Jeremiah 31:20 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Jeremiah 31:21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee guide-posts; set thy heart toward the highway, even the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

Jeremiah 31:22 How long wilt thou go hither and thither, O thou backsliding daughter? for Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "ephraim", "dear", "darling", "child", "often", "speak", and "against". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "ephraim", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Surely after that I was turned I..." into verse 21's "Set thee up waymarks make thee guide-posts...", so "mercy" and "ephraim" 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 "mercy" and "ephraim" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.