Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Jeremiah 31:29

"People will not use this saying anymore: ‘The parents ate the sour grapes, but the children got the sour taste.'

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Children;   Heredity;   Proverbs;   Punishment;   Sin;   Thompson Chain Reference - Agriculture-Horticulture;   Fruit, Natural;   Grapes;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Vine, the;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Backsliding;   Building;   Disease;   Punishment;   Responsibility;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Death;   Jeremiah;   Teeth;   Vine;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Death;   Ethics;   Ezekiel;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Jeremiah;   Wisdom;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Man;   Progress;   Science (2);   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Avenger of blood;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Blood, Revenger of;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Rapes;   Sour;   Teeth;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Edge;   Eschatology of the Old Testament (with Apocryphal and Apocalyptic Writings);   Ezekiel;   Games;   Guilt;   Imputation;   Lamentations, Book of;   Proverb;   Resurrection;   Salvation;   Sour;   Vine;   Zechariah, Book of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Right and Righteousness;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“In those days, it will never again be said,
Hebrew Names Version
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
King James Version
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
English Standard Version
In those days they shall no longer say: "‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.'
New American Standard Bible
"In those days they will no longer say, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, But it is the children's teeth that have become blunt.'
New Century Version
"At that time people will no longer say: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and that caused the children to grind their teeth from the sour taste.'
Amplified Bible
"In those days they will not say again, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge.'
World English Bible
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
Geneva Bible (1587)
In those dayes shall they say no more, The fathers haue eaten a sowre grape, and the childrens teeth are set on edge.
Legacy Standard Bible
"In those days they will not say again,‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,And the children's teeth are set on edge.'
Berean Standard Bible
"In those days, it will no longer be said: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and this has set the children's teeth on edge.'
Contemporary English Version
No longer will anyone go around saying, "Sour grapes eaten by parents leave a sour taste in the mouths of their children."
Complete Jewish Bible
Rather, each will die for his own sin; every one who eats sour grapes, his own teeth will be set on edge.
Darby Translation
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge:
George Lamsa Translation
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children''s teeth are set on edge.
Good News Translation
When that time comes, people will no longer say, ‘The parents ate the sour grapes, But the children got the sour taste.'
Lexham English Bible
"In those days they will say no longer, ‘Parents have eaten unripe fruit, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.'
Literal Translation
In those days they shall not any more say, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the sons are dull.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then shall it no more be sayde: ye fathers haue eaten a sower grape, and the childrens teth are set on edge:
American Standard Version
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
Bible in Basic English
In those days they will no longer say, The fathers have been tasting bitter grapes and the children's teeth are put on edge.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
King James Version (1611)
In those dayes they shall say no more, The fathers haue eaten a sowre grape, and the childrens teeth are set on edge.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then shall it no more be sayde, The fathers haue eaten a sowre grape, and the childrens teeth are set on edge:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I have heard of the pride of Moab, he has greatly heightened his pride and his haughtiness, and his heart has been lifted up.
English Revised Version
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
In tho daies thei schulen no more seie, The fadres eeten a sour grape, and the teeth of sones weren astonyed; but ech man schal die in his wickidnesse,
Update Bible Version
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the sons are set on edge.
Webster's Bible Translation
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
New English Translation
"When that time comes, people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but the children's teeth have grown numb.'
New King James Version
In those days they shall say no more: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge.'
New Living Translation
"The people will no longer quote this proverb: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children's mouths pucker at the taste.'
New Life Bible
"In those days they will no longer say, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children got the sour taste.'
New Revised Standard
In those days they shall no longer say: "The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
In those days, shall they say no more, Fathers, did eat sour grapes, - And, children's teeth, are blunted!
Douay-Rheims Bible
In those days they shall say no more: The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.
Revised Standard Version
In those days they shall no longer say: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.'
Young's Literal Translation
In those days they do not say any more: Fathers have eaten unripe fruit, And the sons' teeth are blunted.
THE MESSAGE
"When that time comes you won't hear the old proverb anymore, Parents ate the green apples, their children got the stomachache.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"In those days they will not say again, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge.'

Contextual Overview

27 "The days are coming," says the Lord , "when I will help the family of Israel and Judah to grow. I will help their children and animals to grow too. It will be like planting and caring for a plant. 28 In the past I watched over Israel and Judah, but I watched for the time to pull them up. I tore them down. I destroyed them. I gave many troubles to them. But now I will watch over them to build them up and make them strong." This message is from the Lord . 29 "People will not use this saying anymore: ‘The parents ate the sour grapes, but the children got the sour taste.' 30 No, people will die for their own sins. Those who eat sour grapes will get the sour taste." 31 This is what the Lord said, "The time is coming when I will make a new agreement with the family of Israel and with the family of Judah. 32 It will not be like the agreement I made with their ancestors. I made that agreement when I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt. I was their master, but they broke that agreement." This message is from the Lord . 33 "In the future I will make this agreement with the people of Israel." This message is from the Lord . "I will put my teachings in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 People will not have to teach their neighbors and relatives to know the Lord , because all people, from the least important to the most important, will know me." This message is from the Lord . "I will forgive them for the evil things they did. I will not remember their sins."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Jeremiah 31:30, Lamentations 5:7, Ezekiel 18:2, Ezekiel 18:3

Reciprocal: Leviticus 26:39 - and also Deuteronomy 24:16 - General 2 Chronicles 25:4 - as it is written Ezekiel 18:20 - soul that

Cross-References

Genesis 28:13
And then Jacob saw the Lord standing by the ladder. He said, "I am the Lord , the God of your grandfather Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. I will give you the land that you are lying on now. I will give this land to you and to your children.
Genesis 31:2
Then Jacob noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been in the past.
Genesis 31:3
The Lord said to Jacob, "Go back to your own land where your ancestors lived. I will be with you."
Genesis 31:10
"I had a dream during the time when the animals were mating. I saw that the only male goats that were mating were the ones with stripes and spots.
Genesis 31:11
The angel of God spoke to me in that dream. The angel said, ‘Jacob!' "I answered, ‘Yes!'
Genesis 31:24
That night God came to Laban in a dream and said, "Be careful! Be careful of every word you say to Jacob."
Genesis 31:38
I have worked 20 years for you. During all that time none of the baby sheep and goats died during birth. And I have not eaten any of the rams from your flocks.
Genesis 31:39
Any time a sheep was killed by wild animals, I always paid for the loss myself. I did not take the dead animal to you and say that it was not my fault. But I was robbed day and night.
Genesis 31:42
But the God of my ancestors, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, was with me. If God had not been with me, you would have sent me away with nothing. But he saw the trouble that I had and the work that I did, and last night God proved that I am right."
Genesis 31:53
May the God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their ancestors judge us guilty if we break this agreement." Jacob's father, Isaac, called God "Fear." So Jacob used that name to make the promise.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

In those days they shall say no more,.... The following proverb or byword; they should have no occasion to use it, nor should they choose to use it; since they would understand themselves, and the dispensations of Providence towards them, better than to use it:

the fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge; that is, the fathers have sinned, and the children are punished for their sins. So the Targum,

"the fathers have sinned, and the children are smitten.''

This was in some sense true; they were punished for their fathers' sins in the captivity, particularly for Manasseh's; nor was it unusual with God to visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children; nor at all unjust, since they were a part of their parents, and especially since they were guilty of the same sins; nor is it thought unjust among men to punish children for the treason of their parents, as every sin is treason against God. But this was not all that was meant by this proverb; the sense of those that used it was, that they themselves were quite clear and innocent, and that they only suffered for their fathers' faults; which was false, of which they should be convinced, and use the proverb no more, as charging God with injustice.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The prophet shows that the happiness of Israel and Judah, united in one prosperous nation, will rest upon the consciousness that their chastisement has been the result of sins which they have themselves committed, and that God’s covenant depends not upon external sanctions, but upon a renewed heart.

Jeremiah 31:27

So rapid shall be the increase that it shall seem as if children and young cattle sprang up out of the ground.

Jeremiah 31:29, Jeremiah 31:30

A sour grape - Better, sour grapes. The idea that Jeremiah and Ezekiel (marginal reference) modified the terms of the second Commandment arises from a mistaken exegesis of their words. Compare Jeremiah 32:18; Deuteronomy 24:16. The obdurate Jews made it a reproach to the divine justice that the nation was to be sorely visited for Manasseh’s sin. But this was only because generation after generation had, instead of repenting, repeated the sins of that evil time, and even in a worse form. justice must at length have its course. The acknowledgment that each man died for his own iniquity was a sign of their return to a more just and right state of feeling.

Jeremiah 31:31

A time is foretold which shall be to the nation as marked an epoch as was the Exodus. God at Sinai made a covenant with His people, of which the sanctions were material, or (where spiritual) materially understood. Necessarily therefore the Mosaic Church was temporary, but the sanctions of Jeremiah’s Church are spiritual - written in the heart - and therefore it must take the place of the former covenant Hebrews 8:13, and must last forever. The prophecy was fulfilled when those Jews who accepted Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, expanded the Jewish into the Christian Church.

Jeremiah 31:32

Although ... - i. e., although as their husband (or, “lord” (Baal, compare Hosea 2:16)) I had lawful authority over them. The translation in Hebrews 8:9 agrees with the Septuagint here, but the balance of authority is in favor of the King James Version.

Jeremiah 31:33

The old law could be broken Jeremiah 31:32; to remedy this God gives, not a new law, but a new power to the old law. It used to be a mere code of morals, external to man, and obeyed as a duty. In Christianity, it becomes an inner force, shaping man’s character from within.

Jeremiah 31:34

I will forgive their iniquity - The foundation of the new covenant is the free forgiveness of sins (compare Matthew 1:21). It is the sense of this full unmerited love which so affects the heart as to make obedience henceforward an inner necessity.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 31:29. The fathers have eaten a sour grape — A proverbial expression for, "The children suffer for the offences of their parents." This is explained in the next verse: "Every one shall die for his own iniquity." No child shall suffer Divine punition for the sin of his father; only so far as he acts in the same way can he be said to bear the sins of his parents.


 
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