Jeremiah 31:5 · Bible study
Jeremiah 31:5 Commentary: Vineyards on Samaria's Mountains and the Reversal of the Curse
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
This study examines God's promise to plant vineyards on Samaria's mountains, the Levitical law of the fifth year, and the restoration of the northern tribes.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God promises exiled northern tribes they will return, plant vineyards on Samaria’s hills, and live long enough to eat the fruit, reversing the curse of Deut. 28:30.
- Key words: ʿod (again; continuance after destruction); chalal (to profane, make common; here, to enjoy as ordinary use); harim (mountains, hills of Samaria).
- Main debate: Whether “Samaria” refers only to the literal city and land, or whether it typifies the gathering of all Israel (and, in Christian readings, the Church).
- Theological theme: Covenant restoration, the same God who judged is the God who rebuilds, bringing His people from curse to blessing.
- Best use: Preaching on hope after exile; small groups on patience and God’s timing; connecting OT law (Leviticus 19) to promises of restoration.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant and enjoy the fruit.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters will plant, and will enjoy its fruit.
KJV King James Version 1769
Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit thereof.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Again thou dost plant vineyards In mountains of Samaria, Planters have planted, and made common.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Thou shalt again plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall eat the fruit.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Thou shalt yet plant vineyards in the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and they shall not gather the vintage before the time.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Aun plantarás viñas en los montes de Samaria: plantarán los plantadores, y harán común uso de ellas.
Novamente plantarás vinhas nos montes de Samaria; os plantadores plantarão, e delas desfrutarão.
Tu planteras encore des vignes sur les montagnes de Samarie;
Du sollst wiederum Weinberge pflanzen an den Bergen Samarias; pflanzen wird man sie und ihre Früchte genießen.
Gij zult weder wijngaarden planten op de bergen van Samaria; de planters zullen planten, en de vrucht genieten.
Pianterai ancora delle vigne sui monti di Samaria; i piantatori pianteranno e raccoglieranno il frutto.
Jeszcze będziesz sadziła winnice na górach Samaryjskich; a szczepiący szczepić będą i jeść będą.
снова разведешь виноградники на горах Самарии; виноградари, которые будут разводить их, сами будут и пользоваться ими.
又 必在撒馬利亞 的山上 栽種 葡萄園，栽種的人 要享用所結的果子。
Again will your vine-gardens be planted on the hill of Samaria: the planters will be planting and using the fruit.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 31:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators from every major tradition agree that this verse promises the permanent restoration of Israel's northern tribes after exile. The location is crucial: Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom, had been destroyed by Assyria in 722 BC. By naming it here, Jeremiah assures the ten tribes that God has not forgotten them. The phrase “eat them as common things” (Hebrew vechillelu, from chalal, “to profane” or “to make common”) directly alludes to Leviticus 19:23, 25, which forbade eating fruit from a newly planted tree for three years, reserved the fourth year as holy to the Lord, and allowed the owner to eat from the fifth year onward. Barnes and Calvin explain that the verb “profane” here means “to put to ordinary use”, the opposite of what is consecrated. By promising that planters themselves will eat the fruit, God reverses the curse of Deuteronomy 28:30 (“You will plant a vineyard, and not use its fruit”). Keil and Delitzsch note that the “again” (od) signals a return to settled life after desolation. The verse thus guarantees not only a return but a long‐enough return for vineyards to mature and be enjoyed, a sign of covenantal faithfulness and enduring peace.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God promises a full restoration of His people after exile, reversing the curse so that those who plant also enjoy the fruit – a sign of covenantal peace and permanence.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of Samaria | Samaria is the former capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, destroyed by Assyria in 722 BC. It represents the ten lost tribes. | Some commentators (e.g., Gill) see it as a type for spiritual Israel or the Church; others (Calvin, Keil) insist on a literal restoration of the land to the physical descendants. |
| Meaning of 'enjoy' (chalal) | The Hebrew verb חִלֵּל means 'to profane' or 'to make common.' In context, it refers to putting the fruit to ordinary use (eating it), as opposed to consecrating it. | All commentators agree on the Levitical background (Lev. 19:23, 25), but some emphasize the reversal of Deut. 28:30 while others highlight the contrast with holy use of the fourth year. |
| Scope of the promise (physical vs. spiritual) | The verse promises restoration after exile, including agricultural blessing. | Jewish and many Protestant readings take it as a literal promise to ethnic Israel. Some Christian interpreters (Wesley, Gill) also see it as a figure of Gospel prosperity, believers as 'vines' planted by ministers. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah 31 stands within the “Book of Consolation” (chapters 30, 33), a collection of oracles written during Judah’s final years before the Babylonian exile. The prophet addresses both the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern tribes of Israel, who had been scattered over a century earlier. Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom, built by King Omri on a hill bought from Shemer (1 Kings 16:24). Its mountains were ideal for viticulture; the region’s wine was famous. But the Assyrian conquest in 722 BC brought devastation: the land was depopulated, many were deported, and foreigners were resettled there (2 Kings 17). Jeremiah’s audience in the late seventh century would have known Samaria as a ruined province.
The allusion to Leviticus 19:23, 25 carries deep legal and emotional weight. In ancient Israel, newly planted fruit trees were treated as “uncircumcised” for three years, their fruit could not be eaten. The fourth year’s crop was “holy to the Lord,” an offering of firstfruits. Only in the fifth year could the owner eat freely. This law taught patience and acknowledgment that the land and its increase belonged to God. For an exiled people, the ability to plant and keep a vineyard through five years implied political stability, secure land tenure, and the blessing of long life in the land. The verb chalal (“make common”) deliberately echoes Deuteronomy 20:6 and 28:30, where the curse of exile meant that others would “use” (yechallelenhu) what the planter had labored over. Now the curse is reversed: the same persons who plant will also “use” the fruit.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Jeremiah 31:5. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the verb vechillelu (וְ/חִלֵּֽלוּ) is consistently attested.
Reception History
Jewish tradition has long read this verse as a concrete promise that the northern tribes would return to their land and enjoy its produce, part of the greater consolation of Jeremiah 30, 31. In Christian history, the verse was often cited as a word of hope for exiled or persecuted believers. Matthew Henry (1710) saw it as assurance of God’s covenant faithfulness; he connected the “common” use of the fruit to the removal of ceremonial restrictions, anticipating the Gospel age when all foods are clean (Mark 7:19). Gill’s Exposition (1748) went further, reading the planters as ministers of the Gospel and the vineyards as churches planted in Samaria itself, noting the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus (John 4:29). Calvin (1564) focused on the reversal of the curse: the very verb used in Deuteronomy 28:30 (“use”) is now turned into a blessing, teaching the exiles patience until God’s time.
Preaching This Verse
Three‐point outline
- The God who restores the forgotten. God’s promise to the northern tribes (Samaria) shows that His covenant love extends to those who were lost and disgraced. No exile is beyond His reach.
- Patience that trusts God’s timing. The five‐year law (Leviticus 19) teaches that blessing comes by waiting. God’s restoration is not instant but thorough, He gives time for roots to grow.
- Enjoyment as a sign of covenant peace. Eating what you plant reverses the curse (Deut. 28:30). It is a concrete, everyday sign that God has made things right.
Five‐point outline
- “Again”, God’s restoration is a new beginning, not a mere repeat.
- “Vineyards on the mountains of Samaria”, the very place of devastation becomes fruitful.
- “Planters will plant”, God involves His people in their own restoration.
- “Shall eat them as common things”, the curse is broken; long‐term enjoyment returns.
- The law behind the promise, holiness and ordinary life are reconnected.
Illustration hooks
- A farmer who loses his farm to foreclosure, then years later is able to buy back the land and plant again, the first harvest feels sacred.
- Someone who plants a community garden in a neglected neighborhood, then sees families eat from it year after year. It takes time, but the fruit tastes different when you planted it yourself.
Questions your congregation is asking
- “Does God care about the everyday things like vineyards and harvests?”
- “How do I wait for God’s restoration when it feels like I’m starting from scratch?”
- “What does it mean that the fruit is ‘common’, does that take away its sacredness?”
Leading a Discussion
This verse is a small window into a large promise: God will not abandon His people, even those who were scattered and thought gone forever. The reference to the law of the fifth year (Leviticus 19:23, 25) shows that restoration is not just about coming home, it is about staying long enough to enjoy the fruit of your labor. As you discuss, think about how patience and God’s timing shape the way we experience His blessings.
Discussion questions
- Read Jeremiah 31:5 slowly. Why do you think the prophet specifies “mountains of Samaria” rather than just “the land”?
- What does the Hebrew verb chalal (translated “enjoy” or “make common”) mean in the context of Leviticus 19? How does that change the meaning of the promise?
- Compare this verse with Deuteronomy 28:30. How does God reverse the curse for His people?
- Why did the law require a four‐year wait before the owner could eat the fruit? What does that teach us about God’s view of holiness and ordinary life?
- This verse is part of a larger passage (Jeremiah 31:1, 6). How does the promise of planting vineyards connect to the “everlasting love” in verse 3?
- In what ways have you experienced a “wait” before you could enjoy something God was growing in your life?
- How does this promise encourage us to trust God with the long‐term, even when the present feels desolate?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Leviticus 19:23 | “‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. For three years it shall be forbidden to you. It shall not be eaten. |
| Leviticus 19:25 | In the fifth year you shall eat its fruit, that it may yield its increase to you. I am Yahweh your God. |
| Deuteronomy 20:6 | What man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use its fruit. |
| Deuteronomy 28:30 | You will betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her. You will build a house, and you won’t dwell in it. You will plant a vineyard, and not use its fruit. |
| I Samuel 21:5 | David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us as usual these three days. When I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was only a common journey. How much more then today shall their vessels be holy?” |
| Isaiah 62:8 | Yahweh has sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, “Surely I will no more give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners will not drink your new wine, for which you have labored, |
| Isaiah 62:9 | but those who have harvested it will eat it, and praise Yahweh. Those who have gathered it will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.” |
| Isaiah 65:21 | They will build houses and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke explains that the phrase "as common things" refers to the Mosaic law, which forbade eating vineyard fruit until the fifth year. He notes that in this future blessing, the fruit would be considered lawful to eat at any time, lifting the earlier restriction.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes clarifies that the law's phrase "shall eat them as common things" refers specifically to eating the fruit itself. He explains the graduated schedule: fruit from a newly planted tree was untouched for three years, the fourth year's harvest was consecrated to God, and only in the fifth year did it become "profane," meaning available for the owner's ordinary use.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin reads the promise of replanting as a two-part comfort. The word "yet" signals that the land will first lie desolate for a time, so the Jews must bear that judgment patiently. The true blessing is that those who plant will themselves enjoy the fruit, reversing the curse of losing their labor to strangers.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note emphasizes that the restored planters in Samaria will treat the vineyard's fruit as common property, not private gain. This detail points to a future of such abundant blessing that no one will hoard the harvest, but all will share it freely.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill sees a prophetic image: the vines planted on Samaria’s mountains point not to literal farming but to the planting of Gospel churches there, fulfilled in early Christian times and to be repeated in the last days. The planters, ministers of the Gospel, will eat the fruit freely, as common things, indicating immediate spiritual benefit and satisfaction.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB explains that the phrase "eat as common" draws from the Old Testament law, where newly planted fruit was restricted for four years before ordinary use. The prophecy promises that the same people who plant the vineyards will also enjoy the fruit, reversing the curse of others reaping what they did not plant.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch argue that "a people escaped from the sword" cannot refer to the exodus from Egypt, where no such sword threat existed, but must mean the remnant surviving the Babylonian exile. The wilderness reference is a prophetic figure for the restoration journey from captivity. The promise first addresses the ten tribes, whom the world considered irrecoverably lost.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange emphasizes that this promise is aimed specifically at the ten northern tribes, the most ruined part of the nation. He identifies the desert not as Egypt's wilderness but as the region between Palestine and the Euphrates, where the Lord finds the remnant spared by the sword. For Lange, this prophetic picture has a corresponding literal historical reality.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees the key point in the timing: God renews His covenant claim to all Israel's families at the very moment His anger is unleashed on the wicked. This shows that judgment and mercy run on parallel tracks, and that God's people are never lost from His sight even in dark times.