Jeremiah 31:19
in Jeremiah 31After I returned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
KJV
Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
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This verse in Jeremiah 31
Commentary
10 notes on this verseAfter that I was turned - Converted from my sin, folly, and idolatry. I repented - To conviction of sin, I now added contrition for sin. Conviction, in this sense of the word, must precede contrition or repentance. As soon as a man sees himself lost and undone, he is convicted of sin; when convicted, he begins to mourn. Thus contrition follows conviction. I smote upon my thigh - My sorrow grew deeper and deeper; I smote upon my thigh through the extremity of my distress. This was a usual sign of deep affliction. See Eze 21:
This site's exposition
I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning
on Jeremiah 31:18-22
Overheard, Ephraim asks for his return as a gift: “Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.” The Father answers at verse 20, “Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” the same picture Luke 15 gives.
This site's exposition
I struck my thigh in grief
Ephraim describes repentance in order: turning, then sorrow, then shame. Adam Clarke explains striking the thigh as a sign of deep grief, pointing to Ezekiel 21. Matthew Henry compares it to the tax collector who beat his breast, and he sees the disgrace of youth as old sins still remembered.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Let us purify ourselves by tears, that the Lord our God may hear us when we lament, as he heard Ephraim when weeping, as it is written: "I have surely heard Ephraim weeping." He expressly repeats the words of Ephraim: "You have chastised me, and I was chastised; like a calf I was not trained."
(Verse 18, 19.) Hearing, I heard Ephraim passing through (or lamenting); you chastised me, and I was instructed like an untamed heifer (or like a calf, and I did not learn); turn me, and I will be turned; for you are the Lord my God. For after you converted me (or I was captured), I repented. And after I knew (or you showed me), I struck my thigh (or I groaned), I was ashamed and embarrassed (or from the day of confusion, and I saw you), because I endured the reproach of my youth. God speaks, having heard Ephraim speaking and lamenting. There is no doubt that it signifies the ten tribes, over whom Jeroboam son of Nabath first ruled, who also made golden calves in Dan and Bethel, so that, deceived by this error, the people would cease to worship and adore the God of Israel. You have chastised me, he says, and I have been chastised. Every correction leads to salvation, which for the present seems to be sadness; and afterwards it brings forth peaceful fruits. And he says: 'Just as an untamed calf or a young bull, and I have not learned, this signifies that I have been trained with much labor and beatings in order to be converted, and I have not progressed. Convert me,' he says, 'and I will be converted.' Therefore, we cannot fulfill the same thing that we are doing penance for unless we rely on God's help. For after you have converted me and I have been converted to you, then I will know that you are the Lord my God, and my mistakes and sins will not destroy me. And after you converted me, I repented. See how great is the help of God, and how fragile is the human condition: that even this very thing, that we repent, we cannot accomplish unless the Lord converts us beforehand. And after, he says, you showed me, either repentance itself, or knowledge of you, or I recognized you, I struck my thigh. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is applicable to particular persons. Note, The sin of our youth was the reproach of our youth, and we ought often to remember it against ourselves and to bear it in a penitential sorrow and shame. He is here brought in angry at himself, having a holy indignation at himself for his sin and folly: He smote upon his thigh, as the publican upon his breast.
Surely after that I was turned I repented,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
after that I was turned, I repented--Repentance in the full sense follows, not precedes, our being turned to God by God (Zec 12:10). The Jews' "looking to Him whom they pierced" shall result in their "mourning for Him." Repentance is the tear that flows from the eye of faith turned to Jesus.
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2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
THERE are turning points in most lives. We go on in a straight line for a certain distance but suddenly we come to a place where we must make a choice of roads. All the rest of our journey may depend upon what we do at those particular points. Character often hinges on a day's resolve. Every now and then we meet with a man who has seemed hopeful enough till he has taken a wrong turn. And ever since then we have heard it said of him that "he has gone bad." That is a common and expressive phrase for going in the wrong direction openly and boldly. The man was not right before, but now he is wrong in conduct—heart and life rush together down a steep place into the sea of ruin. On the other hand, the world may not often notice it, but the lovers of the souls of men observe, with great gladness, that men and women are suddenly pulled up and caused to turn in the right direction. I meet with many who were once gay and frivolous, who are now, "much tumbled up and down in their thoughts," as Master Bunyan would have said. And I mark their regret, their hope, their trust, their brave resolve, their deliverance by the help of God, and their firm choice of that right road which they, from now on, follow earnestly. Their way is now upward, ever upward—a toilsome and rugged way it may be—but a safe and a right way, which leads them to, "glory and honor and immortality." There are many turning points and places of deliberation in the pilgrimage of life. To some, those turning points come very early in youth—while they are yet boys and girls they are visited in conscience and impressed in spirit. And blessed are they if they then and there seek the Lord. For they shall find Him, to the joy of their whole lives. To young men and maidens there are stations on the line of life where they are called upon to decide as to their future road.
THERE are turning points in most lives. We go on in a straight line for a certain distance but suddenly we come to a place where we must make a choice of roads. All the rest of our journey may depend upon what we do at those particular points. Character often hinges on a day's resolve. Every now and then we meet with a man who has seemed hopeful enough till he has taken a wrong turn. And ever since then we have heard it said of him that "he has gone bad."
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֤י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| שׁוּבִי֙ | shuvi | turned away I | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| נִחַ֔מְתִּי | nichamti | I repented | H5162 → | 108 times |
| וְאַֽחֲרֵי֙ | veacharei | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הִוָּ֣דְעִ֔י | hivadei | was instructed I | H3045 → | 945 times |
| סָפַ֖קְתִּי | safakti | I slapped | H5606 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יָרֵ֑ךְ | yarekh | a thigh | H3409 → | |
| בֹּ֚שְׁתִּי | bosheti | I was ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| וְגַם־ | vegam- | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| נִכְלַ֔מְתִּי | nikhlamti | I was humiliated | H3637 → | 38 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נָשָׂ֖אתִי | nasati | I bore | H5375 → | 656 times |
| חֶרְפַּ֥ת | cherpat | [the] reproach of | H2781 → | 73 times |
| נְעוּרָֽי׃ | neurai | youth<s> my | H5271 → | 47 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אַחֲרֵ֤יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
שׁוּבִי֙turned away I
shuviH7725 →1056 times
נִחַ֔מְתִּיI repented
nichamtiH5162 →108 times
וְאַֽחֲרֵי֙and after
veachareiH310 →715 times
הִוָּ֣דְעִ֔יwas instructed I
hivadeiH3045 →945 times
סָפַ֖קְתִּיI slapped
safaktiH5606 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יָרֵ֑ךְa thigh
yarekhH3409 →
בֹּ֚שְׁתִּיI was ashamed
boshetiH954 →127 times
וְגַם־and also
vegam-H1571 →769 times
נִכְלַ֔מְתִּיI was humiliated
nikhlamtiH3637 →38 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
נָשָׂ֖אתִיI bore
nasatiH5375 →656 times
חֶרְפַּ֥ת[the] reproach of
cherpatH2781 →73 times
נְעוּרָֽי׃youth<s> my
neuraiH5271 →47 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Luke 18:13But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’
it leads to
- Ezra 9:6
and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.
- 1 John 1:8–10
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- 1 Timothy 1:15
This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
- Psalms 41:4
I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against You.”
- Hebrews 8:12
For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
- Ezra 9:6
Through
Ezekiel 36:31Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 6:9
Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that…
- Ezekiel 20:43
There you will remember your ways and all the deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evils you have done.
- Nehemiah 9:26–35
But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
- Ezekiel 6:9
Where this verse is studied
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About Jeremiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Repentance 2.5.36; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2104: “The Inner Side of Conversion” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.