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 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

18“I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For You are the Lord my God. 19Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’ 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. 21“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. 22How long will you gad about, O you backsliding daughter? For the Lord has created a new thing in 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

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 from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.
• Jeremiah 3:19“But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ “And I said: ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,” And not turn away from Me.’
• Psalms 103:13As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
• Proverbs 3:12For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just 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 be merry.
• Deuteronomy 32:36“For the Lord will judge His people And have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their power is gone, And there is no one remaining, bond or free.
• Judges 10:16So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.
• Isaiah 57:16For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made.
• Lamentations 3:32Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies.
• Hosea 11:8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred.
• Genesis 43:30Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there.
• 1 Kings 3:26Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”
• Philippians 1:8For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.
• Jeremiah 48:36Therefore My heart shall wail like flutes for Moab, And like flutes My heart shall wail For the men of Kir Heres. Therefore the riches they have acquired have perished.
• Isaiah 16:11Therefore my heart shall resound like a harp for Moab, And my inner being for Kir Heres.
• Isaiah 63:15Look down from heaven, And see from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, The yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me? Are they restrained?

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