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Jeremiah 31:13

in Jeremiah 31

Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

KJV

Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

This verse in Jeremiah 31

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Jeremiah · Written before 420.

(Verse 13) Then the virgin shall rejoice in the dance (or the virgins) and the young men and the old men together, and I will turn their mourning into joy, and I will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow. Then the virgin will rejoice in the choir, of whom the Apostle writes: For I have betrothed you to one husband to present a chaste virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2).

This site's exposition

Sing with gladness for Jacob

on Jeremiah 31:7-14

The return is described by who is in the company: the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth, the travelers no army would take and this procession is built around, they shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn restores the disinherited north to the eldest place, and the nations are summoned as witnesses, he that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. The watered garden and the mourning turned into joy give the restoration its texture, wheat, wine, oil, flock and herd, ordinary abundance as covenant proof, as Calvin reads the passage.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together,.... Not any particular virgin, but all virgins, as Kimchi interprets it.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

on Jeremiah 31:12-13

When they shall have returned to their own land they shall come and sing in the high place of Zion; on the top of that holy mountain they shall sing to the praise and glory of God. We read that they did so when the foundation of the temple was laid there; they sang together, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, Ezra iii.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Salva res est, saltat senex--The state prospers, and the aged dance. God will turn their mourning into joy, their fasts into solemn feasts, Zech. viii. It was in the return out of Babylon that those who sowed in tears were made to reap in joy, Ps. cxxvi.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Both gives the idea of the men dancing, which is incorrect. Except at a religious solemnity 2Sa 6:14, dancing was confined to women. Render and young men and old rejoice together.

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • אָ֣זthen

    ʾazH227141 times

  • תִּשְׂמַ֤חshe will rejoice

    tismachH8055155 times

  • בְּתוּלָה֙a virgin

    betulahH133050 times

  • בְּמָח֔וֹלwith dancing

    bemacholH4234

  • וּבַחֻרִ֥יםand young men

    uvachurimH97044 times

  • וּזְקֵנִ֖יםand old [men]

    uzekenimH2205178 times

  • יַחְדָּ֑וalike

    yachdavH3162141 times

  • וְהָפַכְתִּ֨יand I will turn

    vehafakhtiH201594 times

  • אֶבְלָ֤םmourning their

    ʾevlamH6024 times

  • לְשָׂשׂוֹן֙into joy

    lesasonH834222 times

  • וְנִ֣חַמְתִּ֔יםand I will comfort them

    venichamtimH5162108 times

  • וְשִׂמַּחְתִּ֖יםand I will make glad them

    vesimachtimH8055155 times

  • מִיגוֹנָֽם׃from sorrow their

    migonamH301514 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Isaiah 51:11

    So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 25:8

      He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Revelation 21:4

      ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

    • Revelation 7:17

      For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

    • Isaiah 35:10

      So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

  • Through

    Isaiah 61:3

    to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be…

    it leads to

    • Psalms 30:11

      You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

    • Jeremiah 17:7–8

      But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.

    • John 16:20

      Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

    • Isaiah 61:10

      I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…

Where this verse is studied

About Jeremiah

The Prophet Jeremiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Prophet Jeremiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.