Jeremiah 31:22-24
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
22 How long will you continue to hesitate,
rebellious daughter?
The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth:
woman encompasses man.[a]
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: When I restore their fortunes in the land of Judah and in its cities, they shall again use this greeting: “May the Lord bless you, Tent of Justice, Holy Mountain!”(A) 24 Judah and all its cities, the farmers and those who lead the flock shall dwell there together.
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- 31:22 No satisfactory explanation has been given for this text. Jerome, for example, saw the image as a reference to the infant Jesus enclosed in Mary’s womb. Since Jeremiah often uses marital imagery in his description of a restored Israel, the phrase may refer to a wedding custom, perhaps women circling the groom in a dance. It may also be a metaphor describing the security of a new Israel, a security so complete that it defies the imagination and must be expressed as hyperbolic role reversal: any danger will be so insignificant that women can protect their men.
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