Yeremia 30:19

30:19 Out of those places you will hear songs of thanksgiving ¹ 

and the sounds of laughter and merriment.

I will increase their number and they will not dwindle away. ² 

I will bring them honor and they will no longer be despised.

Yeremia 31:27-28

Israel and Judah Will Be Repopulated

31:27 “Indeed, a time is coming,” ³  says the Lord, ⁴  “when I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah. ⁵  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. ⁶  I, the Lord, affirm it!” ⁷ 

[30:19]  ¹ tn Heb “Out of them will come thanksgiving and a sound of those who are playful.”

[30:19]  ² sn Compare Jer 29:6.

[31:27]  ³ tn Heb “Behold days are coming!” The particle “Behold” is probably used here to emphasize the reality of a fact. See the translator’s note on 1:6.

[31:27]  sn This same expression is found in the introduction to the Book of Consolation (Jer 30:1-3) and in the introduction to the promise of a new covenant (or covenant; 31:31). In all three passages it is emphasized that the conditions apply to both Israel and Judah. The Lord will reverse their fortunes and restore them to their lands (30:3), increase their numbers and build them up (31:27-28), and make a new covenant with them involving forgiveness of sins (31:31-34).

[31:27]  ⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “Behold, the days are coming and [= when] I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of people and of animals.” For the significance of the metaphor see the study note.

[31:27]  sn The metaphor used here presupposes that drawn in Hos 2:23 (2:25 HT) which is in turn based on the wordplay with Jezreel (meaning “God sows”) in Hos 2:22. The figure is that of plant seed in the ground which produces a crop; here what are sown are the “seeds of people and animals.” For a similar picture of the repopulating of Israel and Judah see Ezek 36:10-11. The promise here reverses the scene of devastation that Jeremiah had depicted apocalyptically and hyperbolically in Jer 4:23-29 as judgment for Judah’s sins.

[31:28]  ⁶ 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.

[31:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”