But to the land to which their soul longs to return, there shall they not return.”
Parallel translations
- KJV But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.
- BSB You will never return to the land for which you long.”
- NKJV But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return.
- NASB But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.
- NLT You will never again return to the land you yearn for.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Though they long to come home, they will never return. Their exile is permanent.
Overview
The exiles will yearn deeply for the land of Judah, yet God declares they will not return to it. This finality emphasizes the irreversible nature of this particular judgment on Jehoiachin's generation in exile. It conveys the heartbreak of being cut off from home, while the broader prophecy still holds out hope of a future restoration of God's people through His covenant faithfulness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Jer 44:14so that none of the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall escape or be left, to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there; for no one will return except those who will escape.’”
- Ps 86:4Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul.
- 2 Kgs 25:27–30In the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
- Jer 52:31–34In the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and released him from prison;
- Jer 22:11For Yahweh says touching Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and who went out of this place: “He shall not return there any more.
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 22:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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