Jeremiah 31:18 (WEB)

Passage

“I have surely heard Ephraim grieving thus, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as an untrained calf. Turn me, and I will be turned; for you are Yahweh my God.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 31:16 Yahweh says: “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work will be rewarded,” says Yahweh. “They will come again from the land of the enemy.

Jeremiah 31:17 There is hope for your latter end,” says Yahweh. “Your children will come again to their own territory.

Jeremiah 31:18 “I have surely heard Ephraim grieving thus, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as an untrained calf. Turn me, and I will be turned; for you are Yahweh my God.

Jeremiah 31:19 Surely after that I was turned. I repented. After that I was instructed. I struck my thigh. I was ashamed, yes, even confounded, because I bore 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 still earnestly remember him. therefore my heart yearns for him. I will surely have mercy on him,” says Yahweh.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "surely", "heard", "ephraim", "grieving", "thus", "chastised", and "untrained". 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 "There is hope for your latter 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.