Jeremiah 31:16 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 31:16 mean?

Jeremiah 31:16 presents the LORD’s answer to a mother mourning her lost children. He tells her to stop weeping because her work will be rewarded: the children will return from the enemy’s land.

The mother is Rachel, pictured weeping for her children in the preceding verse. Rachel represents the people of Israel, who had been taken away from their land. The promise answers her grief with the prospect of their return.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 31:16

• “work” — פְּעֻלָּה (peʿullah): This word can mean labor or what someone has done. In this verse, it describes the effort for which the weeping mother is told there will be a reward.

• “rewarded” — שָׂכָר (sakhar): This word can mean a reward or payment. Here the promised return of the children is closely linked with the reward for the mother’s work.

• “again” — שׁוּב (shuv): This word often carries the sense of turning back or returning. It helps show that “come again” means coming back from the enemy’s land.

Why Jeremiah 31:16 matters

• The promise concerns people who have been taken away, not merely an end to crying. The words “from the land of the enemy” give their return a place and direction.

• The mother’s labor is connected with the children’s future. “Thy work shall be rewarded” comes just before the promise that “they shall come again.”

• The next verse adds a destination to the promise. Jeremiah 31:17 says the children will return “to their own border,” or land.