Jeremiah 31:16 (DRB)

Passage

Thus saith the Lord: Let thy voice cease from weeping, and thy eyes tears: for there is a reward for thy work, saith the Lord: and they shall return out of the land of the enemy.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 31:14 And I will fill the soul of the priests with fatness: and my people shall be filled with my good things, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 31:15 Thus saith the Lord: A voice was heard on high of lamentation, of mourning, and weeping, of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted for them, because they are not.

Jeremiah 31:16 Thus saith the Lord: Let thy voice cease from weeping, and thy eyes tears: for there is a reward for thy work, saith the Lord: and they shall return out of the land of the enemy.

Jeremiah 31:17 And there is hope for thy last end, saith the Lord: and the children shall return to their own borders.

Jeremiah 31:18 Hearing I heard Ephraim when he went into captivity: thou hast chastised me, and I was instructed, as a young bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Convert me, and I shall be converted, for thou art the Lord my God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thus", "saith", "lord", "voice", "cease", "weeping", "eyes", and "tears". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thus" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Thus saith the Lord A voice was..." into verse 17's "And there is hope for thy last...", so "thus" and "saith" 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 "thus" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.