The measuring line shall go out further straight onward to the hill Gareb, and shall turn about to Goah.
Parallel translations
- KJV And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
- BSB The measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah.
- NKJV The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath.
- NASB The measuring line will go out farther straight ahead, to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah.
- NLT A measuring line will be stretched out over the hill of Gareb and across to Goah.
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 measuring line will extend the rebuilt city's bounds out to Gareb and around to Goah. It pictures the deliberate, expansive restoration of Jerusalem.
Overview
Continuing the survey of the renewed city, God describes the measuring line marking out enlarged borders, an image of careful, intentional rebuilding. Measuring imagery elsewhere signifies God's claim and purpose over a place (cf. Zech. 2:1-2; Rev. 21:15). The certainty and scope of this restoration display God's commitment to dwell among His people, fully realized in the city He is building in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Zech 2:1–2I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.
- Ezek 40:8He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 31:39 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.