Jeremiah 31:18 (ASV)

Passage

I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself [thus], Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed [to the yoke]: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 31:16 Thus saith Jehovah: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

Jeremiah 31:17 And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jehovah; and [thy] children shall come again to their own border.

Jeremiah 31:18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself [thus], Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed [to the yoke]: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God.

Jeremiah 31:19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

Jeremiah 31:20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "surely", "heard", "ephraim", "bemoaning", "himself", "thus", "thou", and "hast". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "surely" and "heard", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And there is hope for thy latter..." into verse 19's "Surely after that I was turned I...", so "surely" and "heard" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "surely" and "heard" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.