Parallel Verses
- The Message - “And now, here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to start all over again. I’m taking her back out into the wilderness where we had our first date, and I’ll court her. I’ll give her bouquets of roses. I’ll turn Heartbreak Valley into Acres of Hope. She’ll respond like she did as a young girl, those days when she was fresh out of Egypt. * * *
- 新标点和合本 - “后来我必劝导她，领她到旷野， 对她说安慰的话。
- 和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - 因此，看哪，我要诱导她，领她到旷野， 我要说动她的心。
- 和合本2010（神版-简体） - 因此，看哪，我要诱导她，领她到旷野， 我要说动她的心。
- 当代译本 - “然而，我要引导她， 领她到旷野， 柔声安慰她。
- 圣经新译本 - “因此，我要诱导她， 领她到旷野， 对她说安慰的话。
- 现代标点和合本 - “后来我必劝导她，领她到旷野， 对她说安慰的话。
- 和合本（拼音版） - “后来我必劝导她，领她到旷野， 对她说安慰的话。
- New International Version - “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.
- New International Reader's Version - “So now I am going to draw her back to me. I will lead her into the desert. There I will speak tenderly to her.
- English Standard Version - “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
- New Living Translation - “But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.
- Christian Standard Bible - Therefore, I am going to persuade her, lead her to the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
- New American Standard Bible - “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her, Bring her into the wilderness, And speak kindly to her.
- New King James Version - “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her.
- Amplified Bible - “Therefore, behold, I will allure Israel And bring her into the wilderness, And I will speak tenderly to her [to reconcile her to Me].
- American Standard Version - Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
- King James Version - Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.
- New English Translation - However, in the future I will allure her; I will lead her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
- World English Bible - “Therefore behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
- 新標點和合本 - 後來我必勸導她，領她到曠野， 對她說安慰的話。
- 和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 因此，看哪，我要誘導她，領她到曠野， 我要說動她的心。
- 和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 因此，看哪，我要誘導她，領她到曠野， 我要說動她的心。
- 當代譯本 - 「然而，我要引導她， 領她到曠野， 柔聲安慰她。
- 聖經新譯本 - “因此，我要誘導她， 領她到曠野， 對她說安慰的話。
- 呂振中譯本 - 『因此你看吧、是我要誘導她， 領她到野地， 和她談心。
- 現代標點和合本 - 「後來我必勸導她，領她到曠野， 對她說安慰的話。
- 文理和合譯本 - 我將誘掖之、導之於野、以善言慰之、
- 文理委辦譯本 - 厥後我勸迪斯民、導之於野、以善言慰藉、
- 施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 雖然、厥後我仍勸誘之、導之於野、以善言慰藉其心、
- Nueva Versión Internacional - »Por eso, ahora voy a seducirla: me la llevaré al desierto y le hablaré con ternura.
- 현대인의 성경 - “그러므로 내가 그녀를 꾀어내어 광야로 데리고 가서 부드러운 말로 잘 타이르고
- Новый Русский Перевод - Поэтому теперь Я увлеку ее; Я приведу ее в пустыню и буду говорить с ней ласково.
- Восточный перевод - Но теперь Я увлеку её; Я приведу её в пустыню и буду говорить с ней ласково.
- Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - Но теперь Я увлеку её; Я приведу её в пустыню и буду говорить с ней ласково.
- Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - Но теперь Я увлеку её; Я приведу её в пустыню и буду говорить с ней ласково.
- La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Et je dévasterai ╵sa vigne et son figuier dont elle a dit : « Voyez, c’est le salaire ╵donné par mes amants. » Je les réduirai en broussailles et les bêtes sauvages ╵en feront leur pâture.
- リビングバイブル - 「だが、わたしは再び彼女をくどいて 荒野に連れて行き、やさしく語りかけよう。
- Nova Versão Internacional - “Portanto, agora vou atraí-la; vou levá-la para o deserto e falar-lhe com carinho.
- Hoffnung für alle - Ich verwüste ihre Weinstöcke und Feigenbäume, von denen sie sagte: ›Das habe ich von meinen Freunden für meine Liebesdienste bekommen.‹ Alles, was sie gepflanzt hat, lasse ich von Gestrüpp überwuchern und von wilden Tieren abfressen.
- Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - “Vậy nên Ta sẽ thu phục nó một lần nữa. Ta sẽ dẫn nó vào hoang mạc và chuyện trò dịu dàng với nó tại đó.
- พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - “ดังนั้นเรากำลังจะเกลี้ยกล่อมนาง เราจะพานางเข้าไปในถิ่นกันดาร และพูดกับนางอย่างอ่อนโยน
- พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - “ฉะนั้น ดูเถิด เราจะชวนนาง และนำนางเข้าไปในถิ่นทุรกันดาร และพูดกับนางอย่างนุ่มนวล
Cross Reference
- Jeremiah 30:18 - “Again, God’s Message: “‘I’ll turn things around for Jacob. I’ll compassionately come in and rebuild homes. The town will be rebuilt on its old foundations; the mansions will be splendid again. Thanksgivings will pour out of the windows; laughter will spill through the doors. Things will get better and better. Depression days are over. They’ll thrive, they’ll flourish. The days of contempt will be over. They’ll look forward to having children again, to being a community in which I take pride. I’ll punish anyone who hurts them, and their prince will come from their own ranks. One of their own people shall be their leader. Their ruler will come from their own ranks. I’ll grant him free and easy access to me. Would anyone dare to do that on his own, to enter my presence uninvited?’ God’s Decree.
- Jeremiah 30:22 - “‘And that’s it: You’ll be my very own people, I’ll be your very own God.’”
- Zechariah 8:20 - A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “People and their leaders will come from all over to see what’s going on. The leaders will confer with one another: ‘Shouldn’t we try to get in on this? Get in on God’s blessings? Pray to God-of-the-Angel-Armies? What’s keeping us? Let’s go!’
- Zechariah 8:22 - “Lots of people, powerful nations—they’ll come to Jerusalem looking for what they can get from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, looking to get a blessing from God.” * * *
- Zechariah 8:23 - A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “At that time, ten men speaking a variety of languages will grab the sleeve of one Jew, hold tight, and say, ‘Let us go with you. We’ve heard that God is with you.’”
- Isaiah 51:4 - “Pay attention, my people. Listen to me, nations. Revelation flows from me. My decisions light up the world. My deliverance arrives on the run, my salvation right on time. I’ll bring justice to the peoples. Even faraway islands will look to me and take hope in my saving power. Look up at the skies, ponder the earth under your feet. The skies will fade out like smoke, the earth will wear out like work pants, and the people will die off like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my setting-things-right will never be obsolete.
- Isaiah 51:7 - “Listen now, you who know right from wrong, you who hold my teaching inside you: Pay no attention to insults, and when mocked don’t let it get you down. Those insults and mockeries are moth-eaten, from brains that are termite-ridden, But my setting-things-right lasts, my salvation goes on and on and on.”
- Isaiah 51:9 - Wake up, wake up, flex your muscles, God! Wake up as in the old days, in the long ago. Didn’t you once make mincemeat of Rahab, dispatch the old chaos-dragon? And didn’t you once dry up the sea, the powerful waters of the deep, And then made the bottom of the ocean a road for the redeemed to walk across? In the same way God’s ransomed will come back, come back to Zion cheering, shouting, Joy eternal wreathing their heads, exuberant ecstasies transporting them— and not a sign of moans or groans.
- Isaiah 51:12 - “I, I’m the One comforting you. What are you afraid of—or who? Some man or woman who’ll soon be dead? Some poor wretch destined for dust? You’ve forgotten me, God, who made you, who unfurled the skies, who founded the earth. And here you are, quaking like an aspen before the tantrums of a tyrant who thinks he can kick down the world. But what will come of the tantrums? The victims will be released before you know it. They’re not going to die. They’re not even going to go hungry. For I am God, your very own God, who stirs up the sea and whips up the waves, named God-of-the-Angel-Armies. I teach you how to talk, word by word, and personally watch over you, Even while I’m unfurling the skies, setting earth on solid foundations, and greeting Zion: ‘Welcome, my people!’”
- Isaiah 51:17 - So wake up! Rub the sleep from your eyes! Up on your feet, Jerusalem! You’ve drunk the cup God handed you, the strong drink of his anger. You drank it down to the last drop, staggered and collapsed, dead-drunk. And nobody to help you home, no one among your friends or children to take you by the hand and put you in bed. You’ve been hit with a double dose of trouble —does anyone care? Assault and battery, hunger and death —will anyone comfort? Your sons and daughters have passed out, strewn in the streets like stunned rabbits, Sleeping off the strong drink of God’s anger, the rage of your God.
- Isaiah 51:21 - Therefore listen, please, you with your splitting headaches, You who are nursing the hangovers that didn’t come from drinking wine. Your Master, your God, has something to say, your God has taken up his people’s case: “Look, I’ve taken back the drink that sent you reeling. No more drinking from that jug of my anger! I’ve passed it over to your abusers to drink, those who ordered you, ‘Down on the ground so we can walk all over you!’ And you had to do it. Flat on the ground, you were the dirt under their feet.”
- Ezekiel 34:23 - “‘I’ll appoint one shepherd over them all: my servant David. He’ll feed them. He’ll be their shepherd. And I, God, will be their God. My servant David will be their prince. I, God, have spoken.
- Ezekiel 34:25 - “‘I’ll make a covenant of peace with them. I’ll banish fierce animals from the country so the sheep can live safely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest. I’ll make them and everything around my hill a blessing. I’ll send down plenty of rain in season—showers of blessing! The trees in the orchards will bear fruit, the ground will produce, they’ll feel content and safe on their land, and they’ll realize that I am God when I break them out of their slavery and rescue them from their slave masters.
- Ezekiel 34:28 - “‘No longer will they be exploited by outsiders and ravaged by fierce beasts. They’ll live safe and sound, fearless and free. I’ll give them rich gardens, lavish in vegetables—no more living half-starved, no longer taunted by outsiders.
- Ezekiel 34:30 - “‘They’ll know, beyond doubting, that I, God, am their God, that I’m with them and that they, the people Israel, are my people. Decree of God, the Master: You are my dear flock, the flock of my pasture, my human flock, And I am your God. Decree of God, the Master.’”
- Jeremiah 32:36 - “But there is also this Message from me, the God of Israel, to this city of which you have said, ‘In killing and starvation and disease this city will be delivered up to the king of Babylon’:
- Jeremiah 32:37 - “‘Watch for this! I will collect them from all the countries to which I will have driven them in my anger and rage and indignation. Yes, I’ll bring them all back to this place and let them live here in peace. They will be my people, I will be their God. I’ll make them of one mind and heart, always honoring me, so that they can live good and whole lives, they and their children after them. What’s more, I’ll make a covenant with them that will last forever, a covenant to stick with them no matter what, and work for their good. I’ll fill their hearts with a deep respect for me so they’ll not even think of turning away from me.
- Jeremiah 32:41 - “‘Oh how I’ll rejoice in them! Oh how I’ll delight in doing good things for them! Heart and soul, I’ll plant them in this country and keep them here!’
- Isaiah 35:3 - Energize the limp hands, strengthen the rubbery knees. Tell fearful souls, “Courage! Take heart! God is here, right here, on his way to put things right And redress all wrongs. He’s on his way! He’ll save you!”
- Ezekiel 37:11 - Then God said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they’re saying: ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there’s nothing left of us.’
- Ezekiel 37:12 - “Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says: I’ll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I’ll take you straight to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you’ll realize that I am God. I’ll breathe my life into you and you’ll live. Then I’ll lead you straight back to your land and you’ll realize that I am God. I’ve said it and I’ll do it. God’s Decree.’” * * *
- Ezekiel 37:15 - God’s Message came to me: “You, son of man: Take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, with his Israelite companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph—Ephraim’s stick, together with all his Israelite companions.’ Then tie the two sticks together so that you’re holding one stick.
- Ezekiel 37:18 - “When your people ask you, ‘Are you going to tell us what you’re doing?’ tell them, ‘God, the Master, says, Watch me! I’ll take the Joseph stick that is in Ephraim’s hand, with the tribes of Israel connected with him, and lay the Judah stick on it. I’ll make them into one stick. I’m holding one stick.’
- Ezekiel 37:20 - “Then take the sticks you’ve inscribed and hold them up so the people can see them. Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says, Watch me! I’m taking the Israelites out of the nations in which they’ve been exiled. I’ll gather them in from all directions and bring them back home. I’ll make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and give them one king—one king over all of them. Never again will they be divided into two nations, two kingdoms. Never again will they pollute their lives with their no-god idols and all those vile obscenities and rebellions. I’ll save them out of all their old sinful haunts. I’ll clean them up. They’ll be my people! I’ll be their God! My servant David will be king over them. They’ll all be under one shepherd.
- Ezekiel 37:24 - “‘They’ll follow my laws and keep my statutes. They’ll live in the same land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren will live there forever, and my servant David will be their prince forever. I’ll make a covenant of peace with them that will hold everything together, an everlasting covenant. I’ll make them secure and place my holy place of worship at the center of their lives forever. I’ll live right there with them. I’ll be their God! They’ll be my people!
- Ezekiel 37:28 - “‘The nations will realize that I, God, make Israel holy when my holy place of worship is established at the center of their lives forever.’”
- Isaiah 49:13 - Heavens, raise the roof! Earth, wake the dead! Mountains, send up cheers! God has comforted his people. He has tenderly nursed his beaten-up, beaten-down people.
- Isaiah 49:14 - But Zion said, “I don’t get it. God has left me. My Master has forgotten I even exist.”
- Isaiah 49:15 - “Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I’d never forget you—never. Look, I’ve written your names on the backs of my hands. The walls you’re rebuilding are never out of my sight. Your builders are faster than your wreckers. The demolition crews are gone for good. Look up, look around, look well! See them all gathering, coming to you? As sure as I am the living God”—God’s Decree— “you’re going to put them on like so much jewelry, you’re going to use them to dress up like a bride.
- Isaiah 49:19 - “And your ruined land? Your devastated, decimated land? Filled with more people than you know what to do with! And your barbarian enemies, a fading memory. The children born in your exile will be saying, ‘It’s getting too crowded here. I need more room.’ And you’ll say to yourself, ‘Where on earth did these children come from? I lost everything, had nothing, was exiled and penniless. So who reared these children? How did these children get here?’”
- Isaiah 49:22 - The Master, God, says: “Look! I signal to the nations, I raise my flag to summon the people. Here they’ll come: women carrying your little boys in their arms, men carrying your little girls on their shoulders. Kings will be your babysitters, princesses will be your nursemaids. They’ll offer to do all your drudge work— scrub your floors, do your laundry. You’ll know then that I am God. No one who hopes in me ever regrets it.”
- Isaiah 49:24 - Can plunder be retrieved from a giant, prisoners of war gotten back from a tyrant? But God says, “Even if a giant grips the plunder and a tyrant holds my people prisoner, I’m the one who’s on your side, defending your cause, rescuing your children. And your enemies, crazed and desperate, will turn on themselves, killing each other in a frenzy of self-destruction. Then everyone will know that I, God, have saved you—I, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
- Ezekiel 36:8 - “‘But you, Mountains of Israel, will burst with new growth, putting out branches and bearing fruit for my people Israel. My people are coming home! Do you see? I’m back again. I’m on your side. You’ll be plowed and planted as before! I’ll see to it that your population grows all over Israel, that the towns fill up with people, that the ruins are rebuilt. I’ll make this place teem with life—human and animal. The country will burst into life, life, and more life, your towns and villages full of people just as in the old days. I’ll treat you better than I ever have. And you’ll realize that I am God. I’ll put people over you—my own people Israel! They’ll take care of you and you’ll be their inheritance. Never again will you be a harsh and unforgiving land to them.
- Ezekiel 36:13 - “‘God, the Master, says: Because you have a reputation of being a land that eats people alive and makes women barren, I’m now telling you that you’ll never eat people alive again nor make women barren. Decree of God, the Master. And I’ll never again let the taunts of outsiders be heard over you nor permit nations to look down on you. You’ll no longer be a land that makes women barren. Decree of God, the Master.’”
- Zechariah 1:12 - The Angel of God reported back, “O God-of-the-Angel-Armies, how long are you going to stay angry with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? When are you going to let up? Isn’t seventy years long enough?”
- Zechariah 1:13 - God reassured the Angel-Messenger—good words, comforting words—who then addressed me: “Tell them this. Tell them that God-of-the-Angel-Armies has spoken. This is God’s Message: ‘I care deeply for Jerusalem and Zion. I feel very possessive of them. But I’m thoroughly angry with the godless nations that act as if they own the whole world. I was only moderately angry earlier, but now they’ve gone too far. I’m going into action.
- Zechariah 1:16 - “‘I’ve come back to Jerusalem, but with compassion this time.’ This is God speaking. ‘I’ll see to it that my Temple is rebuilt.’ A Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies! ‘The rebuilding operation is already staked out.’ Say it again—a Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies: ‘My cities will prosper again, God will comfort Zion again, Jerusalem will be back in my favor again.’”
- Jeremiah 16:14 - “On the other hand, don’t miss this: The time is coming when no one will say any longer, ‘As sure as God lives, the God who delivered Israel from Egypt.’ What they’ll say is, ‘As sure as God lives, the God who brought Israel back from the land of the north, brought them back from all the places where he’d scattered them.’ That’s right, I’m going to bring them back to the land I first gave to their ancestors. * * *
- Isaiah 30:18 - But God’s not finished. He’s waiting around to be gracious to you. He’s gathering strength to show mercy to you. God takes the time to do everything right—everything. Those who wait around for him are the lucky ones.
- Song of Songs 1:4 - Take me away with you! Let’s run off together! An elopement with my King-Lover! We’ll celebrate, we’ll sing, we’ll make great music. Yes! For your love is better than vintage wine. Everyone loves you—of course! And why not?
- Jeremiah 3:12 - “‘Turn back, fickle Israel. I’m not just hanging back to punish you. I’m committed in love to you. My anger doesn’t seethe nonstop. Just admit your guilt. Admit your God-defiance. Admit to your promiscuous life with casual partners, pulling strangers into the sex-and-religion groves While turning a deaf ear to me.’” God’s Decree. “Come back, wandering children!” God’s Decree. “I, yes I, am your true husband. I’ll pick you out one by one— This one from the city, these two from the country— and bring you to Zion. I’ll give you good shepherd-rulers who rule my way, who rule you with intelligence and wisdom.
- Jeremiah 3:16 - “And this is what will happen: You will increase and prosper in the land. The time will come”—God’s Decree!—“when no one will say any longer, ‘Oh, for the good old days! Remember the Ark of the Covenant?’ It won’t even occur to anyone to say it—‘the good old days.’ The so-called good old days of the Ark are gone for good.
- Jeremiah 3:17 - “Jerusalem will be the new Ark—‘God’s Throne.’ All the godless nations, no longer stuck in the ruts of their evil ways, will gather there to honor God.
- Jeremiah 3:18 - “At that time, the House of Judah will join up with the House of Israel. Holding hands, they’ll leave the north country and come to the land I willed to your ancestors. * * *
- Jeremiah 3:19 - “I planned what I’d say if you returned to me: ‘Good! I’ll bring you back into the family. I’ll give you choice land, land that the godless nations would die for.’ And I imagined that you would say, ‘Dear father!’ and would never again go off and leave me. But no luck. Like a false-hearted woman walking out on her husband, you, the whole family of Israel, have proven false to me.” God’s Decree.
- Jeremiah 3:21 - The sound of voices comes drifting out of the hills, the unhappy sound of Israel’s crying, Israel lamenting the wasted years, never once giving her God a thought. “Come back, wandering children! I can heal your wanderlust!” * * *
- Jeremiah 3:22 - “We’re here! We’ve come back to you. You’re our own true God! All that popular religion was a cheap lie, duped crowds buying up the latest in gods. We’re back! Back to our true God, the salvation of Israel. The Fraud picked us clean, swindled us of what our ancestors bequeathed us, Gypped us out of our inheritance— God-blessed flocks and God-given children. We made our bed and now lie in it, all tangled up in the dirty sheets of dishonor. All because we sinned against our God, we and our fathers and mothers. From the time we took our first steps, said our first words, we’ve been rebels, disobeying the voice of our God.” * * *
- Zephaniah 3:9 - “In the end I will turn things around for the people. I’ll give them a language undistorted, unpolluted, Words to address God in worship and, united, to serve me with their shoulders to the wheel. They’ll come from beyond the Ethiopian rivers, they’ll come praying— All my scattered, exiled people will come home with offerings for worship. You’ll no longer have to be ashamed of all those acts of rebellion. I’ll have gotten rid of your arrogant leaders. No more pious strutting on my holy hill! I’ll leave a core of people among you who are poor in spirit— What’s left of Israel that’s really Israel. They’ll make their home in God. This core holy people will not do wrong. They won’t lie, won’t use words to flatter or seduce. Content with who they are and where they are, unanxious, they’ll live at peace.” * * *
- Zephaniah 3:14 - So sing, Daughter Zion! Raise your voices, Israel! Daughter Jerusalem, be happy! celebrate! God has reversed his judgments against you and sent your enemies off chasing their tails. From now on, God is Israel’s king, in charge at the center. There’s nothing to fear from evil ever again!
- Zephaniah 3:16 - Jerusalem will be told: “Don’t be afraid. Dear Zion, don’t despair. Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs. * * *
- Zephaniah 3:18 - “The accumulated sorrows of your exile will dissipate. I, your God, will get rid of them for you. You’ve carried those burdens long enough. At the same time, I’ll get rid of all those who’ve made your life miserable. I’ll heal the maimed; I’ll bring home the homeless. In the very countries where they were hated they will be venerated. On Judgment Day I’ll bring you back home—a great family gathering! You’ll be famous and honored all over the world. You’ll see it with your own eyes— all those painful partings turned into reunions!” God’s Promise.
- Jeremiah 31:1 - “And when that happens”—God’s Decree— “it will be plain as the sun at high noon: I’ll be the God of every man, woman, and child in Israel and they shall be my very own people.” * * *
- Jeremiah 31:2 - This is the way God put it: “They found grace out in the desert, these people who survived the killing. Israel, out looking for a place to rest, met God out looking for them!” God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love! And so now I’ll start over with you and build you up again, dear virgin Israel. You’ll resume your singing, grabbing tambourines and joining the dance. You’ll go back to your old work of planting vineyards on the Samaritan hillsides, And sit back and enjoy the fruit— oh, how you’ll enjoy those harvests! The time’s coming when watchmen will call out from the hilltops of Ephraim: ‘On your feet! Let’s go to Zion, go to meet our God!’” * * *
- Jeremiah 31:7 - Oh yes, God says so: “Shout for joy at the top of your lungs for Jacob! Announce the good news to the number-one nation! Raise cheers! Sing praises. Say, ‘God has saved his people, saved the core of Israel.’
- Jeremiah 31:8 - “Watch what comes next: “I’ll bring my people back from the north country And gather them up from the ends of the earth, gather those who’ve gone blind And those who are lame and limping, gather pregnant women, Even the mothers whose birth pangs have started, bring them all back, a huge crowd!
- Jeremiah 31:9 - “Watch them come! They’ll come weeping for joy as I take their hands and lead them, Lead them to fresh flowing brooks, lead them along smooth, uncluttered paths. Yes, it’s because I’m Israel’s Father and Ephraim’s my firstborn son!
- Jeremiah 31:10 - “Hear this, nations! God’s Message! Broadcast this all over the world! Tell them, ‘The One who scattered Israel will gather them together again. From now on he’ll keep a careful eye on them, like a shepherd with his flock.’ I, God, will pay a stiff ransom price for Jacob; I’ll free him from the grip of the Babylonian bully. The people will climb up Zion’s slopes shouting with joy, their faces beaming because of God’s bounty— Grain and wine and oil, flocks of sheep, herds of cattle. Their lives will be like a well-watered garden, never again left to dry up. Young women will dance and be happy, young men and old men will join in. I’ll convert their weeping into laughter, lavishing comfort, invading their grief with joy. I’ll make sure that their priests get three square meals a day and that my people have more than enough.’” God’s Decree. * * *
- Jeremiah 31:15 - Again, God’s Message: “Listen to this! Laments coming out of Ramah, wild and bitter weeping. It’s Rachel weeping for her children, Rachel refusing all solace. Her children are gone, gone—long gone into exile.” But God says, “Stop your incessant weeping, hold back your tears. Collect wages from your grief work.” God’s Decree. “They’ll be coming back home! There’s hope for your children.” God’s Decree.
- Jeremiah 31:18 - “I’ve heard the contrition of Ephraim. Yes, I’ve heard it clearly, saying, ‘You trained me well. You broke me, a wild yearling horse, to the saddle. Now put me, trained and obedient, to use. You are my God. After those years of running loose, I repented. After you trained me to obedience, I was ashamed of my past, my wild, unruly past. Humiliated, I beat on my chest. Will I ever live this down?’
- Jeremiah 31:20 - “Oh! Ephraim is my dear, dear son, my child in whom I take pleasure! Every time I mention his name, my heart bursts with longing for him! Everything in me cries out for him. Softly and tenderly I wait for him.” God’s Decree.
- Jeremiah 31:21 - “Set up signposts to mark your trip home. Get a good map. Study the road conditions. The road out is the road back. Come back, dear virgin Israel, come back to your hometowns. How long will you flit here and there, indecisive? How long before you make up your fickle mind? God will create a new thing in this land: A transformed woman will embrace the transforming God!” * * *
- Jeremiah 31:23 - A Message from Israel’s God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “When I’ve turned everything around and brought my people back, the old expressions will be heard on the streets: ‘God bless you!’ . . . ‘O True Home!’ . . . ‘O Holy Mountain!’ All Judah’s people, whether in town or country, will get along just fine with each other.
- Jeremiah 31:25 - I’ll refresh tired bodies; I’ll restore tired souls.
- Jeremiah 31:26 - Just then I woke up and looked around—what a pleasant and satisfying sleep! * * *
- Jeremiah 31:27 - “Be ready. The time’s coming”—God’s Decree—“when I will plant people and animals in Israel and Judah, just as a farmer plants seed. And in the same way that earlier I relentlessly pulled up and tore down, took apart and demolished, so now I am sticking with them as they start over, building and planting.
- Jeremiah 31:29 - “When that time comes you won’t hear the old proverb anymore, Parents ate the green apples, their children got the stomachache.
- Jeremiah 31:30 - “No, each person will pay for his own sin. You eat green apples, you’re the one who gets sick. * * *
- Jeremiah 31:31 - “That’s right. The time is coming when I will make a brand-new covenant with Israel and Judah. It won’t be a repeat of the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant even though I did my part as their Master.” God’s Decree.
- Jeremiah 31:33 - “This is the brand-new covenant that I will make with Israel when the time comes. I will put my law within them—write it on their hearts!—and be their God. And they will be my people. They will no longer go around setting up schools to teach each other about God. They’ll know me firsthand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow. I’ll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I’ll forget they ever sinned!” God’s Decree.
- Jeremiah 31:35 - God’s Message, from the God who lights up the day with sun and brightens the night with moon and stars, Who whips the ocean into a billowy froth, whose name is God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
- Jeremiah 31:36 - “If this ordered cosmos ever fell to pieces, fell into chaos before me”—God’s Decree— “Then and only then might Israel fall apart and disappear as a nation before me.” * * *
- Jeremiah 31:37 - God’s Message: “If the skies could be measured with a yardstick and the earth explored to its core, Then and only then would I turn my back on Israel, disgusted with all they’ve done.” God’s Decree. * * *
- Ezekiel 39:25 - “But now I will return Jacob back from exile, I’ll be compassionate with all the people of Israel, and I’ll be zealous for my holy name. Eventually the memory will fade, the memory of their shame over their betrayals of me when they lived securely in their own land, safe and unafraid. Once I’ve brought them back from foreign parts, gathered them in from enemy territories, I’ll use them to demonstrate my holiness with all the nations watching. Then they’ll realize for sure that I am their God, for even though I sent them off into exile, I will gather them back to their own land, leaving not one soul behind. After I’ve poured my Spirit on Israel, filled them with my life, I’ll no longer turn away. I’ll look them full in the face. Decree of God, the Master.”
- Jeremiah 33:6 - “But now take another look. I’m going to give this city a thorough renovation, working a true healing inside and out. I’m going to show them life whole, life brimming with blessings. I’ll restore everything that was lost to Judah and Jerusalem. I’ll build everything back as good as new. I’ll scrub them clean from the dirt they’ve done against me. I’ll forgive everything they’ve done wrong, forgive all their rebellions. And Jerusalem will be a center of joy and praise and glory for all the countries on earth. They’ll get reports on all the good I’m doing for her. They’ll be in awe of the blessings I am pouring on her.
- Jeremiah 33:10 - “Yes, God’s Message: ‘You’re going to look at this place, these empty and desolate towns of Judah and streets of Jerusalem, and say, “A wasteland. Unlivable. Not even a dog could live here.” But the time is coming when you’re going to hear laughter and celebration, marriage festivities, people exclaiming, “Thank God-of-the-Angel-Armies. He’s so good! His love never quits,” as they bring thank offerings into God’s Temple. I’ll restore everything that was lost in this land. I’ll make everything as good as new.’ I, God, say so.
- Jeremiah 33:12 - “God-of-the-Angel-Armies says: ‘This coming desolation, unfit for even a stray dog, is once again going to become a pasture for shepherds who care for their flocks. You’ll see flocks everywhere—in the mountains around the towns of the Shephelah and Negev, all over the territory of Benjamin, around Jerusalem and the towns of Judah—flocks under the care of shepherds who keep track of each sheep.’ God says so.
- Jeremiah 33:14 - “‘Watch for this: The time is coming’—God’s Decree—‘when I will keep the promise I made to the families of Israel and Judah. When that time comes, I will make a fresh and true shoot sprout from the David-Tree. He will run this country honestly and fairly. He will set things right. That’s when Judah will be secure and Jerusalem live in safety. The motto for the city will be, “God Has Set Things Right for Us.” God has made it clear that there will always be a descendant of David ruling the people of Israel and that there will always be Levitical priests on hand to offer burnt offerings, present grain offerings, and carry on the sacrificial worship in my honor.’” * * *
- Jeremiah 33:19 - God’s Message to Jeremiah: “God says, ‘If my covenant with day and my covenant with night ever fell apart so that day and night became haphazard and you never knew which was coming and when, then and only then would my covenant with my servant David fall apart and his descendants no longer rule. The same goes for the Levitical priests who serve me. Just as you can’t number the stars in the sky nor measure the sand on the seashore, neither will you be able to account for the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who serve me.’” * * *
- Jeremiah 33:23 - God’s Message to Jeremiah: “Have you heard the saying that’s making the rounds: ‘The two families God chose, Israel and Judah, he disowned’? And have you noticed that my people are treated with contempt, with rumors afoot that there’s nothing to them anymore?
- Jeremiah 33:25 - “Well, here’s God’s response: ‘If my covenant with day and night wasn’t in working order, if sky and earth weren’t functioning the way I set them going, then, but only then, you might think I had disowned the descendants of Jacob and of my servant David, and that I wouldn’t set up any of David’s descendants over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as it is, I will give them back everything they’ve lost. The last word is, I will have mercy on them.’”
- Amos 9:11 - “But also on that Judgment Day I will restore David’s house that has fallen to pieces. I’ll repair the holes in the roof, replace the broken windows, fix it up like new. David’s people will be strong again and seize what’s left of enemy Edom, plus everyone else under my sovereign judgment.” God’s Decree. He will do this.
- Amos 9:13 - “Yes indeed, it won’t be long now.” God’s Decree. “Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won’t be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings! Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills. I’ll make everything right again for my people Israel: “They’ll rebuild their ruined cities. They’ll plant vineyards and drink good wine. They’ll work their gardens and eat fresh vegetables. And I’ll plant them, plant them on their own land. They’ll never again be uprooted from the land I’ve given them.” God, your God, says so.
- Micah 7:14 - Shepherd, O God, your people with your staff, your dear and precious flock. Uniquely yours in a grove of trees, centered in lotus land. Let them graze in lush Bashan as in the old days in green Gilead. Reproduce the miracle-wonders of our exodus from Egypt. And the godless nations: Put them in their place— humiliated in their arrogance, speechless and clueless. Make them slink like snakes, crawl like cockroaches, come out of their holes from under their rocks And face our God. Fill them with holy fear and trembling. * * *
- Micah 7:18 - Where is the god who can compare with you— wiping the slate clean of guilt, Turning a blind eye, a deaf ear, to the past sins of your purged and precious people? You don’t nurse your anger and don’t stay angry long, for mercy is your specialty. That’s what you love most. And compassion is on its way to us. You’ll stamp out our wrongdoing. You’ll sink our sins to the bottom of the ocean. You’ll stay true to your word to Father Jacob and continue the compassion you showed Grandfather Abraham— Everything you promised our ancestors from a long time ago.
- Ezekiel 20:36 - “‘As I faced your parents with judgment in the desert of Egypt, so I’ll face you with judgment. I’ll scrutinize and search every person as you arrive, and I’ll bring you under the bond of the covenant. I’ll cull out the rebels and traitors. I’ll lead them out of their exile, but I won’t bring them back to Israel. “‘Then you’ll realize that I am God.
- Isaiah 40:1 - “Comfort, oh comfort my people,” says your God. “Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear That she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of—forgiven! She’s been punished enough and more than enough, and now it’s over and done with.”