Passage
Yahweh says, “The people who survive the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”
Jeremiah 31:2 (WEB)
Nearby Context
Jeremiah 31:1 “At that time,” says Yahweh, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
Jeremiah 31:2 Yahweh says, “The people who survive the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”
Jeremiah 31:3 Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness.
Jeremiah 31:4 I will build you again, and you will be built, O virgin of Israel. You will again be adorned with your tambourines, and will go out in the dances of those who make merry.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "yahweh", "says", "people", "survive", "sword", "found", "favor", and "wilderness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "yahweh" and "says", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 1's "At that time says Yahweh I will..." into verse 3's "Yahweh appeared of old to me saying...", so "yahweh" and "says" 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 "yahweh" and "says" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.