Discovery BoxJeremiah 31:36-40 
Context31:36 The Lord affirms, 1 “The descendants of Israel will not
cease forever to be a nation in my sight.
That could only happen if the fixed ordering of the heavenly lights
were to cease to operate before me.” 2
31:37 The Lord says, “I will not reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all that they have done. 3
That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured
or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored,” 4
says the Lord. 5
31:38 “Indeed a time is coming,” 6 says the Lord, 7 “when the city of Jerusalem 8 will be rebuilt as my special city. 9 It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate. 10 31:39 The boundary line will extend beyond that, straight west from there to the Hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah. 11 31:40 The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown 12 and all the terraced fields 13 out to the Kidron Valley 14 on the east as far north 15 as the Horse Gate 16 will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. 17 The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.”
1 tn Heb “Oracle of the
2 tn Heb “‘If these fixed orderings were to fail to be present before me,’ oracle of the
3 sn This answers Jeremiah’s question in 14:19.
4 tn Heb “If the heavens above could be measured or the foundations of the earth below be explored, then also I could reject all the seed of Israel for all they have done.”
5 tn Heb “Oracle of the
6 tc The words “is coming” (בָּאִים, ba’im) are not in the written text (Kethib) but are supplied in the margin (Qere), in several Hebrew
sn On this idiom compare vv. 27, 31.
7 tn Heb “Oracle of the
8 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
9 tn Heb “the city will be built to [or for] the
10 tn The word “westward” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation to give some orientation.
sn The Tower of Hananel is referred to in Neh 3:1; 12:39; Zech 14:10. According to the directions given in Neh 3 it was in the northern wall, perhaps in the northeast corner, north of the temple mount. The Corner Gate is mentioned again in 2 Kgs 14:13; 2 Chr 25:23; 26:9; Zech 14:10. It is generally agreed that it was located in the northwest corner of the city.
11 tn The words “west” and “southward” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to give some orientation.
sn The location of the Hill of Gareb and the place called Goah are not precisely known. However, it has been plausibly suggested from the other localities mentioned that the reference is to the hill west of the Hinnom valley mentioned in Josh 15:8. The location of Goah is generally placed south of that near the southwest corner of the Hinnom Valley which is referred to in the next verse.
12 sn It is generally agreed that this refers to the Hinnom Valley which was on the southwestern and southern side of the city. It was here where the people of Jerusalem had burned their children as sacrifices and where the
13 tc The translation here follows the Qere and a number of Hebrew
14 sn The Kidron Valley is the valley that joins the Hinnom Valley in the southeastern corner of the city and runs northward on the east side of the city.
15 tn The words “on the east” and “north” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to give orientation.
16 sn The Horse Gate is mentioned in Neh 3:28 and is generally considered to have been located midway along the eastern wall just south of the temple area.
17 tn The words “will be included within this city that is” are not in the text. The text merely says that “The whole valley…will be sacred to the
sn The area that is here delimited is larger than any of the known boundaries of Jerusalem during the OT period. Again, this refers to the increase in population of the restored community (cf. 31:27).
