Jeremias 31
Leon Morris · Citado em PreceptAustin
Jeremias 31
Morris - Defender's Study Bible Notes (see links on right side) NET Bible Notes on Jeremiah 30, Jeremiah 31, Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah 33 J Vernon McGee Mp3's - Jeremiah 30 Intro, Jeremiah 30, Jeremiah 31:1, Jeremiah 31:2-7, Jeremiah 31:8-30, Jeremiah 31:31-40, Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah 33:1-13, Jeremiah 33:14-26 Commentaries - not free but take a literal approach to interpretation: MacArthur Study Bible (Or borrow The MacArthur study Bible : New American Standard Bible) F. B. Huey-Jeremiah, Lamentations-New American Commentary (Borrow his related commentary on Jeremiah) Charles Feinberg - Expositor's Bible Commentary-Jeremiah (1986 Edition) Michael Brown - Expositor's Bible Commentary-Jeremiah (2010 Edition) Moody Bible Commentary- Michael A Rydelnik, Charles H. Dyer Commentaries and Study Bibles - not free but can be borrowed Explanation - The following list includes not only commentaries but other Christian works by well known evangelical writers. Most of the resources below are newer works (written after 1970) which previously were available only for purchase in book form or in a Bible computer program. The resources are made freely available by archive.org but have several caveats - (1) they do not allow copy and paste, (2) they can only be checked out for one hour (but can be checked out immediately when your hour expires giving you time to read or take notes on a lengthy section) and (3) they require creating an account which allows you to check out the books free of charge. To set up an account click archive.org and then click the picture of the person in right upper corner and enter email and a password. That's all you have to do. Then you can read these more modern resources free of charge! I have read or used many of these resources but not all of them so ultimately you will need to be a Berean (Acts 17:11+) as you use them. I have also selected works that are conservative and Biblically sound. If you find one that you think does not meet those criteria please send an email at https://www.preceptaustin.org/contact. The resources below are in no particular order. The MacArthur Study Bible Conservative. Literal. Premillennial. Notes are good but somewhat brief. The Bible Knowledge Commentary - Jeremiah by Charles H. Dyer James Rosscup A concise but carefully-researched conservative work that very often provides good help in explaining verses to preachers, students and lay people. Dyer gets to the flow of the message in Jeremiah, mingles summaries and sections on detail in a good balance, and usually has something worthwhile on key verses or problem passages. Be Decisive : taking a stand for the truth : OT commentary, Jeremiah by Wiersbe, Warren Wiersbe's insights are always worth checking for good preaching and teaching ideas. Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament by Wiersbe, Warren W 113 ratings "Even the most difficult Scriptures come alive as Warren Wiersbe leads you book-by-book through the Old Testament and helps you to see the "big picture" of God's revelation. In this unique volume, you will find: • Introductions and/or outlines for every Old Testament book • Practical expositions of strategic chapters • Special studies on key topics, relating the Old Testament to the New Testament • Easy-to-understand expositions that are practical, preachable, and teachable If you have used Dr. Wiersbe's popular BE series, you know how simple and practical his Bible studies are, with outlines that almost teach themselves. If not, you can now discover a wonderful new resource. This work is a unique commentary on every book of the Old Testament. It contains new material not to be found in the BE series. With the Word - Devotional Commentary - Warren
Jeremias 31
Morris has an interesting note on your children - This promise seems to assure us that the slaughtered children of Bethlehem will finally be restored to life and service, in the age to come after the resurrection As Ryken said "Sorrow and grief do not have the last word, either in Jeremiah or in Matthew. A mother may refuse to be comforted, but God will comfort her nonetheless.." Jeremiah 31:18 "I have surely heard Ephraim grieving, 'You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained calf; Bring me back that I may be restored, For You are the LORD my God. EPHRAIM RECOGNIZES REBELLION AGAINST JEHOVAH KJV 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. NET 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. ESV I have heard Ephraim grieving, 'You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the LORD my God. NIV "I have surely heard Ephraim's moaning: 'You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the LORD my God. NLT I have heard Israel saying, 'You disciplined me severely, like a calf that needs training for the yoke. Turn me again to you and restore me, for you alone are the LORD my God. Septuagint-NETS - In hearing I heard Ephraim mourning: “You instructed me, and I was instructed; I was not trained like a calf. Bring me back, and I shall come back, because you are the Lord my God. I have surely heard (I have indeed = NET) - Jehovah is speaking. The literal Hebrew is "Hearing I have heard." Even the Lxx has "In hearing I heard." (akoen ekousa) Ephraim (cp Jer 31:6)- Represents the nation of Israel and is often the name given to the 10 Northern tribes after the division of Israel. The question one might asked is when does this occur? It is spoken as if in the past tense (I have heard) but is there any evidence that the 10 Northern Tribes (Ephraim) grieved and recognized the LORD's chastening? I can find no evidence that this has occurred in history and therefore by default it must refer to a time in the future when Ephraim comes to his senses (Jer 31:19NET) and repents which almost assuredly will be at the return of the Messiah, Israel's Deliverer (cp Zech 12:10, Ro 11:26). It is only at that time Israel will declare "You are the LORD my God." While Israel is in the land again, the majority of Jews are in unbelief and would not acknowledge Jehovah as their God, substantiating that this passage speaks about a future event. The fact that it is spoken in the past tense reflects the certainty of the prophecy - it is so certain, that it is described as if it had already occurred! Grieving - Lxx has the verb oduromai which means to bewail, lament or grieve and the present tense pictures this as their continual mourning. In short, in this context Ephraim is expressing godly sorrow for sins. You have chastised me, and I was chastised - Ephraim (Israel) recognizes that her punishment was not random or accidental but represented intentional discipline from the hand of the Almighty. Like an untrained calf - Israel acknowledges the need for spiritual training even as an untrained calf who had not been broken needed to be trained so that they might accept the yoke. Hosea has similar metaphors... Hosea 4:16 Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field? Hosea 10:11 And Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself. NET Note - Jer 2:20; 5:5 already referred to Israel’s refusal to bear the yoke of loyalty and obedience to the LORD’s demands. Here Israel expresses that she has learned from the discipline of exile and is ready to bear his yoke. (Jeremiah 31 NET Notes) EPHRAIM'S CRY FOR RESTORATION Bring me back that I may be restored - This prayer underscores the fact that they perceived their sin had made a rift between them and Jehovah. They were no longer deceived by their sin and so they pray for the Lord to restore. The NET Note adds that "The verb “bring back” and “come back” (be restored) are from the same root in two different verbal stems and in the context express the idea of spiritual repentance and restoration of relationship not physical return to the land. The prophet Hosea describes Ephraim's recognition of her guilt and her repentance - (God is speaking) "I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me (cp Jer 3:21-22)....(Ephraim speaking) "Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. 2 "He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him." (Hosea 5:15, 6:1-2) Henry Morris - Note the picture of restoration after backsliding, as presented in these verses and v22. "Ephraim" represents the ten tribes of the northern kingdom whose rebellious wickedness had finally caused them to be carried into captivity by Assyria. Yet God still loved them (Je31:20), and eventually, at the second coming of their Messiah, they will acknowledge Him, though with great mourning (Zec 12:10-13:1; Ro 11:26,27). Jeremiah 31:19 'For after I turned back, I repented; and after I was instructed, I smote on my thigh; I was ashamed and also humiliated because I bore the reproach of my youth.' EPHRAIM REPENTANCE CAUSES A SENSE OF SHAME NET 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.' ESV For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.' NIV After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.' NLT I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.' Comparing the above translations, notice that the NAS reading suggests they turned (returned) back but the other versions give a more accurate sense of Ephraim turning away from God. Dyer remarks that "Jeremiah ended this section by recording Israel’s cry of contrition that she will recite when she returns to the land. . Though she had strayed (Jer. 31:19) she will repent. When she returns to her God she will be ashamed and humiliated because of her sin. God in turn will express His great compassion for the wayward but returning nation (cf. Hosea 2:16–23)." This great drama will play out in the last days when Messiah returns to deliver His people. I repented (05162)(naham/nacham) means to experience a change of mind/heart or disposition, issuing in the change of one's conduct. Recall that God gracious gives us the ability to repent, and yet the individual still has to act on that enablement. The Lxx uses the verb metanoeo means literally to have another mind and hence to change one's mind in respect to sin, God, and self. To turn to God and from sin (Luke 15:7 = "one sinner who repents"). It is not an intellectual decision but a divinely enabled change of mind (cp Ro 2:4, Acts 3:26, 5:31, 11:18) that issues in a change of behavior. This change of mind may, especially in the case of Christians who have fallen into sin, be preceded by sorrow (2Cor 7:8, 9, 10, 11); but sorrow for sin, though it may cause repentance, is not repentance. Darrell Bock writes "that repentance involves a reorientation of perspective, a fresh point of view. When dealing with God's plan, it means to see that plan in a new way and to orient oneself to it. Luke demonstrates the fruit of repentance expresses itself concretely (Lk 3:10-14). Repentance expresses itself in life, especially in how one treats others." (Gulp!) There can be no genuine conversion without genuine repentance. Nacham is used 14x (out of a total of 100 OT uses) in Jeremiah - Jer 4:28; 8:6; 15:6; 16:7; 18:8, 10; 20:16; 26:3, 13, 19; 31:13, 15, 19; 42:10. Two of the 3 uses in Jeremiah 31 speak not of repentance but of comfort (Jer 31:13, 15). After I was instructed (Hebrew = yada = to come to know by experience used in Jer 31:34 = Know me...will all know Me"; Lxx = ginosko) - I like the NET rendering - "After we came to our senses we beat our breasts in sorrow." As the NLT renders it "I kicked myself for my stupidity!" Sin causes one to temporarily lose their mind or at least that has been my painful experience! Smote on my thigh - This was a sign among Jews and other nations of deep affliction laced with emotions of shame and humiliation. As Feinberg reasons "The Spirit of God had done his effective work so that Ephraim recognized the shame his earlier sinful life brought on him." In view of the coming judgment on Israel, God instructed Ezekiel to "Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the officials of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people, therefore strike your thigh." (Ezekiel 21:12) I was ashamed - Earlier Jeremiah had convinced the Jews that their idolatry had been their undoing - Jeremiah 3:24-25 "But the shameful thing (Baal identified as the shameful thing in Jer 11:13) has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God." I was ashamed...humiliated - This is what happens when one comes to their senses and recognizes their sin for it's heinous nature, a veritable high crime against the Holy One of Israel! As the NET says "because of the disgraceful things we did previously." In the last days, Israel will come to their senses and grieve over their past rebellious nature and rejection of Jehovah's many overtures. Compare a similar description by Ezekiel also in the context of Israel's restoration = "And you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers. (NB: The promised land will be given to Israel and not to the Church) And there you will remember your ways and all your deeds, with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done.- (Ezek 20:42-43, cp parallel passage in Ezek 36:31) Jeremiah 31:20 "Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a delightful child? Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him, I certainly still remember him; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him," declares the LORD. JEHOVAH'S FATHERLY CONCERN FOR THE PRODIGAL SON Now Jehovah answers affirmatively. Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a delightful child? - Two rhetorical questions (questions asked in order to produce an effect or to make a statement rather than to elicit information), both expecting an affirmative reply. "Divine love will not be denied Ephraim in spite of his sin." (Feinberg) Thompson - My dear son, a child in whom I delight or my darling child. Yahweh cannot utter his name (speak of him) without remembering him vividly. (A Book of Jeremiah The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) My heart yearns for him - This is another way of saying what he had declared in Jer 31:3 - “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness." Thompson adds that "The Hebrew text in the last line reads literally my bowels rumble for him but has to be rendered my heart yearns for him. The very vivid anthropomorphism depicts God's stomach being churned up with longing for his son." (Ibid) While I do not mean to be sacrilegious, this description reminds me of how my stomach used to feel in junior high when I had a serious case of "puppy love." God's love is the Father's love (cp His love for all believers = 1Jn 3:1). HCSB study note - Ephraim will be forgiven and, like the prodigal, will return home. God's love will triumph over Israel's rebellion (Hos 11:1-11). (Select "Library," then Study Bible Notes) Jeremiah 31:21 "Set up for yourself road marks, Place for yourself guideposts; Direct your mind to the highway, the way by which you went. Return, O virgin of Israel, Return to these your cities. RETURN TO THE LAND RETURN TO YOUR GOD KJV 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. NET 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. NET Note - The words “I will say” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to mark the transition from the address about Israel in a response to Rachel’s weeping (vv. 15-20) to a direct address to Israel which is essentially the answer to Israel’s prayer of penitence (Jeremiah 31 NET Notes) ESV "Set up road markers for yourself; make yourself guideposts; consider well the highway, the road by which you went. Return, O virgin Israel, return to these your cities. NIV "Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, O Virgin Israel, return to your towns. NLT Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Mark well the path by which you came. Come back again, my virgin Israel; return to your towns here. Set up...place...direct...return...return - Five imperatives! Jehovah the faithful "Husband" wants His faithless wife Israel back! One might even get a sense of urgency. Unending love! (Jer 31:3). Road marks...guideposts...highway...the way - All these aids so to speak would assure that Israel would successfully find her way back to her cities in the Promised Land, and ultimately to her God. Feinberg - It was the custom of caravans to set up pillars, poles, and heaps of stones to guide them. So the exiles are told to mark out the old route, to set up signs to help them find their way back. They are to pay heed to the way they went into exile in order to be able to retrace their steps (so Streane). The imperatives admonish them not to delay their return by wavering. What a stark contrast with their unrepentant, rebellious heart in Jeremiah 6:16 - "Thus says the LORD, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Return...return - (Heb = shub/sub;) is a command and is translated in the Lxx with apostrepho also an imperative to turn back to the land promised to them by Jehovah. He has not forgotten Israel. Israel is not "replaced" by the Church in God's plan for the ages (as sadly is commonly taught by many who do not interpret Scripture literally!) See What is replacement theology? NET Note on return...return - The LORD here invites Israel to stop dilly-dallying and prepare themselves to return because he is prepared to do something new and miraculous. (Jeremiah 31 NET Notes) Jehovah had called them to return and coupled that call with a promise in Jer 3:14 - 'Return, O faithless sons,' declares the LORD; 'For I am a master to you, And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, And (THE PROMISE) I will bring you to Zion.' Virgin of Israel - This is amazing grace! How great His covenant love! Jehovah still sees her as a "Virgin" despite having committed spiritual adultery times without number! How mercy filled and forgiving is our great God! Beloved, perhaps you have back-slidden for a season of spiritual adultery. This passage should give you great encouragement. God grant you ears to hear His plea to "Return to Me!" He is waiting like the prodigal's father with arms wide open! Run to Him. He is merciful to forgive and take you back into intimacy with Himself! That is His nature. Don't put it off one more day. Run to Him today seeking shelter in His great Name Jehovah (Pr 18:10). This prophecy is in a sense a fulfillment of that in Jeremiah 31:4 - “Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! Again you shall take up your tambourines, And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers." Virgin (01330)(bethulah) is a feminine noun meaning virgin, a mature young woman that has never had sexual intercourse, and under the authority and protection of the father (translated as such 49x and once as maiden in the NAS). Judges 21:12 describes "400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him." So while the meaning of bethulah is unquestionably a virgin, that is not always the case for in Joel 1:8 we read "Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth," which suggests the bethulah is mourning for her husband. Bethulah also refers to cities or countries that are personified as females (Isa. 37:22; 47:1; Jer. 18:13; 31:4, 21; Amos 5:2). Swanson adds that bethulah also means "young women, i.e., a class of young female, though the class may be virgins, the focus is on the youth group (Dt 32:25; Ps 148:12; Jer 31:13; Am 8:13)." Swanson adds that a third meaning of bethulah is "dear one, one cared for, loved one, formally, virgin daughter, a young woman who is loved by the father, with the associated meaning of being pure, innocent, and under the protection and care of the father (2Ki 19:21; Isa 23:12; 37:22, 22; 47:1, 1; Jer 46:11; La 1:15; 2:10, 13)." The first use in Ge 24:16 describes "a virgin, and no man had had relations with her." The Lxx translates bethulah with the Greek noun parthenos which generally refers to a young woman of marriageable age with a focus on her virginity. Figuratively parthenos was used by Paul to describe the Church as the bride pledged to Christ (2Cor 11:2). Given the fact that in the OT Israel was often depicted as Jehovah's wife, it is not surprising to see her referred to in this passage as "Virgin of Israel" speaking of the effects of her redemption (Ro 11:26) so that God sees her as a "spiritual virgin" in her regenerated state. Bethulah - 50x in 50v - maidens(1), virgin(32), virgins(17). - Gen 24:16; Exod 22:16f; Lev 21:3, 14; Deut 22:19, 23, 28; 32:25; Judges 19:24; 21:12; 2 Sam 13:2, 18; 1 Kgs 1:2; 2 Kgs 19:21; 2 Chr 36:17; Esther 2:2f, 17, 19; Job 31:1; Ps 45:14; 78:63; 148:12; Isa 23:4, 12; 37:22; 47:1; 62:5; Jer 2:32; 14:17; 18:13; 31:4, 13, 21; 46:11; 51:22; Lam 1:4, 15, 18; 2:10, 13, 21; 5:11; Ezek 9:6; 44:22; Joel 1:8; Amos 5:2; 8:13; Zech 9:17 Virgin - Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Virgin; Virginity - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Virgin virginity - Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament Jeremiah 31:22 "How long will you go here and there, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth-- A woman will encompass a man." A NEW THING KJV 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. NET 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!'" ESV How long will you waver, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encircles a man." NIV How long will you wander, O unfaithful daughter? The LORD will create a new thing on earth-- a woman will surround a man." NLT How long will you wander, my wayward daughter? For the LORD will cause something new to happen-- Israel will embrace her God. " Faithless daughter - Note the striking contrast with virgin of Israel in Jer 31:21. Israel had begun life as a "virgin" but became an apostate backslidden people, and yet God still chooses to recognize her as "o virgin of Israel." Amazing grace! Amazing love! NET Note on create - Heb “create.” This word is always used with God as the subject and refers to the production of something new or unique, like the creation of the world and the first man and woman (Ge 1:1; 2:3; 1:27; 5:1) or the creation of a new heavens and a new earth in a new age (Isa 65:17), or the bringing about of new and unique circumstances (Nu 16:30). Here reference is made contextually to the new exodus, that marvelous deliverance which will be so great that the old will pale in comparison (See the first note on Jer 31:9 = Jer 31:8–9 are reminiscent of the “New Exodus” motif of Isa 40–66 which has already been referred to in Jer 16:14–15; 23:7–8. See especially Isa 35:3–10; 40:3–5, 11; 41:17–20; 42:14–17; 43:16–21; 49:9–13. As there, the New Exodus will so outstrip the old that the old will pale in comparison and be almost forgotten (see Jer 23:7–8). (Jeremiah 31 NET Notes) Jehovah has created a new thing in the earth - To what does this refer? In context it would appear to refer to the return of Israel to their land, a return in repentance, not in unbelief (as she is now), which speaks of a yet to come "new thing." Dyer agrees writing "This time of promised restoration will be so remarkable that it will be as if God will create a new thing on earth." National repentance will not occur until the Messiah returns at which time Israel (1/3 of the nation - Zech 13:8) will repent and return to Him. Scalise sees "“Two things are ‘new,’ which have not been seen before in the land: (1) Faithless Israel, who is called a whore in chap. 3, will be taken back by God, even though such a thing is never done (Jer 3:1–2). (2) Mourning will be turned to joy." A woman will encompass a man - There is no consensus on the meaning of this enigmatic statement. Some (especially the Early Church Fathers) try to make the words of Jer 31:22 into a prophecy of the Virgin Birth, but this is unsupported by the text. Below are a few suggestions but none are clearly correct. Ryrie - The meaning is uncertain. Some understand it to indicate the security of Israel in the Millennium when a woman can provide all the protection needed. Others take it as a reference to Israel (A woman) embracing a man (i.e., God). Still others relate it to the Incarnation. Criswell - The promise to Israel involves an unusual reversal. Instead of a husband "encompassing" his wife, the wife, even with her weaker physical nature, "encompasses" her husband (cf. 1 Pet. 3:7). "Encompass" is used here in the sense of faithful encompassing love, one which indicates clinging to an object (cf. Gen. 2:24). Israel, the "woman" or "virgin," (v. 21) will "encompass" her divine Bridegroom and cling to Him. Cundall - The reference in verse 22, where, in this new situation, a woman protects (Hebrew compass, as in AV [KJV]) a man, is best interpreted as signifying the absolute security Israel will enjoy. The menfolk will be able to go about their work, for the risk of attack will be so minimal that security can safely be left to the weaker sex! (Cundall) Jeremiah 31:23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I restore their fortunes, 'The LORD bless you, O abode of righteousness, O holy hill!' LXE For thus saith the Lord; They shall yet speak this word in the land of Juda, and in the cities thereof, when I shall turn his captivity; blessed be the Lord on his righteous holy mountain! KJV 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. NET 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.' ESV Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes: "'The LORD bless you, O habitation of righteousness, O holy hill!' NIV This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: 'The LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling, O sacred mountain.' NLT This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: "When I bring them back from captivity, the people of Judah and its towns will again say, 'The LORD bless you, O righteous home, O holy mountain!' Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel - Jehovah was and will always be the God of Israel, a truth which soundly trumps the tragic teaching of replacement theology or supersessionism! Jehovah Sabaoth said it and that settles it whether non-literalists believe it or not! Related Resources - Jehovah Sabaoth, LORD of hosts (of armies) Jehovah Sabaoth: Pt2 God of Israel When I restore their fortunes - This is the key phrase. Notice it does not say "if I restore their fortunes" but "when." Fortunes can also be translated captivity. Jehovah will accomplish this goal. While this was partially fulfilled in the return of the captive exiles from Babylon, in the overall context of this chapter this clearly has a future fulfillment in view. O abode of righteousness, O holy hill! (holy mountain, the place where righteousness dwells) - This refers to Jerusalem and Temple Mount (Mount Moriah). This description points to a restoration of Temple worship as will occur in the the Millennium (described by Ezekiel 40:4-6 - this description runs from chapter 40-48). NET Note agrees - The blessing pronounced on the city of Zion/Jerusalem by the restored exiles looks at the restoration of its once exalted state as the city known for its sanctity and its just dealing (see Isa 1:21 and Ps 122:1-9). This was a reversal of the state of Jerusalem in the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah where wickedness not righteousness characterized the inhabitants of the city (cf. Isa 1:21; Jer 4:14; 5:1; 13:27). The blessing here presupposes the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the temple which gave the city its sanctity. (Bolding added) (Jeremiah 31 NET Notes)
Jeremias 31
Morris comments - No matter how much influence the father may have on his son, or vice versa, each one is responsible for himself before God (Romans 14:12). Deut. 24:16 "Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin. Criswell comments on Dt 24:16 - Every person was accountable for his own wrongdoing, but one's children were inevitably affected by the consequences of his sin (cf. Dt 5:8-10). Though God in His righteous and just sovereignty might extend the penalty of sin to include the greater family (Josh. 7:24-26), earthly judges had no jurisdiction beyond the individual criminal (2Ki 14:6; 2Chr. 25:4) Adam