Jeremiah 31:8

Jer 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, [and] with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.

Ver. 8. Behold, I will bring them.] Here is a present answer to such a prayer; and this promise hath its performance chiefly in the kingdom of Christ, who will not suffer the least or the weakest of his to miscarry. See Isa 35:5-6.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jer 31:8-9. Behold, I will bring them from the north country — Here God himself undertakes to conduct home the remnant of his people from the countries through which they had been scattered; and the promise relates to the ten tribes, as well as to those of Judah and Benjamin; for Assyria and Media, whither they were removed, lay north of Judea as well as Babylon. And the following words speak of a general restoration of this people from their several dispersions; and with them the blind and the lame, &c. —

God will compassionate their infirmities, and will conduct them with all imaginable care and tenderness, and furnish the feeble and indigent of them with suitable accommodations. The prophet alludes to the care and compassion which God manifested in conducting his people, of all ages and conditions, through the wilderness, compared to the care with which a parent or nurse carries a tender child, Deu 1:31. See also Isa 40:11; Isa 49:10. They shall come with weeping — The LXX. translate the words, Εν κλαυθμω εξηλθον, και εν παρακλησει αναξω αυτους, they went forth with weeping, but with comfort will I bring them back; which sense agrees exactly with the words of Psa 136:5-6, which was composed upon occasion of the return from captivity, He that sows in tears shall reap in joy: he that goeth forth weeping, shall come again with rejoicing. Our translation, however, is much more agreeable to the original words, and is also confirmed by Jer 3:21, where we read, A voice was heard, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel; the prophet speaking upon the same subject, and in the same words here used. See also chap. Jer 50:4, where it is said, The children of Israel and Judah shall come together, going and weeping, and seek the Lord their God. All which words imply, that the Jews and Israelites, at the time of their general restoration, shall have their joy tempered with tears of repentance for their former miscarriages; which is more fully expressed Zec 12:10, where God promises to pour upon them the spirit of grace and supplication. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters — So that they shall not be afflicted with thirst, or the want of any accommodation in their journey. The words allude to God’s miraculously supplying the Israelites with water in the wilderness. See notes on Isa 35:6-7; Isa 41:17-18; Isa 49:10. In a straight way wherein they shall not stumble — This phrase is an allusion to God’s leading the Israelites through the Red sea, and afterward in the wilderness. See Isa 63:13; Isa 42:16. For I am a father to Israel — The remembrance of former connections is here mentioned as the motive of God’s returning favour to Israel. And Ephraim is my firstborn — Ephraim is often, as here, equivalent to Israel, especially when Israel denotes the ten tribes as distinct from Judah. He is termed the firstborn among the tribes of Israel; because the birthright which Reuben had forfeited was conferred upon the two sons of Joseph, of whom Ephraim had the precedence. “The reader will observe, that all this was but imperfectly verified in the return of the Jews from Babylon, but was fully made good in those who were made partakers of the gospel of Christ, in the miracles, in the preaching of the apostles, in the free grace and pardoning mercy of the Redeemer.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31:8 The Lord promised to gather the surviving exiles from wherever they were scattered without overlooking the weak and helpless. • The great company of exiles who returned in 538–536 BC numbered 49,697 (Ezra 2:64).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He showeth what shall be the concord and love of all under the Gospel, when none shall be refused for their infirmities: and everyone shall exhort one another to embrace it.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

north--Assyria, Media, &c. (see on Jer 3:12; Jer 3:18; Jer 23:8).

gather from . . . coasts of . . . earth-- (Eze 20:34, Eze 20:41; Eze 34:13).

blind . . . lame, &c.--Not even the most infirm and unfit persons for a journey shall be left behind, so universal shall be the restoration.

a great company--or, they shall return "in a great company" [MAURER].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 8. I will bring them from the north country] From Babylon.

From the coasts of the earth] The ten tribes were carried away partly into Assyria by Tiglath-pileser, and partly into Mesopotamia and Media by Shalmaneser, 2Kg 15:29; 2Kg 17:6. Assyria and Media, being very distant from Palestine, might have been called, in prophetic language, the coasts of the earth.

The blind and the lame] I will so effectually remove all difficulties out of the way, so provide for them on the journey, so supernaturally support their bodies and minds, that the veriest invalids shall safely proceed to, and happily arrive at, the end of their journey.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Prophet again confirms the same truth, but with amplification. For this oracle is not only prefaced as having proceeded from God, but that the address might be more forcible, he introduces God himself as the speaker, Behold me restoring them from, the land of the north; for Babylon, as it is well known, was northward from Judea. And whenever the Prophets speak of the deliverance of the people, they ever name the north; as, also, when they threaten the people, they say that an army or a calamity was to come from the north. They had before been delivered from the south, for such was the situation of Egypt. The Prophet now intimates that God was furnished with power to liberate them again from the land of the north.

Then he says, and I will collect them from the sides of the earth: by sides, he means the extremities or the corners, so to speak, of the earth; as though he had said, that their dispersion would not prevent God from collecting his people.

Nearly the same promise was announced by Moses, though in other words, —

“Though thou wert dispersed through the four quarters of the world, I will yet from thence collect thee.” (Deuteronomy 30:4)

God there means that distance of places would be no obstacle to him, but that as soon as the fit time arrived, he would again collect his Church from its dispersion. We hence see what the Prophet understands by the sides of the earth. And he intended to obviate a doubt which might have depressed the minds of the people on seeing the body torn and deformed: “Eh! how can it be, that we can again come together?” In order then to remove this doubt, the Prophet says that God would come to collect his people again, not only from one corner, but also from the extreme regions of the earth.

He then adopts another mode of speaking, in order to shew that no impediment would be so strong as to exceed God’s power, when his purpose was to deliver his people: The blind, he says, and the lame, the pregnant, and the one in travail, shall come The blind cannot move a step without stumbling or falling; then the blind are by no means fit to undertake a journey, for there is no way which they can see as open for them; and the lame, when there is a way for them, cannot make any progress. But God promises that such would be their deliverance, that both the lame and the blind would participate of it. He then mentions the pregnant and women in childbed The pregnant, owing to the burden she carries, cannot undertake a long journey, and she that is recently confined, can hardly dare to leave her bed, being so debilitated by parturition; but God promises that the pregnant and the lately confined shall return with the rest; as though he had said, that there was no fear but that God would restore his Church, because his power was superior to all the impediments of the world, so that he could confirm the feeble, guide the blind, sustain the lame, and strengthen the pregnant and those lying in childbed.

Now, though the Prophet addressed this discourse to the ancient people, it yet contains a doctrine perpetually useful. We hence gather, that they act preposterously who estimate God’s favor according to present appearances. But this is a mistake almost inbred in us by nature, and engrosses all our thoughts and feelings. Hence arises want of confidence in God, and hence it also happens, that all God’s promises become frigid to us, or at least lose their just value. For when God promises anything, we look around us and inquire how it can be fulfilled; and if our minds cannot comprehend the way and manner, we reject what has proceeded from the mouth of God. Let us then attend to this prophetic doctrine; and when God seems to promise what surpasses our faith, nay, what appears to us by no means possible, let this doctrine come to our minds, and let it serve as a corrective to check our false thoughts, lest we, having our minds preoccupied by a false and preposterous opinion, should do wrong to the power of God. If, then, the deliverance which God promises seems incredible, as to our perceptions, let us remember that it is in his power to make the blind to see, the lame to walk, the pregnant and those lying in childbed, to undertake a journey; for he can by his power surmount all obstacles, so that we shall find our faith victorious, provided we learn to rely on God’s promises, and firmly rest on them. We now understand what use we ought to make of this prophecy. It follows afterwards —

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.

(8) And with them the blind and the lame . . .—The vision of restoration continues, and the prophet sees in the spirit the great company of those that return. Even those who are commonly left behind in such an expedition, as incumbrances hindering its march, the blind, the lame, the women with child or in the very pangs of childbirth, will be seen in that company. None shall remain behind. They are to come from the land of the North, the wide range of the term covering the exiles both of Judah in Babylon and of Israel in the cities of the Medes. For “the coasts of the earth” see Note on Jer_25:32.

Shall return thither—i.e., to the land of Israel, as the goal of the company of travellers.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. The Lord’s reply to the joyous acclamation. Cp. Isa_42:16; Isa_40:11.

the blind and the lame, etc.] None shall be omitted. Even those who would naturally have most difficulty in travelling shall return.

hither] to Palestine, where the prophet is now writing.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold, I will bring them from the north country,.... As from Babylon, at the end of the seventy years' captivity, which lay north of Judea; so, in the latter day, from those northern countries, as ours, where they now are in great numbers:

and gather them from the coasts of the earth; or "sides" of it; from all the parts of the world where they are:

and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together; signifying that no difficulties whatsoever should hinder them in their return to their own land; provision should be made for persons under these circumstances, so unfit to travel. All this may be understood, in a figurative sense, of those who are spiritually "blind"; who are made to see their lost estate, and need of Christ; and are brought to him, and to his church, in a way they had not known, and in paths they knew not before: and of the lame and impotent, unable to do any good thing in a spiritual sense, and will not come to Christ, unless drawn; these are made to leap as a hart, and to flee to Christ for refuge, and run the ways of his commandments: and of such who are laden and burdened, as "women with child"; and who are encouraged and enabled as such to come to Christ, and cast their burdens on him, and find rest for their souls: and of such who are in pain and distress, as one "that travaileth with child": in the pangs of the new birth, under a sense of wrath, and as ready to perish; who also are enabled to come and venture their souls on Christ, receive his Gospel, and submit to his ordinances, where they find peace and comfort:

a great company shall return thither; three thousand were converted under one sermon, in the first times of the Gospel; and, in the latter day, the nation of the Jews shall be born again at once; the number of the children of Israel shall then be as the sand of the sea, and great shall be the day of Jezreel, Isa 66:8.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The coasts of the earth - See Jer 6:22 note.

Thither - Really, here. Not to the north country, but to Palestine, where Jeremiah wrote. A company is the word constantly used of Israel at the Exodus Exo 16:3 as an organized community.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Together. All shall hasten, and there shall be no impediment, Isaias xxxv. 5.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

By the north country, is unquestionably meant Babylon, and the land of the Chaldeans, and those places which were northward of Jerusalem; and by the

coasts of the earth, all other parts into which any of the Jews had been driven. The meaning of this is, that nothing should hinder such from returning as had a mind to return; blind men that could not see their way, and lame persons, who had no strength to walk in it, though they saw it, and women with child, in regard of their heaviness, and women travailing, in regard of their pain, are persons more unfit to travel long journeys than any others; but saith God, I will make such provision, that some under those circumstances shall come. That these phrases must be interpreted only into this general sense appears, because such persons in a literal sense could not come. And though some worthy interpreters understand it in a spiritual sense, of ignorant and impotent persons, and such as are laden with the burden of their sins, and of coming to Christ, it seems not to be the primary sense of the text.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. The blind and the lame, the woman with child, etc. — Are mentioned as illustrating the completeness of the deliverance. Thither, should be hither.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The weakest among the Israelites will share the blessings with the strongest, even the blind and the lame. (comp. Isa_33:23, "The lame take the prey Elsewhere we are told that, in the Messianic age, "the eyes of the blind shall see," and "the lame man shall leap as a hart". (Isa_35:5, Isa_35:6) Shall return thither; rather, hither; i.e. to Palestine, where Jeremiah writes this prophecy. The word for company is hahal, the proper word in the Pentateuch for the Israelitish national "congregation.

Vers. 8, 9. God the Gatherer of his people.

I WHENCE HE GATHERS THEM. The place is spoken of very indefinitely, not from any doubt as to its reality, but because it was largely a terra incognita. It was the land away in the northward direction, but what its extent or what its power for mischief there were but few who could guess. One thing, however, was possible to consider in the days of exile, when the north country had become a sad actual experience, namely, how Jeremiah had been sent to speak joyful tidings as well as mournful ones with respect to the power of this north country. True, he had spoken again and again concerning the evil and the great destruction coming out of the north; but here is a word from the same man and under the same authority to say that the power of the north country is not to continue. God uses even great nations for his own purposes. There is indication that these powers of the north were astonished at their own success. "The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem". (Lam_4:12) They were only the agents of God, and God could take his people out of their midst again when once the Exile had done its work. Distance is no difficulty. God can hinder or facilitate in a journey just as seems him best. Once he kept his people forty years in a journey from one land to another that, if he had chosen, might have been accomplished in a very short time.

II THOSE WHOM HE GATHERS. The Lord"s compassions fail not. To the young, the strong, the healthy, those perfect in body, nothing was needed but to say, "The time is come for return. Make your start." But then all were not so placed. The weaklings have ever to be considered, and God considers them, as it were, first of all. There are the blind God will keep them in the way; there are the lame God will provide that they be conveyed and sufficiently helped; there are women, with all their peculiar anxieties, who need to be dealt with very tenderly, and all grounds for alarm taken out of their way as far as possible. Well, God specifies these cases as representative of the provision he makes for every sort of weakness. It is the mark of God"s way for men that it is a way for the weak, a way in which provision is made for every sort of infirmity. There are ways in the world which are only for the strong; the weak soon get pushed aside. And God can bring all these weak people along, because the right spirit is in them. They come in weeping and in prayer. You can be eyes to a blind man, if he admits his blindness and is willing to be guided; but if he insists upon it that he can see, what are you to do with him? This is the only means by which God"s true people can be gathered into one way, moving with one purpose towards one place, namely, that they be each one of them from the very heart submitted to the Divine will and control.

III THE SPIRIT IN WHICH GOD GATHERS. The spirit of a father. Israel must needs go into exile and chastisement for a while; but the place left vacant is the child"s place, and none but the child can fill it. It is the evidence of a father"s tenderness that he cares for the blind and the lame and the weak. The house of Israel had said to a stock, "Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth." And their delusion had borne fruit in banishment and captivity. But the true Father remembered them all the time; and with the power of the true God and in the spirit of the true Father, he gathered them and guided them home. Y.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Yahweh continues speaking about how he will bring the Israelite people back from being captives in Babylon.

See

"Look" or "Listen" or "Pay attention to what I am about to tell you"

to bring them

"to bring the Israelite people"

I will lead them as they make their pleas

Yahweh will lead them and they will be praying to Yahweh. Some ancient versions read, "Yahweh will lead them and will comfort them."

I will be a father to Israel, and Ephraim will be my firstborn

Here "Ephraim" is another name for "Israel." AT: "I will be like a father to the people of Israel, and they will be like my firstborn child" (See: Metaphor and Metonymy)

my firstborn

The firstborn had special honor and responsibility.

translationWords

earth

assembly

ancestor

Ephraim

firstborn

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

the blind and the lame amongst them Even the staggering ones among them I will not reject.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.