New Living Translation
Jeremiah 31:21
21Set 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.
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
19I turned away from God, but then I was sorry. I kicked myself for my stupidity! I was thoroughly ashamed of all I did in my younger days.’ 20“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. 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. 22How long will you wander, my wayward daughter? For the Lord will cause something new to happen— Israel will embrace her God.” 23This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people of Judah and its towns will again say, ‘The Lord bless you, O righteous home, O 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 57:14God says, “Rebuild the road! Clear away the rocks and stones so my people can return from captivity.”
- Isaiah 62:10Go out through the gates! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise a flag for all the nations to see.
- Jeremiah 50:5They will ask the way to Jerusalem and will start back home again. They will bind themselves to the Lord with an eternal covenant that will never be forgotten.
- Deuteronomy 32:46he added: “Take to heart all the words of warning I have given you today. Pass them on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of these instructions.
- 1 Chronicles 29:3“And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple.
- 2 Chronicles 11:16From all the tribes of Israel, those who sincerely wanted to worship the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the Levites to Jerusalem, where they could offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
- 2 Chronicles 20:3Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting.
- Psalms 62:10Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life.
- Psalms 84:5What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
- Proverbs 24:32Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson:
- Ezekiel 40:4He said to me, “Son of man, watch and listen. Pay close attention to everything I show you. You have been brought here so I can show you many things. Then you will return to the people of Israel and tell them everything you have seen.”
- Haggai 1:5This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you!
- Jeremiah 51:6Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves! Don’t get trapped in her punishment! It is the Lord’s time for vengeance; he will repay her in full.
- Isaiah 48:20Yet even now, be free from your captivity! Leave Babylon and the Babylonians. Sing out this message! Shout it to the ends of the earth! The Lord has redeemed his servants, the people of Israel.
- Isaiah 52:11Get out! Get out and leave your captivity, where everything you touch is unclean. Get out of there and purify yourselves, you who carry home the sacred objects of the Lord.
- Zechariah 2:6The Lord says, “Come away! Flee from Babylon in the land of the north, for I have scattered you to the four winds.
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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