Yeremia 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 

[31:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Virgin Israel.”

[31:4]  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.

[31:4]  ² sn Contrast Jer 7:34 and 25:10.

[31:5]  ³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[31:5]  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).