Jeremiah 30:18

18 The Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall turn the turning of the tabernacles of Jacob, and I shall have mercy on the houses of him; and the city shall be builded [up] in his highness, and the temple shall be founded by his order. (The Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and I shall have mercy on their houses; and the city shall be rebuilt on top of its heaps of rubble, and the palace shall be restored to its former glory.)

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 that eat thee, shall be devoured, and all thine enemies shall be led into captivity; and they that destroy thee, shall be destroyed, and I shall give all thy robbers into raven. (But now, all who eat thee, shall be devoured, and all thy enemies shall be led into captivity; and they who destroy thee, shall be destroyed, and I shall make all thy robbers to be robbed.)

17 For I shall heal perfectly thy wound, and I shall make thee whole of thy wounds, saith the Lord; for thou, Zion, they called thee Cast-out; this is it that had no seeker. (For I shall perfectly heal thy wounds, yea, I shall make thee whole from thy wounds, saith the Lord; for they called thee Outcast, O Zion, and thou had no seeker after thee/and thou had no companion with thee.)

18 The Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall turn the turning of the tabernacles of Jacob, and I shall have mercy on the houses of him; and the city shall be builded [up] in his highness, and the temple shall be founded by his order. (The Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and I shall have mercy on their houses; and the city shall be rebuilt on top of its heaps of rubble, and the palace shall be restored to its former glory.)

19 And praising and the voice of players shall go out of them, and I shall multiply them, and they shall not be decreased; and I shall glorify them, and they shall not be made thin (and I shall glorify them, and they shall not be despised).

20 And the sons thereof shall be as at the beginning, and the company thereof shall dwell before me; and I shall visit against all that do tribulation to it (and I shall punish all those who oppress them).