Bible Strands
Jeremiah 50:5
They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD declares through Jeremiah that the children of Israel and Judah will return from exile. This oracle addresses the future restoration of Judah following the judgment pronounced on Babylon.
The words — The text highlights יִשְׁאָלוּ (yish'alu), meaning "they will ask for," and נִלְווּ (nilvu), meaning "they will join themselves." These verbs describe the active pursuit of Zion and the deliberate act of covenantal union with the LORD.
The thread — The motif of seeking the way appears in Jeremiah 6:16, which commands inquiry into the ancient paths. The promise of an unbreakable covenant echoes the LORD's pledge in Jeremiah 32:40 to establish an everlasting covenant with His people.
Why it lands — The text states that the returning people will actively seek Zion and formally unite with the LORD. It requires a reader to recognize that restoration depends on deliberate pursuit and covenantal commitment rather than passive observation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 32:40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.
- Isaiah 35:8 And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
- Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’
- Hebrews 8:6 Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises.
- Psalms 84:7 They go from strength to strength, until each appears before God in Zion.
- Isaiah 2:3 And many peoples will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.
- Isaiah 56:6 And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant—
- Micah 4:1 In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it.
- Genesis 17:7 I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.