31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.
They are the children I take delight in. 1
For even though I must often rebuke them,
I still remember them with fondness.
So I am deeply moved with pity for them 2
and will surely have compassion on them.
I, the Lord, affirm it! 3
1 tn Heb “Is Ephraim a dear son to me or a child of delight?” For the substitution of Israel for Ephraim and the plural pronouns for the singular see the note on v. 18. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.c the question is rhetorical having the force of an impassioned affirmation. See 1 Sam 2:27; Job 41:9 (41:1 HT) for parallel usage.
2 tn Heb “my stomach churns for him.” The parallelism shows that this refers to pity or compassion.
3 tn Heb “Oracle of the