Discovery BoxJeremiah 31:20 
Context31:20 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
Jeremiah 6:16
Context6:16 The Lord said to his people: 4
“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. 5
Ask where the old, reliable paths 6 are.
Ask where the path is that leads to blessing 7 and follow it.
If you do, you will find rest for your souls.”
But they said, “We will not follow it!”
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
4 tn The words, “to his people” are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.
5 tn Heb “Stand at the crossroads and look.”
6 tn Heb “the ancient path,” i.e., the path the
7 tn Heb “the way of/to the good.”
