Ezekiel 11:17

11:17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been dispersed, I will give you back the country of Israel.’

Ezekiel 20:41

20:41 When I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, I will accept you along with your soothing aroma. I will display my holiness among you in the sight of the nations.

Ezekiel 28:25-26

28:25 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are dispersed, I will reveal my sovereign power ¹  over them in the sight of the nations, and they will live in their land that I gave to my servant Jacob. 28:26 They will live securely in it; they will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live securely ²  when I execute my judgments on all those who scorn them and surround them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”

Ezekiel 36:24

36:24 “‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land.

Ezekiel 37:21-22

37:21 Then tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land. 37:22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms. ³ 

Ezekiel 38:8

38:8 After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come to a land restored from the ravages of war, ⁴  with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people ⁵  were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely.

Ezekiel 39:27

39:27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will magnify myself among them in the sight of many nations.

Psalms 106:47

106:47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God!

Gather us from among the nations!

Then we will give thanks ⁶  to your holy name,

and boast about your praiseworthy deeds. ⁷ 

Isaiah 11:11-16

11:11 At that time ⁸  the sovereign master ⁹  will again lift his hand ¹⁰  to reclaim ¹¹  the remnant of his people ¹²  from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, ¹³  Cush, ¹⁴  Elam, Shinar, ¹⁵  Hamath, and the seacoasts. ¹⁶ 

11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;

he will gather Israel’s dispersed people ¹⁷ 

and assemble Judah’s scattered people

from the four corners of the earth.

11:13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end, ¹⁸ 

and Judah’s hostility ¹⁹  will be eliminated.

Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah,

and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.

11:14 They will swoop down ²⁰  on the Philistine hills to the west; ²¹ 

together they will loot the people of the east.

They will take over Edom and Moab, ²² 

and the Ammonites will be their subjects.

11:15 The Lord will divide ²³  the gulf ²⁴  of the Egyptian Sea; ²⁵ 

he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River ²⁶  and send a strong wind, ²⁷ 

he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, ²⁸ 

and enable them to walk across in their sandals.

11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria

for the remnant of his people, ²⁹ 

just as there was for Israel,

when ³⁰  they went up from the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 65:9-10

65:9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains.

My chosen ones will take possession of the land; ³¹ 

my servants will live there.

65:10 Sharon ³²  will become a pasture for sheep,

and the Valley of Achor ³³  a place where cattle graze; ³⁴ 

they will belong to my people, who seek me. ³⁵ 

Isaiah 66:19-20

66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them ³⁶  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ³⁷  Lud ³⁸  (known for its archers ³⁹ ), Tubal, Javan, ⁴⁰  and to the distant coastlands ⁴¹  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor. 66:20 They will bring back all your countrymen ⁴²  from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them ⁴³  on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels ⁴⁴  to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers.

Jeremiah 23:3-4

23:3 Then I myself will regather those of my people ⁴⁵  who are still alive from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their homeland. ⁴⁶  They will greatly increase in number. 23:4 I will install rulers ⁴⁷  over them who will care for them. Then they will no longer need to fear or be terrified. None of them will turn up missing. ⁴⁸  I, the Lord, promise it! ⁴⁹ 

Jeremiah 23:8

23:8 But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the descendants of the former nation of Israel ⁵⁰  from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished ⁵¹  them.” ⁵²  At that time they will live in their own land.’”

Jeremiah 30:3

30:3 For I, the Lord, affirm ⁵³  that the time will come when I will reverse the plight ⁵⁴  of my people, Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors ⁵⁵  and they will take possession of it once again.’” ⁵⁶ 

Jeremiah 30:18

The Lord Will Restore Israel and Judah

30:18 The Lord says,

“I will restore the ruined houses of the descendants of Jacob.

I will show compassion on their ruined homes. ⁵⁷ 

Every city will be rebuilt on its former ruins. ⁵⁸ 

Every fortified dwelling will occupy its traditional site. ⁵⁹ 

Jeremiah 31:8

31:8 Then I will reply, ⁶⁰  ‘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,

so will pregnant women and women about to give birth.

A vast throng of people will come back here.

Jeremiah 32:37

32:37 ‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I will have exiled ⁶¹  them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety.

Amos 9:14

9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel; ⁶² 

they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble ⁶³  and settle down. ⁶⁴ 

They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; ⁶⁵ 

they will grow orchards ⁶⁶  and eat the fruit they produce. ⁶⁷ 

Zephaniah 3:19-20

3:19 Look, at that time I will deal with those who mistreated you.

I will rescue the lame sheep ⁶⁸ 

and gather together the scattered sheep.

I will take away their humiliation

and make the whole earth admire and respect them. ⁶⁹ 

3:20 At that time I will lead you –

at the time I gather you together. ⁷⁰ 

Be sure of this! ⁷¹  I will make all the nations of the earth respect and admire you ⁷² 

when you see me restore you,” ⁷³  says the Lord.

[28:25]  ¹ tn Or “reveal my holiness.” See verse 22.

[28:26]  ² sn This promise was given in Lev 25:18-19.

[37:22]  ³ sn Jeremiah also attested to the reuniting of the northern and southern kingdoms (Jer 3:12, 14; 31:2-6).

[38:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the sword.”

[38:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “it.”

[106:47]  ⁶ tn Heb “to give thanks.” The infinitive construct indicates result after the imperative.

[106:47]  ⁷ tn Heb “to boast in your praise.”

[11:11]  ⁸ tn Or “in that day” (KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[11:11]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai).

[11:11]  ¹⁰ tc The Hebrew text reads, “the sovereign master will again, a second time, his hand.” The auxiliary verb יוֹסִיף (yosif), which literally means “add,” needs a main verb to complete it. Consequently many emend שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) to an infinitive. Some propose the form שַׁנֹּת (shannot, a Piel infinitive construct from שָׁנָה, shanah) and relate it semantically to an Arabic cognate meaning “to be high.” If the Hebrew text is retained a verb must be supplied. “Second time” would allude back to the events of the Exodus (see vv. 15-16).

[11:11]  ¹¹ tn Or “acquire”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “recover.”

[11:11]  ¹² tn Heb “the remnant of his people who remain.”

[11:11]  ¹³ sn Perhaps a reference to Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt (so NIV, NLT; NCV “South Egypt”).

[11:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Ethiopia” (NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[11:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Babylonia” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).

[11:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “the islands of the sea.”

[11:12]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the banished of Israel,” i.e., the exiles.

[11:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “turn aside”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “depart.”

[11:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “hostile ones of Judah.” Elsewhere when the substantival participle of צָרָר (tsarar) takes a pronominal suffix or appears in a construct relationship, the following genitive is objective. (For a list of texts see BDB 865 s.v. III צָרַר) In this case the phrase “hostile ones of Judah” means “those who are hostile toward Judah,” i.e., Judah’s enemies. However, the parallel couplet that follows suggests that Judah’s hostility toward Ephraim is in view. In this case “hostile ones of Judah” means “hostile ones from Judah.” The translation above assumes the latter, giving the immediate context priority over general usage.

[11:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “fly.” Ephraim/Judah are compared to a bird of prey.

[11:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “on the shoulder of Philistia toward the sea.” This refers to the slopes of the hill country west of Judah. See HALOT 506 s.v. כָּתֵף.

[11:14]  ²² tn Heb “Edom and Moab [will be the place of] the outstretching of their hand,” i.e., included in their area of jurisdiction (see HALOT 648 s.v. ח(וֹ)מִשְׁלֹ).

[11:15]  ²³ tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”

[11:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[11:15]  ²⁵ sn That is, the Red Sea.

[11:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.

[11:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.

[11:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.

[11:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”

[11:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “in the day” (so KJV).

[65:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to the land which contains the aforementioned mountains.

[65:10]  ³² sn Sharon was a plain located to the west, along the Mediterranean coast north of Joppa and south of Carmel.

[65:10]  ³³ sn The Valley of Achor (“Achor” means “trouble” in Hebrew) was the site of Achan’s execution. It was located to the east, near Jericho.

[65:10]  ³⁴ tn Heb “a resting place for cattle”; NASB, NIV “for herds.”

[65:10]  ³⁵ tn Heb “for my people who seek me.”

[66:19]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).

[66:19]  ³⁷ tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

[66:19]  ³⁸ sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

[66:19]  ³⁹ tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

[66:19]  ⁴⁰ sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

[66:19]  ⁴¹ tn Or “islands” (NIV).

[66:20]  ⁴² tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”

[66:20]  ⁴³ tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[66:20]  ⁴⁴ tn The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּרְכָּרָה.

[23:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “my sheep.”

[23:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “their fold.”

[23:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “shepherds.”

[23:4]  ⁴⁸ tn There are various nuances of the word פָּקַד (paqad) represented in vv. 2, 4. See Ps 8:4 (8:5 HT) and Zech 10:3 for “care for/take care of” (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.A.1.a). See Exod 20:5; Amos 3:2; Jer 9:24; 11:22 for “punish” (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.A.3). See 1 Kgs 20:39 and 2 Kgs 10:19 for “be missing” (cf. BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Niph.1).

[23:4]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[23:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “descendants of the house of Israel.”

[23:8]  ⁵¹ tc It is probably preferable to read the third masculine singular plus suffix (הִדִּיחָם, hiddikham) here with the Greek version and the parallel passage in 16:15 rather than the first singular plus suffix in the MT (הִדַּחְתִּים, hiddakhtim). If this is not a case of mere graphic confusion, the MT could have arisen under the influence of the first person in v. 3. Though sudden shifts in person have been common in the book of Jeremiah, that is unlikely in a context reporting an oath.

[23:8]  ⁵² tn This passage is the same as 16:14-15 with a few minor variations in Hebrew wording. The notes on that passage should be consulted for the rendering here. This passage has the Niphal of the verb “to say” rather than the impersonal use of the Qal. It adds the idea of “bringing out” to the idea of “bringing up out” and (Heb “who brought up and who brought out,” probably a case of hendiadys) before “the people [here “seed” rather than “children”] of Israel [here “house of Israel”] from the land of the north.” These are minor variations and do not affect the sense in any way. So the passage is rendered in much the same way.

[30:3]  ⁵³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[30:3]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “restore the fortune.” For the translation and meaning of this idiom see the note at 29:14.

[30:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “fathers.”

[30:3]  ⁵⁶ sn As the nations of Israel and Judah were united in their sin and suffered the same fate – that of exile and dispersion – (cf. Jer 3:8; 5:11; 11:10, 17) so they will ultimately be regathered from the nations and rejoined under one king, a descendant of David, and regain possession of their ancestral lands. The prophets of both the eighth and seventh century looked forward to this ideal (see, e.g., Hos 1:11 (2:2 HT); Isa 11:11-13; Jer 23:5-6; 30:3; 33:7; Ezek 37:15-22). This has already been anticipated in Jer 3:18.

[30:18]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and will have compassion on his habitations.” For the meaning of the idiom “restore the fortunes of” see the translator’s note on 29:14. The “tents of Jacob” refers to their homes or houses (see BDB 14 s.v. אֹהֶל 2 and compare usage in Judg 19:9; Mal 2:12). The word “ruined” has been supplied in the translation to show more clearly the idea of restoration of their houses on their former sites in conformity to the concepts in the latter half of the verse.

[30:18]  ⁵⁸ sn Heb “on its tel.” A tel is a site where successive layers of occupation are built upon one another after the destruction or decay of the former city. The original site was not abandoned because it had been chosen for strategic purposes, such as proximity to water or ease of defense. Many modern archaeological sites have the designation “Tel” as a component of their name because of this practice.

[30:18]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “according to its custom [or plan].” Cf. BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 6.d and compare usage in 1 Sam 27:11.

[31:8]  ⁶⁰ tn The words “And I will reply” are not in the text but the words vv. 8-9 appear to be the answer to the petition at the end of v. 7. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[32:37]  ⁶¹ tn The verb here should be interpreted as a future perfect; though some of the people have already been exiled (in 605 and 597 b.c.), some have not yet been exiled at the time this prophesy is given (see study note on v. 1 for the date). However, contemporary English style does not regularly use the future perfect, choosing instead to use the simple future or the simple perfect as the present translation has done here.

[9:14]  ⁶² tn This line can also be translated “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel” and is a common idiom (e.g., Deut 30:3; Jer 30:3; Hos 6:11; Zeph 3:20). This rendering is followed by several modern English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, NJPS).

[9:14]  ⁶³ tn Or “the ruined [or “desolate”] cities.”

[9:14]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “and live [in them].”

[9:14]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “drink their wine.”

[9:14]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “gardens.”

[9:14]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “eat their fruit.”

[3:19]  ⁶⁸ tn The word “sheep” is supplied for clarification. As in Mic 4:6-7, the exiles are here pictured as injured and scattered sheep whom the divine shepherd rescues from danger.

[3:19]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “I will make them into praise and a name, in all the earth, their shame.” The present translation assumes that “their shame” specifies “them” and that “name” stands here for a good reputation.

[3:20]  ⁷⁰ tn In this line the second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that the exiles are addressed.

[3:20]  ⁷¹ tn Or “for.”

[3:20]  ⁷² tn Heb “I will make you into a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth.” Here the word “name” carries the nuance of “good reputation.”

[3:20]  ⁷³ tn Heb “when I restore your fortunes to your eyes.” See the note on the phrase “restore them” in 2:7.