Jeremiah 31:9
in Jeremiah 31They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall come with weeping; and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.
KJV
They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
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This verse in Jeremiah 31
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Weeping - For joy, not for sorrow. Supplications - The conviction that God is guiding them, encourages them to pray. Ephraim is My firstborn - The house of Joseph is thus to be restored to its old preeminence.
This site's exposition
For this is what the LORD
on Jeremiah 31:7-14
The company is named by its weakest members, “the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor.” “For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn” restores the north to the firstborn's place. Life becomes “like a well-watered garden.”
This site's exposition
Ephraim is My firstborn
Barnes reads the weeping as tears of joy, and the prayers as the fruit of knowing that God guides them. Jacob himself once set Ephraim first, in Genesis 48. Barnes sees the house of Joseph restored here to its old first place.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 9) In their weeping they will come (or go); I will lead them in mercy, and bring them by the torrents of water in a straight path, and they will not stumble (or wander) in it. For I have become the father of Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. If we read according to the Hebrew, they will come in weeping: for this indicates Job (); we will say that sometimes, the weeping of excessive joy is a sign, according to that: I weep with joy.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), and this beginning of mercy shall be to them a pledge of all the other blessings here promised. Though they are scattered to places far remote, yet they shall be brought together from the north country, and from the coasts of the earth; wherever they are, God will find them out.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
They shall come with weeping,....
This is a word of the Lord which the nations must hear, for it is a prophecy of a work of the Lord which the nations cannot but take notice of. Let them hear the prophecy, that they may the better understand and improve the performance; and let those that hear it themselves declare it to others, declare it in the isles afar off.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
weeping--for their past sins which caused their exile (Ps 126:5, 6). Although they come with weeping, they shall return with joy (Jer 50:4, 5). supplications--(Compare Jer 31:18, 19; Margin translates "favors," as in Jos 11:20;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3308: “Gathering in the Chosen” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THERE IS a wonderful variety in the acts of God and yet there is a most singular uniformity. So complete is this uniformity that any one deliverance which God works for His people will be found to be, in its main features, just like any other of His deliverances. Starting—for it is a convenient starting-point—with the deliverance of God's people out of Egypt, there are many points of similarity between that marvel of mercy and the bringing back of the banished tribes from Babylon to their own land.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3308: “Gathering in the Chosen” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THERE IS a wonderful variety in the acts of God and yet there is a most singular uniformity. So complete is this uniformity that any one deliverance which God works for His people will be found to be, in its main features, just like any other of His deliverances. Starting—for it is a convenient starting-point—with the deliverance of God's people out of Egypt, there are many points of similarity between that marvel of mercy and the bringing back of the banished tribes from Babylon to their own land. There was a manifestation of the same gracious consideration, of the same Omnipotent power, of the some efficient purpose worked out in all points according to God's Eternal Covenant. Then, taking another great leap, that return from Babylon is, no doubt, a very fair picture and a very excellent type of the gathering together in their own land of the Jews in the days that are yet to come when
They shall come with weeping - Duly penetrated with a sense of their sins, they shall deeply deplore them; and, while weeping for them, earnestly supplicate God to have mercy upon them. By the rivers of waters - I will so guide and provide for them in the arid deserts, that they shall find streams of water whenever necessary. Every one knows of how much consequence water is to travelers in the eastern deserts. Ephraim is my first-born - Ephraim, being the most considerable, is often put for the whole of the ten tribes.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּבְכִ֣י | bivkhi | with weeping | H1065 → | 30 times |
| יָבֹ֗אוּ | yavou | they will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וּֽבְתַחֲנוּנִים֮ | uvetachanunim | and with supplications | H8469 → | |
| אֽוֹבִילֵם֒ | ʾoilem | I will bring them | H2986 → | |
| אֽוֹלִיכֵם֙ | ʾolikhem | I will lead them | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| נַ֣חֲלֵי | nachalei | torrents of | H5158 → | 141 times |
| מַ֔יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ | bederekh | on a path | H1870 → | 707 times |
| יָשָׁ֔ר | yashar | straight | H3477 → | 119 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִכָּשְׁל֖וּ | yikashelu | they will stumble | H3782 → | 62 times |
| בָּ֑הּ | bah | in <the> it | ||
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הָיִ֤יתִי | hayiti | I have become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | leyisrael | of Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לְאָ֔ב | leav | <into> a father | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאֶפְרַ֖יִם | veefrayim | and Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| בְּכֹ֥רִי | bekhori | [is] firstborn my | H1060 → | |
| הֽוּא׃ ס | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
בִּבְכִ֣יwith weeping
bivkhiH1065 →30 times
יָבֹ֗אוּthey will come
yavouH935 →2568 times
וּֽבְתַחֲנוּנִים֮and with supplications
uvetachanunimH8469 →
אֽוֹבִילֵם֒I will bring them
ʾoilemH2986 →
אֽוֹלִיכֵם֙I will lead them
ʾolikhemH1980 →1546 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
נַ֣חֲלֵיtorrents of
nachaleiH5158 →141 times
מַ֔יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
בְּדֶ֣רֶךְon a path
bederekhH1870 →707 times
יָשָׁ֔רstraight
yasharH3477 →119 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִכָּשְׁל֖וּthey will stumble
yikasheluH3782 →62 times
בָּ֑הּin <the> it
bah
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הָיִ֤יתִיI have become
hayitiH1961 →3559 times
לְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙of Israel
leyisraelH3478 →2507 times
לְאָ֔ב<into> a father
leavH1 →1212 times
וְאֶפְרַ֖יִםand Ephraim
veefrayimH669 →180 times
בְּכֹ֥רִי[is] firstborn my
bekhoriH1060 →
הֽוּא׃ סhe
hu'H1931 →1879 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
Matthew 5:4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
it leads to
- 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.”
- 2 Corinthians 7:9–10
And now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any…
- John 16:20–22
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 61:2–3
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,
- Psalms 126:5–6
Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
- Revelation 21:4
Through
Exodus 4:22Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,
it leads to
- Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
- Romans 9:4
the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.
- Hosea 11:1
Through
Jeremiah 31:20Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares…
it leads to
- Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely…
- Isaiah 55:7
Where this verse is studied
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Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3308: “Gathering in the Chosen” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.