Jeremiah 31:38

Jerusalem Will Be Enlarged

31:38 “Indeed a time is coming,” ¹  says the Lord, ²  “when the city of Jerusalem ³  will be rebuilt as my special city. ⁴  It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate. ⁵ 

Zechariah 14:10

14:10 All the land will change and become like the Arabah ⁶  from Geba to Rimmon, ⁷  south of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem will be raised up and will stay in its own place from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate ⁸  and on to the Corner Gate, ⁹  and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. ¹⁰ 

[31:38]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:38]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[31:38]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The word “westward” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation to give some orientation.

[14:10]  ⁶ tn Or “like a plain” (similar KJV, NAB, NASB, NCV, NRSV, NLT); or “like a steppe”; cf. CEV “flatlands.” The Hebrew term עֲרָבָה (’aravah) refers to an arid plain or steppe, but can be used specifically as the name of the rift valley running from the Sea of Galilee via the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.

[14:10]  ⁷ sn The expression from Geba to Rimmon is a way of indicating the extent of all Judah from north (2 Kgs 23:8) to south (Job 15:32; 19:7). Since Geba (Heb. גֶּבַע) means “hill” and Rimmon resembles the word for height (Heb. רָמָה, ramah), this could be a play on words suggesting that all the high country will be made low, like the great Arabah valley.

[14:10]  ⁸ tn Or “old gate” (NLT); or “former gate” (NRSV).

[14:10]  ⁹ sn From the Benjamin Gate…on to the Corner Gate marks the northern wall of the city of Jerusalem from east to west.

[14:10]  ¹⁰ sn From the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses indicates the extent of Jerusalem from north to south.