Jeremiah 31:40

Verse

The whole valley of the dead bodies and ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the LORD. It will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

American Standard Version (1901)

And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto Jehovah; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

Bible in Basic English

And all the valley of the dead bodies, and all the field of death as far as the stream Kidron, up to the angle of the horses' doorway to the east, will be holy to the Lord; it will not again be uprooted or overturned for ever.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And the whole valley of dead bodies and of ashes, and all the country of death, even to the torrent Cedron, and the corner of the horse gate towards the east, the Holy of the Lord: it shall not be plucked up, and it shall not be destroyed any more for ever.

Free Bible Version

The entire valley, where the dead are buried and the trash is dumped, and all the fields from the Kidron Valley as far as the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the Lord. Jerusalem will never again be torn down or destroyed.

Geneva Bible 1599

And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields vnto the brooke of Kidron, and vnto the corner of the horsegate toward the East, shalbe holy vnto the Lord, neither shall it be plucked vp nor destroyed any more for euer.

King James (Authorized) Version

And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

Translation for Translators

And the whole area, including the place where corpses and ashes are thrown in the Kidron Valley, and all the fields to the east as far as the Horse Gate, will become set apart for me. And the city of Jerusalem will never again be captured or destroyed.”

Unlocked Literal Bible

The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the terraced fields going out to the Kidron Valley as far as the corner of the Horse Gate on the east, will be set apart for Yahweh. The city will not be pulled up or overthrown again, forever.”

Noah Webster Bible

And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook of Kidron, to the corner of the horse-gate towards the east, shall be holy to the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

World English Bible

The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, will be holy to Yahweh. It will not be plucked up or thrown down any more forever.”

Young's Literal Translation

And all the valley of the carcases and of the ashes, And all the fields unto the brook Kidron, Unto the corner of the horse-gate eastward, [Are] holy to Jehovah, it is not plucked up, Nor is it thrown down any more to the age!

Context

The New Covenant

³⁹The measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah.⁴⁰The whole valley of the dead bodies and ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley, to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, will be holy to the LORD. It will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

Summary

This verse speaks of a future time when the whole valley where dead bodies and ashes were thrown, including all the fields and the Kidron Valley, will be holy to the Lord. It symbolizes a complete transformation and restoration of a desolate and defiled place into a sacred and consecrated area. This prophecy conveys the message of God's power to redeem and sanctify even the most broken and polluted aspects of life, turning them into something beautiful and dedicated to Him.

Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

valley of . . . dead--Tophet, where the bodies of malefactors were cast (Isa 30:33), south of the city. fields . . . Kidron--so Kg2 23:4. Fields in the suburbs reaching as far as Kidron, east of the city. horse gate--Through it the king's horses were led forth for watering to the brook Kidron (Kg2 11:16; Neh 3:28). for ever--The city shall not only be spacious, but both "holy to the Lord," that is, freed from all pollutions, and everlasting (Joe 3:17, Joe 3:20; Rev 21:2, Rev 21:10, Rev 21:27). Next: Jeremiah Chapter 32

John Gill Bible Commentary

And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes,.... The Targum paraphrases it, "where the carcasses of the Assyrian army fell;'' Sennacherib's army, destroyed by an angel; and so Jarchi and Kimchi; which latter observes, that the word for "ashes" signifies "fat"; and so may describe the persons then destroyed, who were fat and lusty men: others think, more probably, that the valley of Tophet or Hinnom is here meant; so called, either from the persons that were burnt and sacrificed to Moloch; or from the carcasses of malefactors interred here; and from the ashes of the sacrifices which were brought from the temple, and laid here. This valley lay southwest of the city; it was a ditch at the foot of the mount of Calvary; where, as Monsieur Thevenot (s) says, now stands the chapel of the invention of the cross: and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron; such as the potters and fullers' fields, which lay to the south of the city, or more to the east, where Kidron was situated: unto the corner of the horse gate towards the east; and so the compass is fetched round the city to the eastern part of it, from whence it began, even to the tower of Hananeel, which was on the east of this horse gate; see Kg2 11:16. The Targum renders it, "to the corner of the gate of the house of the king's course;'' supposed to be the gate at which the king's horses went in and out, when led to be watered or exercised: shall be holy unto the Lord; that is, the whole city in its utmost compass thus rebuilt, yea, even the out parts of it, and those that were defiled with the carcasses of men, and ashes of the burnt offerings. It seems to respect the extensive holiness of the church of God in the latter day; compare with it Zac 14:10; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever; which, if understood literally of the city of Jerusalem, can only signify, that it should not be destroyed soon, but should continue a long time; for certain it is, that after it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel, it was plucked up, and thrown down by the Romans, and particularly by Hadrian, who ploughed it up, and built another city, and called it by his own name; but this figuratively rather intends the church of Christ, which is built on him the Rock, and so is immovable; and, like Mount Zion, shall abide for ever. (s) Travels, par. 1. ch. 39. p. 189. Next: Jeremiah Chapter 32