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Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
Jeremiah 31:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh says, “The people who survive the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”
  • BSB This is what the LORD says: “The people who survived the sword found favor in the wilderness when Israel went to find rest.”
  • NKJV Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness— Israel, when I went to give him rest.”
  • NASB ¶This is what the Lord says: “The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness— Israel, when it went to find its rest.”
  • NLT This is what the Lord says: “Those who survive the coming destruction will find blessings even in the barren land, for I will give rest to the people of Israel.”

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

The survivors of the sword found grace in the wilderness as God led Israel to rest. God's past faithfulness assures future restoration.

Overview

This recalls the exodus generation, who experienced God's grace in the wilderness on the way to rest in the land. By invoking that history, God pledges to show the same grace to the exiles. Remembering God's past deliverances grounds hope in His unchanging character.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 29

  • Num 10:33And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them.
  • Ps 95:11Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
  • Matt 11:28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
  • Deut 1:33Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.
  • Isa 63:7–14I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
  • Exod 1:16And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
  • Exod 33:14And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
  • Ezek 20:14–17But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.
  • Exod 17:8–13Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
  • Exod 14:8–12And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
  • Neh 9:12–15Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.
  • Ps 78:23–29Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
  • Deut 8:16Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
  • Exod 15:9–10The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
  • Deut 2:7For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
  • Exod 1:22And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
  • Heb 4:8–9For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
  • Num 14:20And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word:
  • Jer 2:2Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
  • Ps 105:37–43He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.
  • Deut 1:30The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;
  • Ps 78:52But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
  • Ps 136:16–24To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
  • Ps 78:14–16In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
  • Deut 12:9For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.
  • Deut 8:2–3And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
  • Exod 12:37And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
  • Exod 5:21And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
  • Exod 2:23And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 31:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 31:2 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.