Revised Version 1895
Jeremiah 31:20
20Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for as often as I speak 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.
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 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.
Context of Jeremiah 31:20
18I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. 19Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for as often as I speak 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. 21Set thee up waymarks, make thee guide-posts: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. 22How long wilt thou go hither and thither, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall encompass a man.
Read all of Jeremiah 31Jeremiah 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
- Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
- dearיַקִּירyaqqîyr · preciousH3357
- sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- childיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
- oftenדַּיday · sufficiencyH1767
- speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- againstעַל‛al · uponH5921
- doאִם'im · if: surely yesH518
- rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
- stillעוֹד‛ôd ‛ôd · stillH5750
- bowelsמֵעֶהmê‛eh · bellyH4578
- surelyכִּיkîy · forH3588
- mercyרָחַםrâcham · to have compassionH7355
- LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Jeremiah 31:20
- Jeremiah 32:9And I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel mine uncle’s son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
- Jeremiah 3:19But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations? and I said, Ye shall call me My father; and shall not turn away from following me.
- Psalms 103:13Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
- Proverbs 3:12For whom the LORD loveth he reproveth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
- 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 32:36For the LORD shall judge his people, And repent himself for his servants; When he seeth that their power is gone, And there is none remaining, shut up or left at large.
- Judges 10:16And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
- Isaiah 57:16For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
- Lamentations 3:32For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
- Hosea 11:8How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my compassions are kindled together.
- Genesis 43:30And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
- 1 Kings 3:26Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, Oh my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, It shall be neither mine nor thine; divide it.
- Philippians 1:8For God is my witness, how I long after you all in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.
- Jeremiah 48:36Therefore mine heart soundeth for Moab like pipes, and mine heart soundeth like pipes for the men of Kir-heres: therefore the abundance that he hath gotten is perished.
- Isaiah 16:11Wherefore my bowels sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-heres.
- Isaiah 63:15Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy mighty acts? the yearning of thy bowels and thy compassions are restrained toward 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
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
Revised Version 1895 — 1895 — Public Domain
Commentaries