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
But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are …
Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art …
That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?
And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way …
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed …
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even …
Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will …
When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord …