Jeremiah 31:22

Israel had wandered from the Lord long enough, as a wayward daughter. He would bring a new thing to pass, namely, Israel’s repentance and return to the land. The last line of this verse may have been a popular proverb describing something very unusual and unexpected. Some interpreters, following the early church father Jerome, have taken it as a prophecy about Mary’s conception of Jesus, but this seems unlikely. Others view it as simply a figure expressing security, here of Israel’s security back in the land. Perhaps the expression points to something amazing and hard to believe that would happen without being explicit about what it would be. Still other interpreters believe the woman represents Israel and the man Yahweh, the point being that the woman who had formerly departed from her Husband would cling to Him in the future (cf. Jeremiah 2:20-21; Hosea 1-3). [Note: E.g., ibid., 2:29-31.] I prefer this view. Another view is that the woman, Israel, will become aggressive and will cling to and overpower warriors among the nations who will oppose her. [Note: Wiersbe, p. 123. See Feinberg, p. 571, and idem, "Jeremiah 31:22: Proverb, Promise, or Prophecy?" Bibliotheca Sacra 123:492 (October 1996): 315-24, and 124:493 (January 1967):16-21, for further discussion.]

"Two things are ’new,’ which have not been seen before in the land: (1) Faithless Israel, who is called a whore in chap. 3, will be taken back by God, even though such a thing is never done (Jeremiah 3:1-2). (2) Mourning will be turned to joy." [Note: Scalise, p. 123.]