EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Jeremiah 31:20
20But Israel's people are my own dear children. I still love them, even when I have to speak against them. I can never forget them. I only want to help them. I will certainly be kind to them.’ That is what the Lord says.
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
18‘I have heard Israel's people when they are sad. They say to me, “You punished us, and we accepted it. You taught us to obey you, like a farmer teaches an ox to work for him. So let us come back to serve you. We are ready to return to you, because you are the Lord, our God. 19After we turned away from you, we were sorry that we had done that. We understood what we had done, and we showed that we were sad. We were ashamed and upset, because of the disgusting things that we did when we were young.” But Israel's people are my own dear children. I still love them, even when I have to speak against them. I can never forget them. I only want to help them. I will certainly be kind to them.’ That is what the Lord says. 21‘People of Israel, put up signs along the roads, so that you know the way to go. Remember the road that you travelled on when you went away from your land. Now return, my special people, Israel. Return to your cities that you had to leave. 22You went away from me, like a daughter who refuses to obey her father. Do not continue to turn away from me. I, the Lord, promise to do a new thing. Women will take care of men!’
Read all of Jeremiah 31Jeremiah 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
- my dearיַקִּירyaqqîyr · preciousH3357
- sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- a pleasantשַׁעֲשֻׁעִיםsha‛shûa‛ · delightH8191
- childיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
- for sinceדַּיday · sufficiencyH1767
- I spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- against him, I do earnestlyזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
- him still: therefore my bowelsמֵעֶהmê‛eh · bellyH4578
- are troubledהָמָהhâmâh · to roarH1993
- for him; I will surelyרָחַםrâcham · to have compassionH7355
- upon him, saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Jeremiah 31:20
- Jeremiah 32:9So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed 17 shekels of silver to pay him for it.
- Jeremiah 3:19I thought this: “I want you people of Israel to be my children. That would make me very happy. I want to give you a good land as your home. It is a more beautiful land than any other nation enjoys.” I thought that you would call me “Father”. I thought that you would always be faithful to me.
- Psalms 103:13As a father is kind to his children, the Lord is kind to us. He is kind to people who worship him.
- Proverbs 3:12He is doing it because he loves you. When a father loves his son very much, he warns him when he does something wrong.
- Luke 15:24I thought that my son here was dead. But now he has returned to me and he is alive! I thought that he had left me for all time. But now he has come home.” Then they all began to be happy together.
- Deuteronomy 32:36At that time, the Lord will bring justice for his people. He will forgive his servants. He will rescue them when he sees that they are weak, and very few of them remain, as slaves or free people.
- Judges 10:16Then they threw away all the idols of foreign gods that they had been worshipping. They began to worship the Lord again. Finally, the Lord decided to help them, because he saw how upset they were.
- Isaiah 57:16I will not always speak against my people. I will not be angry with them for ever. I do not want them to lose hope completely. I myself gave life to them.
- Lamentations 3:32He does cause people to feel sad sometimes, but he is sorry for us. He is also very kind to us, because he loves us very much.
- Hosea 11:8Israel, I cannot leave you alone. I cannot let you belong to someone else. I cannot destroy you, as I did to Admah and Zeboiim. I now realize that I love you too much. I could never destroy you completely.
- Genesis 43:30Joseph loved Benjamin very much. He quickly went out of the room because he wanted to weep. Joseph went into his own room and he wept there.
- 1 Kings 3:26Then the mother of the child who was alive spoke to the king. She loved her son very much. So she said to the king, ‘My lord, please do not kill the baby! Instead, give him to the other woman.’ But the other woman said, ‘Neither of us should have him. Cut him in two pieces!’
- Philippians 1:8God knows that I very much want to be with all of you. I love you very much, just like Christ Jesus himself loves you.
- Jeremiah 48:36So I am very sad for the people of Moab. I weep like a flute that plays a funeral song. I am sad for the people of Kir-Heres, because all their riches will disappear.
- Isaiah 16:11So I cry deep inside me for Moab. I cry like the sad music of a harp. I am very upset for Kir-Hareseth.
- Isaiah 63:15So now, do something to help us! Look down from your beautiful, holy home in heaven. Use your power to show that we are your special people. Have you forgotten how to be kind to us?
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
In the dictionaries
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
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