Jeremiah 31:18 (KJV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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

Jeremiah 31:17 And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that 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 bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD 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 pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.

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 in thine end..." 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.