Back to Jeremiah 31

Jeremiah 31:38-40

“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that the city will be built to Yahweh from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner. The measuring line will go out further straight onward to the hill Gareb, and will turn toward Goah. The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, will be holy to Yahweh. It will not be plucked up or thrown down any more forever.”

World English Bible · Public Domain

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that the city will be built to Yahweh from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner.

    The measuring line will go out further straight onward to the hill Gareb, and will turn toward Goah.

    The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, will be holy to Yahweh. It will not be plucked up or thrown down any more forever.”

  • KJV King James Version

    Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

    And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.

    And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananel unto the gate of the corner.

    And the measuring line shall yet go out straight forward unto the hill Gareb, and shall turn about unto Goah.

    And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

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Cross-references (33)

  • Zechariah 14:10 (v38) All the land will be made like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she will be lifted up, and will dwell in her place,…
  • 2 Kings 14:13 (v38) Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth Shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke…
  • 2 Samuel 15:23 (v40) All the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the…
  • Jeremiah 30:18 (v38) Yahweh says: “Behold, I will reverse the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have compassion on his dwelling places. The city will be built on…
  • Joel 3:17 (v40) “So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no strangers will pass…
Show all 33 cross-references
  • 2 Kings 11:16 (v40) So they made way for her; and she went by the way of the horses’ entry to the king’s house, and she was slain there.
  • 2 Chronicles 23:15 (v40) So they made way for her. She went to the entrance of the horse gate to the king’s house; and they killed her there.
  • 2 Chronicles 26:9 (v38) Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them.
  • Jeremiah 31:27 (v38) “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of…
  • John 18:1 (v40) When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, into which he and his…
  • 2 Kings 23:6 (v40) He brought out the Asherah from Yahweh’s house, outside of Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it…
  • 2 Kings 23:12 (v40) The king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper room of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which…
  • Nehemiah 2:17–3:1 (v38) Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, let’s…
  • Nehemiah 3:28 (v40) Above the horse gate, the priests made repairs, everyone across from his own house.
  • Nehemiah 12:30-40 (v38) The priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. Then I brought up the princes…
  • Isaiah 44:28 (v38) Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure,’ even saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built;’ and of the…
  • Jeremiah 23:5 (v38) “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he will reign as king and deal wisely, and will…
  • Ezekiel 48:30-35 (v38) “These are the exits of the city: On the north side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure; and the gates of the city shall be…
  • Daniel 9:25 (v38) “Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince,…
  • Zechariah 2:1-2 (v39) I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then I asked, “Where are you going?” He said to me, “To…
  • Zechariah 14:20 (v40) In that day there will be on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO YAHWEH”; and the pots in Yahweh’s house will be like the bowls before the…
  • Isaiah 51:22 (v40) Your Lord Yahweh, your God who pleads the cause of his people, says, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of staggering, even the…
  • Jeremiah 7:31-32 (v40) They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the…
  • Jeremiah 8:2 (v40) They will spread them before the sun, the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, which they have served, after which…
  • Jeremiah 18:7 (v40) At the instant I speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it;
  • Jeremiah 19:11-13 (v40) and shall tell them, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, that can’t…
  • Jeremiah 32:36 (v40) Now therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says concerning this city, about which you say, “It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon…
  • Ezekiel 37:2 (v40) He caused me to pass by them all around: and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and behold, they were very dry.
  • Ezekiel 37:25 (v40) They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived. They will dwell therein, they, and their…
  • Ezekiel 39:29 (v40) I won’t hide my face from them any more; for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”
  • Ezekiel 40:8 (v39) He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.
  • Ezekiel 45:1-6 (v40) “ ‘ “Moreover, when you divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an offering to Yahweh, a holy portion of the land. The…
  • Ezekiel 48:35 (v40) “It shall be eighteen thousand reeds around: and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘Yahweh is there.’

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

Explain this passage (17 sources)

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

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv38–40 Here the Prophet speaks of the rebuilding of the…

Here the Prophet speaks of the rebuilding of the city. I doubt not but that his object was to shew them that the largeness and splendor of the city after the return of the people would not be less than it had been under David in its most flourishing condition. We must, however, first speak of the words before we proceed to the subject.

Behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, and built shall be the city It was not as yet destroyed; but the Prophet intimated that its utter ruin was nigh at hand; he therefore makes now their hope to depend on God’s mercy alone, as to the deliverance of the people from exile: Built then shall be the city to Jehovah from the tower of Hananeel, etc. This tower was, no doubt, placed in the wall of the city. Almost the same prediction is found in Zechariah 14:10, though there is some diversity in the words; but both the Prophets refer to the same thing. Zechariah’s object was to animate the people under this circumstance, because the beauty, greatness, and extent of the city did not at first correspond with what it had formerly been. He then promises that its glory would at length be the same as it had been; and he names there the tower of Hananeel Jeremiah adds, to the gate of the corner The corner, הפנה ephene, is in the singular number; but in Zechariah it is הפנים ephenim, in the plural; and it is thought that corners or corner is thus called metaphorically, because a corner shews two faces while it stands out, and thus two parts appear; but whether it be the gate of the corner or of the corners, it makes but little difference.

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.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v38 As it was performed, Neh. 3:1. By this description…
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv38–40 Jer 31:38 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv38–40 That is, it shall be built round, as largely…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv38–40 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,.... The word…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv38–40 The city - Shall be built round, as largely…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv38–40 Verse 38. The city shall be built to the…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v38 Jer 31:38-40. Behold, the days come, that the city…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv38–40 To the Lord - Or, for Yahweh: for His…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv38, 40 Come, is only in the margin of the Hebrew,…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv38–40 tower of Hananeel--The city shall extend beyond its former…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv38–39 38. To the Lord — Not to his honour…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv38–40 38. Behold, the days come] The word come is…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv38–40 (38) From the tower of Hananeel unto the gate…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv38–40 Vers. 38-40. The connection is not very clear. The…
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v38 Look, the days are coming
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv38–40 31:38 The Lord revealed his plan for Jerusalem to…
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