Jeremiah 31

This is the heart of Jeremiah’s “Book of Consolation.” After long warnings of judgment, God promises to bring His scattered people home, to comfort their grief, and to love them with an everlasting love. At the center stands the promise of a new covenant, written on the heart, with full forgiveness.

Jeremiah 31:1

The chapter opens with God’s own promise. All the tribes, not just Judah, will belong to Him again. Exile had broken the nation apart, but He says He will still be their God and they will still be His people.

BSA: families (“clans, tribes”): God’s promise reaches every clan of Israel, not just part of the nation.

Jeremiah 31:2

God looks back to a time when a people who escaped the sword met His kindness in the wilderness. That recalls the Exodus generation, whom He met and sustained after Egypt. The same grace that found them then will find His people again.

BSA: favor (“graciousness, kindness”): God’s kindness came as a gift to a people with nothing, out in the desert.

Jeremiah 31:3

God says His love for Israel never began at a certain point and will never run out. His tender kindness pulled them toward Him like a cord. Whatever else Israel’s story holds, it starts with His faithful love.

BSA: everlasting (“eternal, forever”): His love has no beginning and no end, so no failure of theirs could exhaust it.

Hebrew: חֶסֶד (chesed, H2617) — “loyal, covenant-keeping love.” This word means love that stays faithful to a promise, even when the other person has failed. God’s drawing of His people comes from that steady loyalty.

See also: Romans 8:38-39.

Jeremiah 31:4

God promises to rebuild what was ruined. The people who had mourned in exile will take up tambourines again and join the dances. Their grief will not be the last word. Joy, long put away, will return.

BSA: dancing (“round dance, circle dance”): This is a shared, communal dance, so the joy is something the whole people enjoy together.

Hebrew: מְחוֹל (mĕḥôl, H4234) — “round dance.” It names a circle dance, joined hand in hand. Restoration is pictured as a community celebrating together.

Jeremiah 31:5

Planting vineyards on Samaria’s hills pictures peace and security. In war, people could not enjoy what they planted. Now the farmers will eat their own harvest, a sign that the land is safe and the north is restored.

BSA: enjoy (“eat, delight in”): The harvest is truly theirs to eat and delight in, with no enemy to take it.

Jeremiah 31:6

The northern tribes once split from Jerusalem and its worship. Now watchmen on Ephraim’s hills call everyone to go up to Zion. The people are restored, and they are reunited in worship of the Lord.

BSA: watchmen (“those who guard and protect, spiritual sentinels”): These are the sentries who used to watch for danger, and now they announce a pilgrimage.

See also: Isaiah 2:3.

Jeremiah 31:7

God commands rejoicing before the rescue is complete. The remnant, the survivors who are left, cry out for salvation, and they are told to sing at the same time. Faith praises God for what He has promised.

BSA: remnant (“what is left, surviving ones”): Though few survive, they are still God’s people and still precious to Him.

Jeremiah 31:8

God will gather His people from the far north and the ends of the earth. Nobody is left behind: the blind, the lame, and mothers about to give birth all come. No one is too weak for His rescue, and the group is large.

BSA: assembly (“congregation, group”): They come back as a worshiping congregation, not scattered individuals.

Jeremiah 31:9

The people return weeping, with repentance and prayer, and God leads them gently. He gives them water and a smooth road. He does this as a Father, because Ephraim is His firstborn, a son He claims as His own.

BSA: supplication (“earnest prayer, heartfelt request”): Their return is marked by sincere prayer, not by pride.

Hebrew: בְּכוֹר (bĕkhôr, H1060) — “firstborn.” The firstborn held a place of honor and inheritance. God calls Ephraim this to say that Israel holds a special, treasured place in His family.

See also: Exodus 4:22.

Jeremiah 31:10

The nations are called to hear this news. The God who scattered Israel in judgment is the same God who will gather them. He will guard them as a shepherd guards his flock, never leaving them to wander again.

BSA: keep (“protect, watch over”): God’s care is a watchful guarding of the flock that day and night.

See also: Isaiah 40:11.

Jeremiah 31:11

God does not only call His people home. He pays the price to free them from a stronger power. The picture is of someone bought out of slavery. They could not rescue themselves, so He did it for them.

BSA: ransomed (“bought back, rescued”): Their freedom comes through a price paid for them, not their own strength.

Hebrew: פָּדָה (pādâ, H6299) — “to ransom, buy back.” The word was used for paying to free a person who belonged to another. It shows God acting as the one who sets the captive free.

Jeremiah 31:12

The returned people shout for joy on Zion’s heights. They enjoy grain, wine, oil, and flocks, all signs of God’s generosity. Their lives become like a watered garden that does not dry up, and they will no longer faint with sorrow.

BSA: radiant (“shine, sparkle”): Their faces light up with joy over what God has given. garden (“paradise, haven”): Their life will be fresh, fruitful, and fully cared for.

Jeremiah 31:13-14

Grief is turned into dancing. Young and old rejoice together, and God Himself gives comfort. Even the priests, who depended on the people’s offerings, are fully satisfied. The picture is of overflowing joy, with God as the source of all that satisfies.

BSA: mourning (“sorrow, grief”): God replaces the grief itself with joy. He does not only cover it over. fill (“satisfy, quench”): God gives them His goodness until they are fully satisfied.

Jeremiah 31:15

Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, is pictured weeping at Ramah for her lost children as the exiles are marched away. Her grief is deep and will not be calmed. Matthew later connects this passage to the grief at Bethlehem.

BSA: refusing (“saying no, rejecting”): Her sorrow is so deep that she will not accept easy comfort.

See also: Matthew 2:18.

Jeremiah 31:16-17

God answers Rachel’s tears with a promise. Her sorrow is not meaningless, and her children will return from the enemy’s land. He tells her to stop weeping, because He is giving her hope for the future.

BSA: hope (“a cord that attaches, expectancy”): Hope is pictured as a strong cord tied to God’s promise, so it does not slip.

Jeremiah 31:18

Ephraim confesses that God’s discipline was fair. He was like a young calf that had never worn a yoke and kicked against it. He asks God to bring him back, since he cannot return by himself. Even the desire to return comes from God.

BSA: untrained (“untamed, unaccustomed to the yoke”): Ephraim admits he was wild and stubborn until God’s correction brought him in.

Hebrew: שׁוּב (shûv, H7725) — “to turn back, return.” The same word means both God’s bringing back and the person’s own turning. Repentance and restoration meet here in one word.

Jeremiah 31:19

Ephraim turns and sees himself honestly. Striking the thigh was a gesture of deep grief. He feels shame for the sins of his youth, the early years of his nation. True repentance means sorrow over sin, not only over its consequences.

BSA: disgrace (“reproach, shame”): He feels the weight of his own past, and he does not make excuses.

Jeremiah 31:20

God’s reply is astonishing. Though He has had to speak against Ephraim, He still counts him a precious child. His heart aches for him and He remembers him with deep mercy. Even God’s discipline comes from a Father’s love.

BSA: yearns (“longs, has compassion”): God’s response is a deep, longing compassion for His wayward child.

Hebrew: מֵעַי (mē‘ay, H4578) — “inner parts, bowels.” The Hebrew speaks of God’s inner being stirring and being moved, much as we say a heart aches. It shows His compassion as a deep feeling, not just a decision.

See also: Hosea 11:8.

Jeremiah 31:21

The exiles are told to set up road markers so they can find the way home. They should remember the road they traveled into exile and prepare to walk it back. God asks them to turn around and come home to their own cities.

BSA: Return (“turn again, come back”): The call is to turn around and come back to their own land and to God.

Hebrew: שׁוּבִי (shûvî, H7725) — “return! turn back!.” This is the same root as repentance. The road home is both a journey on the map and a turning of the heart.

Jeremiah 31:22

God asks how long His people will keep wandering. He says He will do a new thing, though its exact meaning is hard. Some read it as a reversal in which weakness will protect strength, and some as a sign of the nation’s renewal. Christians read it in different ways.

BSA: faithless (“backsliding, rebellious”): God calls her a backslider, yet He still invites her home.

Jeremiah 31:23-24

When God brings His people back, Judah will once again bless Jerusalem as a righteous, holy place. Farmers and shepherds will live together in peace in its towns. The whole land will know ordinary life lived under God’s blessing.

BSA: holy (“set-apart, sacred”): The mountain is called holy because it is set apart for God.

Jeremiah 31:25

God promises refreshment for those worn out by exile and sorrow. He will give the tired a drink and fill those who are empty. The weak do not have to supply their own strength, because He satisfies them.

BSA: refresh (“satisfy, quench”): He gives the thirsty soul the drink it needs. weary (“faint, exhausted”): This is true exhaustion, and God meets it with real rest.

See also: Matthew 11:28.

Jeremiah 31:26

Jeremiah seems to have received these promises in a vision or dream. When he awakes, he says his sleep was sweet. After years of painful messages, these promises of hope were a welcome rest to the weary prophet.

BSA: pleasant (“sweet, agreeable, delightful”): After hard years of warning, the prophet found these promises truly sweet.

Jeremiah 31:27

God promises to repopulate both Israel and Judah, people and animals. The picture is of seed sown in a field. The land that was emptied by war and exile will be full of life again, and God Himself is the sower.

BSA: sow (“plant, scatter seed”): God is a farmer who plants His people back in the land and expects growth.

Jeremiah 31:28

God had watched over His people to tear them down in judgment. Now He will watch just as carefully to build and plant. His attention does not leave them, and His purpose moves from judgment to restoration.

BSA: watched (“watched over with care, was vigilant”): God’s watchfulness is constant, whether He is judging or restoring.

Hebrew: שָׁקַד (shāqad, H8245) — “to watch, be alert.” The word sounds like the word for the almond tree, the first tree to wake in spring. God is alert to carry out His word.

See also: Jeremiah 1:10-12.

Jeremiah 31:29-30

Some of the people said the children were suffering for their fathers’ sins, like sour grapes eaten by one generation and felt by the next. God says this saying will end. Each person is responsible for his own sin. This does not deny that sin affects others, but each answers to God.

BSA: iniquity (“moral evil, sin”): Each person answers to God for his own wrongdoing.

See also: Ezekiel 18:2-4.

Jeremiah 31:31

God promises something new: a new covenant with Israel and Judah. The old promises were not wrong. This one will go deeper and remove the failure that broke the old one. The New Testament teaches that Jesus brings this covenant.

BSA: covenant (“promise, agreement”): This is a binding promise that God Himself commits to keep.

Hebrew: בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה (bĕrît ḥădāshâ, H1285) — “a new covenant.” The word for new means fresh and renewed, not simply later. The same words are not used elsewhere in the Old Testament for any covenant.

See also: Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:8-12.

Jeremiah 31:32

The new covenant will be unlike the one made at Sinai. God had led His people out of Egypt as gently as a parent takes a child’s hand. He was like a husband to them, yet they broke the covenant. The fault was in the people’s hearts, not in His promise.

BSA: husband (“loving leader, faithful spouse”): God’s bond with Israel was an intimate relationship, not a business contract.

Jeremiah 31:33

God promises to change the people from the inside. His law will no longer be only on stone tablets. He will write it on their minds and hearts. The result is a real relationship: He will be their God and they will be His people.

BSA: inscribe (“write, engrave”): God writes with permanence on the person’s heart, not on an outside surface. hearts (“inner being, emotions”): The law moves from an outside rule to what the person truly wants.

Hebrew: תּוֹרָה (tôrâ, H8451) — “instruction, law.” This word means teaching, a father’s guidance, as well as law. God is placing His instruction inside His people so they love it.

See also: 2 Corinthians 3:3.

Jeremiah 31:34

In this covenant everyone knows the Lord personally, from the smallest to the greatest. The basis is forgiveness: God pardons their sins and will not hold them against them again. Knowing God and being forgiven stand at the center of this promise.

BSA: know (“be intimately acquainted with, understand”): This is personal friendship with God, not only facts about Him. remember (“call to mind, recall”): God will not bring their sins up against them again.

Hebrew: יָדַע (yāda‘, H3045) — “to know by experience.” This word is used for close personal knowing, as in a marriage. It speaks of acquaintance with God, not just information.

See also: Hebrews 10:16-17.

Jeremiah 31:35-36

God points to the sun, moon, stars, and sea, which He sets and rules. Israel’s survival is as sure as these fixed things. As long as the created order stands, He will not abandon the people He has promised to keep.

BSA: fixed order (“the natural laws, divine decrees”): Creation runs by God’s decrees, and His promise to Israel is just as reliable.

See also: Genesis 1:16.

Jeremiah 31:37

God gives another impossible condition. Only if people could measure the heavens or search out the earth’s foundations would He cast off Israel. Since no one can do that, His promise stands, even though Israel has sinned greatly.

BSA: reject (“to spurn or cast off”): God says He will not throw them away, no matter how much they have done wrong.

Jeremiah 31:38-40

Jerusalem will be rebuilt for the Lord, with its boundaries named from tower to gate. Even the valley of the dead and ashes, a place of defilement, will be holy. This time the city will never be uprooted or destroyed again.

BSA: holy (“set apart, sacred”): Even the most unclean places will be set apart for God. uprooted (“torn away, plucked up”): This echoes Jeremiah’s earlier warnings. Now the promise is that it will not happen again.