Jeremiah 30:18

18 "Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound, and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

Jeremiah 30:18 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 30:18

Thus saith the Lord, I will bring again the captivity of
Jacob's tents
That is, the captives of Israel, the inhabitants of them; alluding to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, dwelling in tents, and to the Israelites in the wilderness; and fitly expresses the present unsettled state of the Jews: and have mercy on his dwelling places;
by restoring Israel, or Jacob's posterity, to their dwelling places in Jerusalem, and other places rebuilt by them and for them. The Targum is,

``I will have mercy on his cities;''
and the city shall be builded upon her own heap;
the city of Jerusalem, as the Targum expresses it, as it was in the times of Zerubbabel; it was built in its place, as the same Targum; upon the very spot of ground where it before stood, which was become by its desolation a heap of rubbish: or, "upon its hill" F1; Mount Moriah, on which some part of the city was built; so likewise in the latter day: though Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, and is now in a desolate condition, yet it shall be rebuilt, as it seems by this prophecy, upon the very spot where it formerly stood; and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof;
which the Targum interprets of the house of the sanctuary, the temple; so Jarchi; and it was true of it in Zerubbabel's time: but as this prophecy has a further view to future times, something else seems intended. Kimchi says it is either the king's palace or the temple. The singular may be put for the plural, and design "palaces", noble and stately buildings; signifying that the city shall be rebuilt in a very grand manner: and so "shall remain after the manner of it"; or, "according to its right" or "judgment" F2; it shall be continued and established by or upon that justice and judgment that shall be done in it; for it shall be called a city of righteousness, and a faithful city, ( Isaiah 1:26 ) .
FOOTNOTES:

F1 (hlt le) "colle suo", Vatablus.
F2 (wjpvm le) "secundum jus suum", Vatablus; "ut oportet habitabitur", Cocceius.

Jeremiah 30:18 In-Context

16 Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who despoil you shall become a spoil, and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
17 For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, says the LORD, because they have called you an outcast: 'It is Zion, for whom no one cares!'
18 "Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound, and the palace shall stand where it used to be.
19 Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who make merry. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
20 Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me; and I will punish all who oppress them.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.