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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 31:18-26

We have here, I. Ephraim's repentance, and return to God. Not only Judah, but Ephraim the ten tribes, shall be restored, and therefore shall thus be prepared and qualified for it, Hos. 14:8. Ephraim shall say, What have I do to any more with idols? Ephraim the people, is here spoken of as a single person to denote their unanimity; they shall be as one man in their repentance and shall glorify God in it with one mind and one mouth, one and all. It is likewise thus expressed that it might be the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 31:20

Is Ephraim my dear son ?.... Questions put in this form, in the Hebrew language, usually more vehemently deny; and then the sense must be, Ephraim is not my dear son: and agreeably to this all the following clauses must be interpreted; which seems quite contrary to the scope and design of the context: wherefore it seems better to render the words thus, " Is not Ephraim my dear son?" F23 הבן יקיר לי "nonne filius pretiosus mihi?" Pagninus, Montanus. yes, he is; and so is... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 31:20

Is 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, Thou hast chastised me. Though he at first rebelled against the chastisement, yet at last he submitted and acknowledged his offenses. He turned from all his offenses;... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 31:20

Verse 20 God here complains of the Israelites, because he had produced so little an effect on them by his great goodness: for the adoption with which he had favored them was an immense benefit;but by their ingratitude they had in a manner annihilated that favor. God then here asks, what sort of people the Israelites had been. But a question makes a thing stronger; for he who asks a question shews that he speaks not of a thing uncertain, but the knowledge of which is so conspicuous that it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 31:15-22

From this glorious prospect Jeremiah's eye turns to the melancholy present. The land of Ephraim is orphaned and desolate. The prophet seems to hear Rachel weeping for her banished children, and comforts her with the assurance that they shall yet be restored. For Ephraim has come to repentance, and longs for reconciliation with his God, and God, who has overheard his soliloquy, relents, and comes to meet him with gracious promises. Then another voice is heard summoning Ephraim to prepare for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 31:18-21

Ephraim bemoaning himself; or, the penitent's restoration. The exiled Israelites are represented as about to grieve over their apostasy, and to seek God in confession and prayer. The answer of God is full of mercy and encouragement. The Captivity is to be brought back, and the cities of Israel are to be again occupied. I. THE STAGES AND PROCESSES OF TRUE REPENTANCE . ( Jeremiah 31:18 , Jeremiah 31:19 .) 1 . Conviction and acknowledgment of sin. The unbroken... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 31:20

The Divine speaker asks, as it were in surprise, whether Ephraim, who has so flagrantly sinned against him, can really be his dear (or, precious ) son , his pleasant child (literally, child of caressing, i.e. one caressed). The latter expression occurs in a remarkable passage of Isaiah ( Isaiah 5:7 ). Since I spake against him; rather, as often as I spake against him; i.e. as often as I pronounced sentence against Ephraim—such a sentence as is recorded in Isaiah 9:8-21 (where... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 31:15-22

The religious character of the restoration of the ten tribes. Chastisement brought repentance, and with it forgiveness; therefore God decrees their restoration.Jeremiah 31:15Ramah, mentioned because of its nearness to Jerusalem, from which it was distant about five miles. As the mother of three tribes, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, Rachel is regarded as the mother of the whole ten. This passage is quoted by Matthew (marginal reference) as a type. In Jeremiah it is a poetical figure... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Jeremiah 31:20

Jeremiah 31:20. Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he, &c. These questions are designed to be answered in the affirmative, as appears from the inference, therefore my bowels are moved for him. It seems that, to suit the idiom of our language, and fully to express the sense of the original, the particle not ought to have been supplied, and the clause to have been read, Is not Ephraim my dear son? Is he not a pleasant child? That is, is he not one that I have set my affections on, as a... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 31:1-22

The people return home (31:1-22)God has not forgotten any of his people who have been driven into a harsh existence in distant countries. Those of both the northern kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom Judah will share in the restoration to the land of their ancestors (31:1-3). They will be reunited in a land of renewed contentment and prosperity. They will join again in the national religious festivals at Jerusalem (4-6).The prophet pictures the joyous journey back to Palestine. Even the... read more

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