Jeremiah 31:24

31:24 The land of Judah will be inhabited by people who live in its towns

as well as by farmers and shepherds with their flocks. ¹ 

Jeremiah 31:38-40

Jerusalem Will Be Enlarged

31:38 “Indeed a time is coming,” ²  says the Lord, ³  “when the city of Jerusalem ⁴  will be rebuilt as my special city. ⁵  It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate. ⁶  31:39 The boundary line will extend beyond that, straight west from there to the Hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah. ⁷  31:40 The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown ⁸  and all the terraced fields ⁹  out to the Kidron Valley ¹⁰  on the east as far north ¹¹  as the Horse Gate ¹²  will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. ¹³  The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”

[31:24]  ¹ tn The translation “those who move about with their flocks” is based on an emendation of the Hebrew text which reads a third plural Qal perfect (נָסְעוּ, nos’u) to a masculine plural Qal participle in the construct (נֹסְעֵי, nosÿ’e) as suggested in the BHS fn. For the use of the construct participle before a noun with a preposition see GKC 421 §130.a. It is generally agreed that three classes of people are referred to here, townspeople, farmers, and shepherds. But the syntax of the Hebrew sentence is a little awkward: “And they [i.e., “people” (the indefinite plural, GKC 460 §144.g)] will live in it, Judah and all its cities [an apposition of nearer definition (GKC 425-26 §131.n)], [along with] farmers and those who move about with their flocks.” The first line refers awkwardly to the townspeople and the other two classes are added asyndetically (i.e., without the conjunction “and”).

[31:38]  ² tc The words “is coming” (בָּאִים, ba’im) are not in the written text (Kethib) but are supplied in the margin (Qere), in several Hebrew mss and in the versions. It is part of the idiom that also occurs in vv. 27, 31.

[31:38]  ³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:38]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[31:38]  ⁵ tn Heb “the city will be built to [or for] the Lord.” The words “of Jerusalem” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity. However, the word occurs in a first person speech so the translation has accommodated the switch in person as it has in a number of other places (compare also NIV, TEV, ICV).

[31:38]  ⁶ tn The word “westward” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation to give some orientation.

[31:39]  ³ tn The words “west” and “southward” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to give some orientation.

[31:40]  ⁴ sn It is generally agreed that this refers to the Hinnom Valley which was on the southwestern and southern side of the city. It was here where the people of Jerusalem had burned their children as sacrifices and where the Lord had said that there would be so many dead bodies when he punished them that they would be unable to bury all of them (cf. Jer 7:31-32). Reference here may be to those dead bodies and to the ashes of the cremated victims. This defiled place would be included within the holy city.

[31:40]  ⁵ tc The translation here follows the Qere and a number of Hebrew mss in reading שְׁדֵמוֹת (shÿdemot) for the otherwise unknown word שְׁרֵמוֹת (shÿremot) exhibiting the common confusion of ר (resh) and ד (dalet). The fields of Kidron are mentioned also in 2 Kgs 23:4 as the place where Josiah burned the cult objects of Baal.

[31:40]  ⁶ sn The Kidron Valley is the valley that joins the Hinnom Valley in the southeastern corner of the city and runs northward on the east side of the city.

[31:40]  ⁷ tn The words “on the east” and “north” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to give orientation.

[31:40]  ⁸ sn The Horse Gate is mentioned in Neh 3:28 and is generally considered to have been located midway along the eastern wall just south of the temple area.

[31:40]  ⁹ tn The words “will be included within this city that is” are not in the text. The text merely says that “The whole valley…will be sacred to the Lord.” These words have been supplied in the translation because they are really implicit in the description of the whole area as being included within the new city plan, not just the Hinnom and terraced fields as far as the Kidron Valley.