Jeremiah 31

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 When that time comes, Yahweh declares, I shal be the God of al the families of Israel, and they wil bemy people.	1 “In that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
2 Yahweh says this: They have found pardon in the desert, those who have survived the sword. Israel ismarching to his rest.	2 Thus says the Lord: “The people who had remained after the sword, found grace in the desert. Israel will go to his rest.”
3 Yahweh has appeared to me from afar; I have loved you with an everlasting love and so I stil maintainmy faithful love for you.	3 The Lord appeared to me from a distance: “And I have loved you in perpetual charity. Therefore, showing pity, I have drawn you.
4 I shal build you once more, yes, you wil be rebuilt, Virgin of Israel! Once more in your best attire, andwith your tambourines, you wil go out dancing gaily.	4 And I will build you up again. And you shall be built up, O virgin of Israel. Still shall you be adorned with your timbrels, and still shall you go forth to the singing of those who play.
5 Once more you wil plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria (those who plant wil themselvesenjoy the fruit).	5 Still shall you plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters will plant, and they will not gather the vintage until the time arrives.
6 Yes, a day will come when the watchmen shout on the mountains of Ephraim, 'Up! Let us go up toZion, to Yahweh our God!'	6 For there will be a day on which the guardians on mount Ephraim will cry out: ‘Arise! And let us ascend on Zion to the Lord our God!’ ”
7 For Yahweh says this: Shout with joy for Jacob! Hail the chief of nations! Proclaim! Praise! Shout,'Yahweh has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!'	7 For thus says the Lord: “Exult in the joy of Jacob, and neigh before the head of the Gentiles. Shout, and sing, and say: ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’
8 Watch, I shall bring them back from the land of the north and gather them in from the far ends of theearth. With them, the blind and the lame, women with child, women in labour, al together: a mighty throng willreturn here!	8 Behold, I will lead them from the land of the north, and I will gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, she who is with child, together with she who is giving birth: a great assembly returning to this place.
9 In tears they wil return, in prayer I shal lead them. I shal guide them to streams of water, by a smoothpath where they wil not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born son.	9 They will approach with weeping. And I will lead them back with mercy. And I will lead them through the torrents of water, by an upright way, and they will not stumble in it. For I have become Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”
10 Listen, nations, to the word of Yahweh. On the farthest coasts and islands proclaim it, say, 'He whoscattered Israel is gathering him, wil guard him as a shepherd guarding his flock.'	10 Listen to the word of the Lord, O Gentiles, and announce it amid the islands that are far away, and say: “Whoever has scattered Israel will gather him, and he will guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.”
11 For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob, rescued him from a hand stronger than his own.	11 For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and he has freed him from the hand of one more powerful.
12 They wil come, shouting for joy on the heights of Zion, thronging towards Yahweh's lavish gifts, forwheat, new wine and oil, sheep and cattle; they will be like a wel -watered garden, they wil sorrow no more.	12 And they will arrive and give praise on Mount Zion. And they will flow together, to the good things of the Lord, over grain, and wine, and oil, and the offspring of cattle and herds. And their soul will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer be hungry.
13 The young girl will then take pleasure in the dance, and young men and old alike; I shal change theirmourning into gladness, comfort them, give them joy after their troubles;	13 Then the virgin will rejoice with singing, the young and the old together, and I will turn their mourning into gladness, and I will console them and gladden them after their sorrow.
14 I shal refresh my priests with rich food, and my people wil gorge themselves on my lavish gifts,Yahweh declares.	14 And I will inebriate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people will be filled with my good things, says the Lord.”
15 Yahweh says this: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamenting and weeping bitterly: it is Rachel weeping forher children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.	15 Thus says the Lord: “A voice has been heard on high: of lamentation, mourning, and weeping; of Rachel crying for her sons and refusing to be consoled over them, because they are not.”
16 Yahweh says this: Stop your lamenting dry your eyes, for your labour wil have a reward, Yahwehdeclares, and they will return from the enemy's country.	16 Thus says the Lord: “Let your voice cease from crying and your eyes from tears. For there is a reward for your work, says the Lord. And they will return from the land of the enemy.
17 There is hope for your future after al , Yahweh declares, your children wil return to their homeland.	17 And there is hope for your very end, says the Lord. And the sons will return to their own borders.
18 I have indeed heard Ephraim's grieving, 'You flogged me, I took a flogging, like a young, untrainedbull. Bring me back, let me come back, for you are Yahweh my God!	18 Listening, I heard Ephraim going into captivity: ‘You have chastised me, and I was instructed, like a young untamed bull. Convert me, and I shall be converted. For you are the Lord my God.
19 For, since I turned away, I have repented; having understood, I beat my breast. I was deeplyashamed, I blushed, aware of the disgrace incurred when I was young.'	19 For after you converted me, I did penance. And after you revealed to me, I struck my thigh. I am confounded and ashamed. For I have endured the disgrace of my youth.’
20 Is Ephraim, then, so dear a son to me, a child so favoured, that whenever I mention him I rememberhim lovingly still? That is why I yearn for him, why I must take pity on him, Yahweh declares.	20 Certainly, Ephraim is an honorable son to me; surely, he is a tender child. For I will still remember him, as in the time when I first spoke about him. Because my heart is stirred up over him, surely I will take pity on him, says the Lord.
21 Set up your signposts, raise yourself landmarks, fix your mind on the road, the way by which youwent. Come home, Virgin of Israel, come home to these towns of yours.	21 Establish a watchtower for yourself. Place yourself in bitterness. Direct your heart into the upright way, in which you used to walk. Return, return, O virgin of Israel, to these your cities!
22 How long wil you hesitate, rebellious daughter? For Yahweh is creating something new on earth: theWoman sets out to find her Husband again.	22 How long will you be absorbed in delights, O wandering daughter? For the Lord has created something new upon the earth: a woman will encompass a man.”
23 Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this, 'In the country of Judah and in its towns, they will usethese words once more, when I bring their captives home: "Yahweh bless you, home of saving justice, holymountain!"	23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Still they will speak this word in the land of Judah, and in its cities, when I will convert their captivity: ‘May the Lord bless you, the beauty of justice, the holy mountain.’
24 'And in this country, Judah and al its towns, the ploughmen and those who wander with their flocks,wil live together,	24 And they will live in it: Judah together with all its cities, the farmer and those who drive the flocks.
25 for I shal give the weary al they need and satisfy al those whose strength has gone.'	25 For I have inebriated the weary soul, and I have satisfied every hungry soul.
26 At this, I awoke and saw that my sleep had been sweet to me.	26 Over this, I was awakened, as if from a deep sleep. And I saw, and my sleep became sweet to me.
27 'Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall sow the House of Israel and the House ofJudah with the seed both of people and of cattle.	27 Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and with the offspring of cattle.
28 And as I once watched over them to uproot, to knock down, to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster,so now I shall watch over them to build and to plant, Yahweh declares.	28 And just as I have watched over them, so that I may root up, and tear down, and scatter, and destroy, and afflict, so will I watch over them, so that I may build and plant them, says the Lord.
29 'In those days people will no longer say: "The fathers have eaten unripe grapes; the children's teethare set on edge."	29 In those days, they will no longer say: ‘The fathers ate a bitter grape, and the teeth of the sons have been affected.’
30 But each will die for his own guilt. Everyone who eats unripe grapes will have his own teeth set onedge.	30 Instead, each one will die for his own iniquity. Each man who will have eaten a bitter grape, his own teeth will be affected.
31 'Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall make a new covenant with the House ofIsrael (and the House of Judah),	31 Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will form a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
32 but not like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to bring them outof Egypt, a covenant which they broke, even though I was their Master, Yahweh declares.	32 not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand, so as to lead them away from the land of Egypt, the covenant which they nullified, though I was the ruler over them, says the Lord.
33 No, this is the covenant I shal make with the House of Israel when those days have come, Yahwehdeclares. Within them I shal plant my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I shal be their God and they wil be mypeople.	33 But this will be the covenant that I will form with the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord: I will give my law to their inner most being, and I will write it upon their heart. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 There wil be no further need for everyone to teach neighbour or brother, saying, "Learn to knowYahweh!" No, they wil al know me, from the least to the greatest, Yahweh declares, since I shal forgive theirguilt and never more cal their sin to mind.'	34 And they will no longer teach, a man his neighbor, and a man his brother, saying: ‘Know the Lord.’ For all will know me, from the littlest of them even to the greatest, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will no longer remember their sin.
35 Yahweh who provides the sun to shine by day, who regulates moon and stars to shine by night, whostirs the sea, making its waves roar, he whose name is Yahweh Sabaoth, says this,	35 Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun as the light of the day, who puts the moon and the stars in order as the light of the night, who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar: the Lord of hosts is his name.
36 'Were this established order ever to pass away before me, Yahweh declares, then the race of Israelwould also cease being a nation for ever before me!'	36 If these laws fail in my sight, says the Lord, then the offspring of Israel will also fail, so that they will not be a people in my sight for all time.”
37 Yahweh says this, 'Were the heavens above ever to be measured, the foundations of the earth belowever to be fathomed, then I too would reject the whole race of Israel for al that they have done, Yahwehdeclares.'	37 Thus says the Lord: “If the heavens above are able to be measured, and if the foundations of the earth beneath can be examined, I also will cast aside all the offspring of Israel, because of all that they have done, says the Lord.
38 'Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when the City wil be rebuilt for Yahweh, from theTower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.	38 Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when a city will be built for the Lord from the tower of Hananel, even to the Gate of the Corner;
39 Then once again the measuring line wil stretch straight to the Hil of Gareb, turning then to Goah.	39 and the measuring line will go on even further in his sight, over the hill of Gareb, and it will encircle Goah
40 And the whole valley, with its corpses and ashes, and al the ground beside the ravine of the Kidronas far as the corner of the Horse Gate, eastwards, will be consecrated to Yahweh. It will never be destroyed ordemolished again.	40 and the entire Valley of dead bodies and ashes, and the entire region of death, even to the torrent of Kedron, and to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east. All this will be the holy place of the Lord. It will not be rooted up, and it will not be torn down, anymore, forever.”