The Meaning of Jeremiah 31:6 Explained

Jeremiah 31:6

KJV: For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.

YLT: For there is a day, Cried have watchmen on mount Ephraim, 'Rise, and we go up to Zion, unto Jehovah our God;

Darby: For there shall be a day, when the watchmen upon mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise, and let us go up to Zion, unto Jehovah our God.

ASV: For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the hills of Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto Jehovah our God.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For there shall be  a day,  [that] the watchmen  upon the mount  Ephraim  shall cry,  Arise  ye, and let us go up  to Zion  unto the LORD  our God. 

What does Jeremiah 31:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Watchmen in the Northern Kingdom would again summon their fellow countrymen to make pilgrimages to God"s chosen city, Jerusalem, to worship Him there. After the kingdom divided, the northern Israelites worshipped at Bethel and Daniel , not at Jerusalem. Thus a reunited Israel is in view.
Jeremiah 31:4-6 picture God"s restoration of Israel as a time of renewed joy ( Jeremiah 31:4), peace and prosperity ( Jeremiah 31:5), and renewed commitment to Yahweh ( Jeremiah 31:6).
"This restoration reverses at least six aspects of the judgment suffered by Israel and Judah: no resting place in exile, a nation torn down, celebrations silenced, vines and plants uprooted, watchmen announcing the invading conqueror, and the temple destroyed. The poem also introduces an Israel transformed from a desperate adulteress ( Jeremiah 4:30) to a joyful maiden on her way back to God." [1]

Context Summary

Jeremiah 31:1-9 - 15-34, An Everlasting Love
It is all-inclusive: all the families of Israel. It is patient under provocation: during forty years it bore with Israel. It has a drawing-power which overcomes our obduracy. It longs to restore the old joyous confidence and freedom: thou shalt go forth in the dances of them that make ready. It will never rest till it has broken down misunderstandings and alienation, so that even Ephraim shall propose to worship at Mount Zion. It meets the heart: they shall come with weeping. It sets the blind by rivers of waters, and the blind and the lame in a straight way. The effect of such love is still further described in Jeremiah 31:18-19 we bemoan our sins with profound remorse. These words, which were so sweet to the prophet, Jeremiah 31:26, are yet to be fulfilled; but in the meantime the covenant is for us all and each one may claim the fulfillment of the I wills of Jeremiah 31:33-34. See Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 8:8.
Jeremiah 31:1-40 - Shepherds That Mislead God's Flock
It is God's purpose to care for His people through shepherds (pastors) who are responsible to Him. Jesus our Lord is the Branch into which we may be grafted. He is our King who saves us and clothes us with His own spotless righteousness. God finds us in Him, Philippians 3:9. Because He reigns, we are saved and dwell in safety. When we are brought into contact with false shepherds, whether the failure be in doctrine or example, let us ask for the broken heart of Jeremiah 23:9.
God is everywhere present; as the latter paragraph indicates, He is near at hand to overhear the blasphemy of those who deride religion, and to be a very present help in time of trouble. If He fills heaven and earth, can He not fill thy heart? If His Word is like fire, let it cleanse thee! If it is as a hammer, let it pulverize thy pride! Let those of us who essay to teach and preach, not steal our words from our neighbors, or utter our own, but receive them from the source of all truth. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 31

1  The restoration of Israel
10  The publication thereof
15  Rahel mourning is comforted
18  Ephraim repenting is brought home again
22  Christ is promised
27  His care over the church
31  His new covenant
35  The stability,
38  and amplitude of the church

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 31:6 mean?

For there shall be a day will cry [when] the watchmen on Mount Ephraim Arise and let us go up [to] Zion to Yahweh our God -
כִּ֣י יֶשׁ־ י֔וֹם קָרְא֥וּ נֹצְרִ֖ים בְּהַ֣ר אֶפְרָ֑יִם ק֚וּמוּ וְנַעֲלֶ֣ה צִיּ֔וֹן אֶל־ יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ פ

יֶשׁ־  there  shall  be 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יֵשׁ  
Sense: being, existence, substance, there is or are.
י֔וֹם  a  day 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
קָרְא֥וּ  will  cry 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
נֹצְרִ֖ים  [when]  the  watchmen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: נְצוּרִים 
Sense: to guard, watch, watch over, keep.
בְּהַ֣ר  on  Mount 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
אֶפְרָ֑יִם  Ephraim 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֶפְרַיִם  
Sense: second son of Joseph, blessed by him and given preference over first son, Manasseh.
ק֚וּמוּ  Arise 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
וְנַעֲלֶ֣ה  and  let  us  go  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
צִיּ֔וֹן  [to]  Zion 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ  our  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation