Jeremiah 31:4-5

31:4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, ¹ 

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. ² 

31:5 Once again you will plant vineyards

on the hills of Samaria. ³ 

Those who plant them

will once again enjoy their fruit. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 31:23

Judah Will Be Restored

31:23 The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ⁵  says,

“I will restore the people of Judah to their land and to their towns.

When I do, they will again say ⁶  of Jerusalem, ⁷ 

‘May the Lord bless you, you holy mountain,

the place where righteousness dwells.’ ⁸ 

[31:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Virgin Israel.”

[31:4]  ² sn Contrast Jer 7:34 and 25:10.

[31:5]  ³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[31:5]  ⁴ sn The terms used here refer to the enjoyment of a period of peace and stability and the reversal of the curse (contrast, e.g., Deut 28:30). The Hebrew word translated “enjoy its fruit” is a technical one that refers to the owner of a vineyard getting to enjoy its fruit in the fifth year after it was planted, the crops of the first three years lying fallow, and that of the fourth being given to the Lord (cf. Lev 19:23-25).

[31:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” See 7:3 and the study note of 2:19 for the rendering of this title and an explanation of its significance.

[31:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “They [i.e., people (the indefinite plural, GKC 460 §144.g)] will again say in the land of Judah and in its cities when I restore their fortunes.” For the meaning of the idiom “to restore the fortunes” see the translator’s note on 29:14.

[31:23]  ⁷ tn The words “of Jerusalem” are not in the text but it is implicit in the titles that follow. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity to aid in identifying the referent.

[31:23]  ⁸ sn 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). 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.