Jeremiah 31:20
in Jeremiah 31Is 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 the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah.
KJV
Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.
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This verse in Jeremiah 31
Commentary
9 notes on this verseIs Ephraim my dear son? - It is impossible to conceive any thing more tenderly affectionate than this. Let us consider the whole account. The ten tribes, called here Ephraim, for the reason before alleged, are represented as acknowledging their sins. I have heard Ephraim bemoaning himself; and in his lamentation he says, 1. Thou hast chastised me. 2. Though he at first rebelled against the chastisement, yet at last he submitted and acknowledged his offenses. 3. He turned from all his offenses; he was converted.
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
Therefore My heart yearns for him
Ephraim's confession in verses 18 and 19 is met by a father's answer. Adam Clarke calls it the most tender speech he can conceive, the reply to a son who first resisted discipline and then turned. The Lord's words against Ephraim never erased His memory of him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 20.) If Ephraim is an honorable son (or beloved) to me: if he is a delicate child, since I spoke of him (or my words about him), I will still remember him; therefore my heart is troubled for him: I will have mercy on him, says the Lord.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Is Ephraim my dear son?....
Is he not a pleasant child? Yes, now he is, now he repents and returns. Note, Those that have been undutiful backsliding children, if they sincerely return and repent, however they have been under the chastisement of the rod, shall be accepted of God as dear and pleasant children.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Is Ephraim my dear son? &c.--The question implies that a negative answer was to be expected. Who would have thought that one so undutiful to His heavenly Father as Ephraim had been should still be regarded by God as a "pleasant child?" Certainly he was not so in respect to his sin.
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."
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲבֵן֩ | haven | ¿ a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יַקִּ֨יר | yakir | dear | H3357 → | |
| לִ֜י | li | of me | ||
| אֶפְרַ֗יִם | ʾefrayim | [is] Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| אִ֚ם | ʾim | or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יֶ֣לֶד | yeled | a child of | H3206 → | |
| שַׁעֲשֻׁעִ֔ים | shaashuim | delight<s> | H8191 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִדֵּ֤י | midei | as often as | H1767 → | 39 times |
| דַבְּרִי֙ | daberi | speak I | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בּ֔וֹ | bo | in <the> him | ||
| זָכֹ֥ר | zakhor | certainly <to remember> | H2142 → | 230 times |
| אֶזְכְּרֶ֖נּוּ | ʾezkerenu | I remember him | H2142 → | 230 times |
| ע֑וֹד | od | still | H5750 → | 490 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֗ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הָמ֤וּ | hamu | they are in a tumult | H1993 → | 34 times |
| מֵעַי֙ | meai | inward parts my | H4578 → | 32 times |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | for <the> him | ||
| רַחֵ֥ם | rachem | surely <have compassion> | H7355 → | 47 times |
| אֲֽרַחֲמֶ֖נּוּ | ʾarachamenu | I will have compassion on him | H7355 → | 47 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ ס | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
הֲבֵן֩¿ a son
havenH1121 →4930 times
יַקִּ֨ירdear
yakirH3357 →
לִ֜יof me
li
אֶפְרַ֗יִם[is] Ephraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
אִ֚םor?
ʾimH518 →1069 times
יֶ֣לֶדa child of
yeledH3206 →
שַׁעֲשֻׁעִ֔יםdelight<s>
shaashuimH8191 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מִדֵּ֤יas often as
mideiH1767 →39 times
דַבְּרִי֙speak I
daberiH1696 →1141 times
בּ֔וֹin <the> him
bo
זָכֹ֥רcertainly <to remember>
zakhorH2142 →230 times
אֶזְכְּרֶ֖נּוּI remember him
ʾezkerenuH2142 →230 times
ע֑וֹדstill
odH5750 →490 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֗ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
הָמ֤וּthey are in a tumult
hamuH1993 →34 times
מֵעַי֙inward parts my
meaiH4578 →32 times
ל֔וֹfor <the> him
lo
רַחֵ֥םsurely <have compassion>
rachemH7355 →47 times
אֲֽרַחֲמֶ֖נּוּI will have compassion on him
ʾarachamenuH7355 →47 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָֽה׃ סYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Isaiah 55:7Let 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…
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
- James 4:8–10
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Ezekiel 18:21–23
But if the wicked man turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.
- Luke 15:10
In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
- Isaiah 44:22
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
- Proverbs 28:13
Through
Psalms 103:13As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
it leads to
- Luke 11:11–12
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
- Hebrews 12:5–11
And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.
- Luke 15:21–22
The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
- Luke 11:11–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies27
On this verse
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.