Jeremiah 31:9
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.
Study Note
Study Note
'With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back; I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn' — Jeremiah's poem of return (31:7–14) introduces the paternal-filial metaphor for the covenant with particular tenderness. The designation of Ephraim (northern Israel) as 'my firstborn' is striking: Ephraim was Joseph's younger son, granted the firstborn blessing in Genesis 48, and here YHWH's fatherly preference reverses natural expectation again. The 'weeping' (beki) of the returnees has a parallel in verse 15 — Rachel weeping for her children — creating a symmetry between grief over exile and tears of return. Matthew 2:18 quotes verse 15 in the context of Herod's massacre, reading Rachel's weeping as reactivated grief, while the return of Jeremiah 31 points toward the ultimate restoration in Christ.
Other Translations
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.
With weeping they come in, And with supplications I bring them, I cause them to go unto streams of waters, In a right way--they stumble not in it, For I have been to Israel for a father, And Ephraim--My first-born <FI>is<Fi> he.
They will come with weeping, and going before them I will be their guide: guiding them by streams of water in a straight way where there is no falling: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is the first of my sons.
Cross References
And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? …
Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our …
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness …
And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean …
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the …
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made …