Back to Jeremiah 31

Jeremiah 31:24

Judah and all its cities will dwell therein together, the farmers, and those who go about with flocks.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    Judah and all its cities will dwell therein together, the farmers, and those who go about with flocks.

  • KJV King James Version

    And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.

  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together: the husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.

View more translations →

Cross-references (4)

Passages linked to Jeremiah 31:24 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.

  • Zechariah 8:4-8 Yahweh of Armies says: “Old men and old women will again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age. The streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.” Yahweh of Armies says: “If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my eyes?” says Yahweh of Armies. Yahweh of Armies says: “Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; and I will bring them, and they will dwell within Jerusalem; and they will be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.”
  • Ezekiel 36:10 I will multiply men on you, all the house of Israel, even all of it. The cities will be inhabited, and the waste places will be built.
  • Jeremiah 33:11-13 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ‘Give thanks to Yahweh of Armies, for Yahweh is good, for his loving kindness endures forever;’ who bring thanksgiving into Yahweh’s house. For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed as at the first,” says Yahweh. Yahweh of Armies says: “Yet again there will be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of him who counts them,” says Yahweh.
  • Zechariah 2:4 and said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it.

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

↑ Top

Explain this verse (11 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain He proceeds with the same subject, but sets forth…

He proceeds with the same subject, but sets forth the effect of that favor of which he had spoken, for dwell, he says, shall the Jews again in the land; that is, they shall rest there and have a quiet habitation. He adds cities, only to amplify the favor of God as to the number and multiplicity of men; as though he had said, that not a few would return, but a vast number of men, sufficient to fill their cities. Now this was to exceed the hope of all; for when they saw the cities deserted, and the land almost empty, who would have thought that they would again be filled with people? But this the Prophet confirms by saying, Dwell there shall Judah and all his cities; and he adds, husbandmen He extends God’s favor to the country and the villages, as though he had said, that the land would be filled with inhabitants, not only as to the fortified towns, but as to the fields.

It often happens that cities are inhabited when there is any fear or danger from enemies; for they who dwell in cities have walls for their defense, and mounds and other means of safety. Had then the Prophet spoken only of cities, he would not have sufficiently set forth the favor of God. Hence he adds husbandmen, as though he had said, that dwelling in the land would be safe, though there were no gates, no walls, no defences, for husbandmen would rest secure in their cottages as though inclosed within walls. We now then understand what the Prophet means.

Read full note →

Some read thus, “Husbandmen, and they who go forth with the flock,” as though the Prophet made a distinction between husbandmen and keepers of sheep; but this seems to me unsuitable; for I doubt not but that he means that husbandmen with their flocks and herds would be secure, having no fear of the inroads of enemies, but living in the land under the care and protection of God, without apprehending anything adverse or hostile to them. The meaning is, that the restoration of the Church would be such, that its state would not be worse than in former ages, and that it would be in a peaceable and quiet condition, so that the inhabitants of the villages and country places would not be less secure than those in cities.

Now, were any one to ask, when was this fulfilled? We must bear in mind what has been said elsewhere, — that the Prophets, when speaking of the restoration of the Church, included the whole kingdom of Christ from the beginning to the end. And in this our divines go astray, so that by confining these promises to some particular time, they are compelled to fly to allegories; and thus they wrest, and even pervert all the prophecies. But the Prophets, as it has been said, include the whole progress of Christ’s kingdom when they speak of the future redemption of the people. The people began to do well when they returned to their own country; but soon after distresses came as Daniel had predicted. It was, therefore, necessary for them to look for the coming of Christ. We now taste of these benefits of God as long as we are in the world. We hence see that these prophecies are not accomplished in one day, or in one year, no, not even in one age, but ought to be understood as referring to the beginning and the end of Christ’s kingdom. It follows, —

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Jer 31:24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself,…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This whole verse is but an expression of their…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Go forth - “Go about.” Judah shall have its…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Together. Jerusalem shall be large enough to contain all,…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Judah . . . cities . . . husbandmen…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 24. Go forth — Rather, go about. The phrase…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 24. they that go about] opposed to dwellers in…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (24) Husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.—The…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The ideal of outward life exhibited by the prophets…

↑ Top

Share