Jeremiah 31:39

Jeremiah 31:39, in plain English

The measuring line—the boundary marker of the city—will extend further out to the hill of Gareb and then toward Goah, showing the city will be bigger and more expansive than before.

Why it's here

God is detailing the physical expansion of Jerusalem. It won't just be rebuilt; it will be enlarged, restored to greater glory than it had before exile.

Who's speaking

God continuing the promise through Jeremiah

Where it sits in the story

God's restoration always exceeds what was lost. This isn't just returning to the status quo—it's expansion and blessing.

The scholarly reading

The measuring line—symbol of reconstruction—will extend from the rebuilt city toward the hill of Gareb and turn toward Goah, expanding the sacred city's boundaries.

Language and setting

The technical language of reconstruction continues: וְנָטוּי עוֹד הַקָּו הַמִּדְדָה עָלָיו מִנֶּגֶד גִּבְעַת גָּרֵב וְנָסַב הַגּוֹעָה (venatu'i ʿod hakav hamiddah ʿalav minneged giv'at garev venasav haggoʿah—'the measuring line will extend straight toward the hill of Gareb and turn toward Goah'). The קָו הַמִּדְדָה (kav hamiddah—'measuring line') evokes the rebuilding process described in Amos 7:7-9 and Zechariah 2:1-5, where divine measurement precedes restoration. The hills named—Gareb and Goah—are topographically uncertain, though likely referring to areas surrounding Jerusalem. The symbolic weight matters more than precise location: the measuring line represents the architect's capacity to envision and execute restoration.

Voice

The LORD, continuing the specific description of restoration.

Significance

This sustains the concrete, architectural vision of restoration initiated in verse 38. It envisions not merely return to pre-exilic boundaries but expansion—a renewed city that transcends its former limits. In eschatological terms, this prefigures the expansion of salvation's scope beyond Israel to include the nations, and ultimately the infinite expansion of God's kingdom in Christian theology.

37This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth below searched out would I reject all of Israel’s descendants because of all they have done,”

38“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for Me, from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

39The measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah.

40The whole valley of the dead bodies and ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the LORD. It will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

Read all of Jeremiah 31 — God promises something revolutionary: a covenant written not on stone but on hearts. No longer external rules — internal transformation.