Jeremiah 31:4-5

31:4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, 1 

so that you will once again be built up.

Once again you will take up the tambourine

and join in the happy throng of dancers. 2 

31:5 Once again you will plant vineyards

on the hills of Samaria. 3 

Those who plant them

will once again enjoy their fruit. 4 

Jeremiah 31:28

31:28 In the past I saw to it that they were uprooted and torn down, that they were destroyed and demolished. But now I will see to it that they are built up and firmly planted. 5  I, the Lord, affirm it!” 6 

1 tn Heb “Virgin Israel.”

sn For the significance of this metaphor see the note on Jer 14:17. Here the emphasis appears on his special love and care for his people and the hint (further developed in vv. 21-22) that, though guilty of sin, he considers them like an innocent young virgin.

2 sn Contrast Jer 7:34 and 25:10.

3 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

4 sn The terms used here refer to the enjoyment of a period of peace and stability and the reversal of the curse (contrast, e.g., Deut 28:30). The Hebrew word translated “enjoy its fruit” is a technical one that refers to the owner of a vineyard getting to enjoy its fruit in the fifth year after it was planted, the crops of the first three years lying fallow, and that of the fourth being given to the Lord (cf. Lev 19:23-25).

5 tn Heb “Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and demolish, so I will watch over them to build and to plant.” The words here repeat those of 1:10 and 1:12.

6 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”