New King James Version
Jeremiah 31:21
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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Mark well the path by which you came. Come back again, my virgin Israel; return to your towns here.
Context of Jeremiah 31:21
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.’ 20Is 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. “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.” 23Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’
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 57:14And one shall say, “Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
- Isaiah 62:10Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples!
- Jeremiah 50:5They shall ask the way to Zion, With their faces toward it, saying, ‘Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord In a perpetual covenant That will not be forgotten.’
- Deuteronomy 32:46and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law.
- 1 Chronicles 29:3Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver:
- 2 Chronicles 11:16And after the Levites left, those from all the tribes of Israel, such as set their heart to seek the Lord God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers.
- 2 Chronicles 20:3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
- Psalms 62:10Do not trust in oppression, Nor vainly hope in robbery; If riches increase, Do not set your heart on them.
- Psalms 84:5Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
- Proverbs 24:32When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction:
- Ezekiel 40:4And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.”
- Haggai 1:5Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
- Jeremiah 51:6Flee from the midst of Babylon, And every one save his life! Do not be cut off in her iniquity, For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He shall recompense her.
- Isaiah 48:20Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, Declare, proclaim this, Utter it to the end of the earth; Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!”
- Isaiah 52:11Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean, You who bear the vessels of the Lord.
- Zechariah 2:6“Up, up! Flee from the land of the north,” says the Lord; “for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the Lord.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries