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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)“Is not Israel still my son, my darling child?” says the Lord. “I often have to punish him, but I still love him. That’s why I long for him and surely will have mercy on him.

Context of Jeremiah 31:20

18I have heard Ephraim grieving, 'You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God. 19For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.' 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. 21"Set up road markers for yourself; make yourself guideposts; consider well the highway, the road by which you went. Return, O virgin Israel, return to these your cities. 22How long will you waver, O faithless daughter? For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encircles 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

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 32:9"And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.
• Jeremiah 3:19"'I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.
• Psalms 103:13As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
• Proverbs 3:12for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
• Luke 15:24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.
• Deuteronomy 32:36For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.
• Judges 10:16So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.
• Isaiah 57:16For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made.
• Lamentations 3:32but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
• Hosea 11:8How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.
• Genesis 43:30Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there.
• 1 Kings 3:26Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death." But the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him."
• Philippians 1:8For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
• Jeremiah 48:36Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-hareseth. Therefore the riches they gained have perished.
• Isaiah 16:11Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth.
• Isaiah 63:15Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from 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