God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 31:21
21Set up landmarks! Put up road signs! Remember the highway, the road on which you traveled. Come back, my dear people Israel, come back to your cities.
Jeremiah 31:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
- New International Version (NIV)“Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, Virgin Israel, return to your towns.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities.
Context of Jeremiah 31:21
19After I was turned around, I changed the way I thought and acted. After I was taught a lesson, I hung my head in shame. I was so ashamed and humiliated, because of all the stupid things I have done ever since I was young.’ 20Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? Even though I have often spoken against him, I still think fondly of him. That is why my heart longs for him, and I will certainly have compassion on him,” declares the Lord. Set up landmarks! Put up road signs! Remember the highway, the road on which you traveled. Come back, my dear people Israel, come back to your cities. 22How long will you wander around, you unfaithful people? The Lord will create something new on earth: A woman will protect a man. 23This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: When I have brought them back from captivity, they will once again use this saying in Judah and in its cities: “The Lord bless you, home of righteousness, holy mountain.
Read all of Jeremiah 31Jeremiah 31:21 word by word
הַצִּ֧יבִי לָ֣ךְ צִיֻּנִ֗ים שִׂ֤מִי לָךְ֙ תַּמְרוּרִ֔ים שִׁ֣תִי לִבֵּ֔ךְ לַֽמְסִלָּ֖ה דֶּ֣רֶךְ הָלָ֑כְתְּ שׁ֚וּבִי בְּתוּלַ֣ת יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל שֻׁ֖בִי אֶל־עָרַ֥יִךְ אֵֽלֶּה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Set thee upנָצַבnâtsab · to standH5324
- waymarksצִיּוּןtsîyûn · signpostH6725
- makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
- thee high heapsתַּמְרוּרtamrûr · signpostH8564
- setשִׁיתshîyth · to set: considerH7896
- thine heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- toward the highwayמְסִלָּהmesillâh · highwayH4546
- the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870
- thou wentestהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- turn againשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- O virginבְּתוּלָהbethûlâh · virginH1330
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- to these thy citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
Cross-references for Jeremiah 31:21
- Isaiah 57:14It will be said: “Build a road! Build a road! Prepare the way! Remove every obstacle in the way of my people!”
- Isaiah 62:10Go through! Go through the gates! Prepare a way for the people! Build up! Build up the highway! Clear away the stones! Raise a flag for the people!
- Jeremiah 50:5They will ask which road goes to Zion and turn in that direction. They will go there to make a permanent agreement with the Lord. It will not be forgotten.
- Deuteronomy 32:46he said to them, “Pay attention to all these warnings I’ve given you today. Then you will command your children to faithfully obey every word of these teachings.
- 1 Chronicles 29:3Moreover, I delight in the temple of my God. I have a personal treasury of gold and silver that I’m giving to my God’s temple in addition to everything else I gathered for the holy temple.
- 2 Chronicles 11:16People from every tribe of Israel who were determined to seek the Lord God of Israel followed the Levitical priests to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their ancestors.
- 2 Chronicles 20:3Frightened, Jehoshaphat decided to ask for the Lord’s help. He announced a fast throughout Judah.
- Psalms 62:10Do not count on extortion ⌞to make you rich⌟. Do not hope to gain anything through robbery. When riches increase, do not depend on them.
- Psalms 84:5Blessed are those who find strength in you. Their hearts are on the road ⌞that leads to you⌟.
- Proverbs 24:32When I observed ⌞this⌟, I took it to heart. I saw it and learned my lesson.
- Ezekiel 40:4He said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and listen with your ears. Pay close attention to everything I’m going to show you. You were brought here to be shown these things. Tell the nation of Israel everything that you see.”
- Haggai 1:5Now, this is what the Lord of Armies says: Carefully consider your ways!
- Jeremiah 51:6Run away from Babylon! Run for your lives! You shouldn’t die because of Babylon’s crimes. This is the time for the vengeance of the Lord. He will pay the people of Babylon back for what they have done.
- Isaiah 48:20Leave Babylon; flee from the Babylonians! Shout for joy as you tell it and announce it. Shout it out to the ends of the earth. Say that the Lord has reclaimed his servant Jacob.
- Isaiah 52:11Run away! Run away! Get away from there! Do not touch anything unclean. Get away from it! Make yourselves pure, you Levites who carry the utensils for the Lord’s temple.
- Zechariah 2:6“Hurry, hurry! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. I’ve scattered you to the four winds of heaven.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 31:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Set thee up waymarks - Alluding to stones, or heaps of stones, which travelers in the desert set up to ascertain the way, that they may know how to return. Mark the way to Babylon: thither ye shall certainly go; but from it ye shall as certainly return.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. 21-26Verses 21-26 The way from the bondage of sin to the liberty of God's children, is a high-way. It is plain, it is safe; yet none are likely to walk in it, unless they set their hearts towards it. They are encouraged by the promise of a new, unheard-of, extraordinary thing; a creation, a work of Almighty power; the human nature of Christ, formed and prepared by the power of the Holy Ghost: and this is here mentioned as an encouragement to the Jews to return…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21road markers...signposts: The Lord led his people back to Israel and restored their spiritual relationship with Him.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. waymarks--pillars to mark the road for the returning exiles. Caravans set up pillars, or pointed heaps of stones, to mark the way through the desert against their return. So Israel is told by God to mark the way by which they went in leaving their country for exile; for by the same way they shall return. highway--(Is 35:8, 10).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 31:21
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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