The Meaning of Jeremiah 31:8 Explained

Jeremiah 31:8

KJV: Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.

YLT: Lo, I am bringing them in from the north country, And have gathered them from the sides of the earth, Among them are blind and lame, Conceiving and travailing one -- together, A great assembly -- they turn back hither.

Darby: Behold, I bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth; and among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great assemblage shall they return hither.

ASV: Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall they return hither.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Behold, I will bring  them from the north  country,  and gather  them from the coasts  of the earth,  [and] with them the blind  and the lame,  the woman with child  and her that travaileth with child  together:  a great  company  shall return  thither. 

What does Jeremiah 31:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

A great number of Israelites of all types would return to the Promised Land from all over the world, not just from the north where they went into Assyrian and Babylonian captivity. The disadvantaged as well as the able-bodied would come, even pregnant women and those about to give birth. If the Lord would bring even these dependent types of people back, there was hope for all (cf. Isaiah 35:5-6).

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 31:8 mean?

Behold I will bring them from the country north and gather them from the ends of the earth [Among] them the blind and the lame the pregnant woman and the one who labors with child together a throng great shall return there
הִנְנִי֩ מֵבִ֨יא אוֹתָ֜ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ צָפ֗וֹן וְקִבַּצְתִּים֮ מִיַּרְכְּתֵי־ אָרֶץ֒ בָּ֚ם עִוֵּ֣ר וּפִסֵּ֔חַ הָרָ֥ה וְיֹלֶ֖דֶת יַחְדָּ֑ו קָהָ֥ל גָּד֖וֹל יָשׁ֥וּבוּ הֵֽנָּה

הִנְנִי֩  Behold  I 
Parse: Interjection, first person common singular
Root: הֵן  
Sense: behold, lo, though hypothetical part.
מֵבִ֨יא  will  bring 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מֵאֶ֣רֶץ  from  the  country 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
צָפ֗וֹן  north 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: צָפֹון  
Sense: north (of direction), northward.
וְקִבַּצְתִּים֮  and  gather  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: קָבַץ  
Sense: to gather, assemble.
מִיַּרְכְּתֵי־  from  the  ends 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, fdc
Root: יְרֵכָה  
Sense: flank, side, extreme parts, recesses.
אָרֶץ֒  of  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
בָּ֚ם  [Among]  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
עִוֵּ֣ר  the  blind 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עִוֵּר  
Sense: blind.
וּפִסֵּ֔חַ  and  the  lame 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: פִּסֵּחַ  
Sense: lame.
הָרָ֥ה  the  pregnant  woman 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: הָרֶה 
Sense: pregnant.
וְיֹלֶ֖דֶת  and  the  one  who  labors  with  child 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: יָלַד 
Sense: to bear, bring forth, beget, gender, travail.
יַחְדָּ֑ו  together 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יַחַד 
Sense: union, unitedness adv.
קָהָ֥ל  a  throng 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָהָל  
Sense: assembly, company, congregation, convocation.
גָּד֖וֹל  great 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
יָשׁ֥וּבוּ  shall  return 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.