷² after I plant them back in the land,”⁷³ says the LORD.⁷⁴ “I will⁷⁵ put my law within them⁷⁶ and write it on their hearts and minds.⁷⁷ And I will be their God and they will be my people.⁷⁸

31:34 People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know Me.⁷⁹ That is because all of them from the least important to the most important will know me,”⁸⁰ says the LORD. “All of this is based on the fact⁸¹ that I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

31:35 The LORD has made a promise to Israel.
He promises it as the one who provides for the fixed ordering
of 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.⁸²
31:36 The LORD affirms,⁸³ “The descendants of Israel will by no means
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.”⁸⁴
31:37 The LORD says, “I will by no means reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all that they have done.⁸⁵
That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured
or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored,”⁸⁶
says the LORD.⁸⁷

31:38 “Indeed a time is coming,”⁸⁸ says the LORD,⁸⁹ “when the city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt as my special city.⁹⁰ It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate.⁹¹ 31:39 The boundary line will extended beyond that straight west from there to the hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah.⁹² 31:40 The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown⁹³ and all the terraced fields⁹⁴ out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far north as the Horse Gate⁹⁵ will be included within this city that is sacred to the LORD.⁹⁶ The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”