Jeremiah 31:20

Jeremiah 31:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.

Context of Jeremiah 31:20

18I have indeed heard Ephraim bemoaning himself [thus]: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised as a bullock not trained: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God. 19Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after I knew myself, I smote upon [my] thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, for I bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim a dear son unto me? is he a child of delights? For whilst I have been speaking against him, I do constantly remember him still. Therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I will certainly have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah. 21Set up waymarks, make for thyself signposts; set thy heart toward the highway, the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. 22How long wilt thou wander about, thou backsliding daughter? For Jehovah hath created a new thing on the earth, a woman shall encompass a man.

Jeremiah 31:20 word by word

הֲבֵן֩ יַקִּ֨יר לִ֜י אֶפְרַ֗יִם אִ֚ם יֶ֣לֶד שַׁעֲשֻׁעִ֔ים כִּֽי־מִדֵּ֤י דַבְּרִי֙ בּ֔וֹ זָכֹ֥ר אֶזְכְּרֶ֖נּוּ ע֑וֹד עַל־כֵּ֗ן הָמ֤וּ מֵעַי֙ ל֔וֹ רַחֵ֥ם אֲֽרַחֲמֶ֖נּוּ נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear

• Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
• sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• childיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
• speakingדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
• stillעוֹד‛ôd ‛ôd · stillH5750
• Thereforeכֵּןkên · rightH3651
• bowelsמֵעֶהmê‛eh · bellyH4578
• mercyרָחַםrâcham · to have compassionH7355

Cross-references for Jeremiah 31:20

• Jeremiah 32:9And I bought of Hanameel, mine uncle's son, the field which is in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, seventeen shekels of silver.
• Jeremiah 3:19And as for me, I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee the pleasant land, the goodly inheritance of the hosts of the nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from following me.
• Psalms 103:13As a father pitieth [his] children, so Jehovah pitieth them that fear him.
• Proverbs 3:12for whom Jehovah loveth he chasteneth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
• Luke 15:24for this my son was dead and has come to life, was lost and has been found. And they began to make merry.
• Deuteronomy 32:36For Jehovah will judge his people, And shall repent in favour of his servants; When he seeth that power is gone, And there is none shut up or left.
• Judges 10:16And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served Jehovah; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
• Isaiah 57:16For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would fail before me, and the souls [which] I have made.
• Lamentations 3:32but if he have caused grief, he will have compassion according to the multitude of his loving-kindnesses:
• Hosea 11:8How shall I give thee over, Ephraim? [how] shall I deliver thee up, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? [how] shall I set thee as Zeboim? My heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.
• Genesis 43:30And Joseph made haste, for his bowels burned for his brother; and he sought [a place] to weep, and he went into the chamber, and wept there.
• 1 Kings 3:26Then spoke the woman whose was the living child to the king, for her bowels yearned over her son, and she said, Ah, my lord! give her the living child, and in no wise put it to death. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine; divide it.
• Philippians 1:8For God is my witness how I long after you all in [the] bowels of Christ Jesus.
• Jeremiah 48:36Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres; because the abundance that he hath gotten is perished.
• Isaiah 16:11Therefore my bowels sound like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirheres.
• Isaiah 63:15Look down from the heavens, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory! Where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy tender mercies? Are they restrained toward me?

Commentaries on Jeremiah 31:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Is Ephraim my dear son? - It is impossible to conceive any thing more tenderly affectionate than this. Let us consider the whole account. The ten tribes, called here Ephraim, for the reason before alleged, are represented as acknowledging their sins. I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himself; and in his lamentation he says, Thou hast chastised me. Though he at first rebelled against the chastisement, yet at last he submitted and acknowledged his offenses. He…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-22Verses 15-22 The religious character of the restoration of the ten tribes. Chastisement brought repentance, and with it forgiveness; therefore God decrees their restoration. Jeremiah 31:15 Ramah, mentioned because of its nearness to Jerusalem, from which it was distant about five miles. As the mother of three tribes, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, Rachel is regarded as the mother of the whole ten. This passage is quoted by Matthew (marginal reference)…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-20Verses 18-20 Ephraim (the ten tribes) is weeping for sin. He is angry at himself for his sin, and folly, and frowardness. He finds he cannot, by his own power, keep himself close with God, much less bring himself back when he is revolted. Therefore he prays, Turn thou me, and I shall be turned. His will was bowed to the will of God. When the teaching of God's Spirit went with the corrections of his providence, then the work was done. This is our comfort…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20The exiled people were always in the Lord’s thoughts. God responded to their repentance with a father's love for his lost children (compare Luke 15:11–24).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Is Ephraim my dear son? &c.--The question implies that a negative answer was to be expected. Who would have thought that one so undutiful to His heavenly Father as Ephraim had been should still be regarded by God as a "pleasant child?" Certainly he was not so in respect to his sin. But by virtue of God's "everlasting love" (Jr 31:3) on Ephraim's being "turned" to God, he was immediately welcomed as God's "dear son." This verse sets forth God's…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 31:20

• Adoption
• Bowels
• Chastisement
• Ephraim
• God Continued...

In the dictionaries

• Ephraim
• Ephraim, Ephraimite
• Remember
• Unaccustomed
• Body
• Children of God
• Dear; Dearly
• God
• Jeremiah (2)

Commentaries on Jeremiah 31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings