Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
Is Ephraim my dear son? etc.—The question implies that a negative answer was to be expected. Who would have thought that one so undutiful to His heavenly Father as Ephraim had been should still be regarded by God as a "pleasant child?" Certainly he was not so in respect to his sin. But by virtue of God's "everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3) on Ephraim's being "turned" to God, he was immediately welcomed as God's "dear son." This verse sets forth God's readiness to welcome the penitent (Jeremiah 31:18-19), anticipating his return with prevenient grace and love. Compare Luke 15:20 : "When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion," etc.
spake against—threatened him for his idolatry.
remember—with favor and concern, as in Genesis 8:1; Genesis 30:22.
bowels . . . troubled for him— (Deuteronomy 32:36; Isaiah 63:15; Hosea 11:8) —namely, with the yearnings of compassionate love. The "bowels" include the region of the heart, the seat of the affections.
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Jeremiah 31:20:
Song of Solomon 5:4
Song of Solomon 5:14
Isaiah 57:18
Isaiah 63:15
Lamentations 1:20
Hosea 11:1
Amos 5:25-26
Habakkuk 3:16
Luke 15:20
Philippians 1:8
Colossians 3:12
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