Jeremiah 31:39 (WEB)

Passage

The measuring line will go out further straight onward to the hill Gareb, and will turn toward Goah.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 31:37 Yahweh says: “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” says Yahweh.

Jeremiah 31:38 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that the city will be built to Yahweh from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner.

Jeremiah 31:39 The measuring line will go out further straight onward to the hill Gareb, and will turn toward Goah.

Jeremiah 31:40 The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, will be holy to Yahweh. It will not be plucked up or thrown down any more forever.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "measuring", "line", "further", "straight", "onward", "hill", "gareb", and "turn". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "measuring" and "line", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 38's "Behold the days come says Yahweh that..." into verse 40's "The whole valley of the dead bodies...", so "measuring" and "line" 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 "measuring" and "line" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.