Weeping - For joy, not for sorrow.

Supplications - The conviction that God is guiding them, encourages them to pray.

Ephraim is My firstborn - The house of Joseph is thus to be restored to its old preeminence.

They shall come with weeping - Duly penetrated with a sense of their sins, they shall deeply deplore them; and, while weeping for them, earnestly supplicate God to have mercy upon them.

By the rivers of waters - I will so guide and provide for them in the arid deserts, that they shall find streams of water whenever necessary. Every one knows of how much consequence water is to travelers in the eastern deserts.

Ephraim is my first-born - Ephraim, being the most considerable, is often put for the whole of the ten tribes.

They shall come with weeping,.... For joy, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe; of which there are instances, Genesis 29:11; so the Jews will come to Christ, and to the Gospel church, as well as into their own land, with joy that they have found the Messiah, and are brought under his government, and into the enjoyment of the privileges of the Gospel, and the possession of their own land; or with tears of repentance for all their sins, original and actual, especially for their sin of unbelief, and rejection of the Messiah; they shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn, when a spirit of grace and supplication is poured out upon them, Zechariah 12:10; with which agrees what follows:

and with supplications will I lead them; to Christ, and his church; and being drawn by the Father, and led by the Spirit, they will come to him with supplications and entreaties for mercy to be showed unto them; particularly for pardoning grace and mercy, and for salvation by him, which they will now see they stand in need of. Some render it, "with favours" (n), or mercies; blessings of grace bestowed on them; as a justifying righteousness; remission of sins; adoption; sanctifying grace; a right and title and meetness for eternal life; which are all owing to the free favour and grace of God:

I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters; or, "to rivers of waters" (o); to God himself, the fountain of living waters; and his everlasting love, that river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God; and to Christ, the fountain of gardens, and well of living waters; and to those wells of salvation, and fulness of grace, that are in him; and to the Gospel, its doctrines and ordinances, which are the still waters to it, by which the great Shepherd leads his flock. These rivers of waters may denote the blessings of grace which spring from the love of God, and flow through Christ in his word and ordinances, in great abundance; and it is very pleasant and profitable walking by these:

in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble; in a direct way to Christ, without going round about, by works of righteousness done by them, to render them acceptable to him; but they shall go directly to him as they are; or in a plain way, as it is to them that understand it, and in which men, though fools, shall not err: or in a righteous way, a way of righteousness; in a way that leads to Christ for righteousness; and in which men are taught to live soberly, righteously, and godly; and in which, though they may stumble and fall into sin, for "in many things we all offend", James 3:2; yet not stumble at the word, as some do; or at the stumbling stone, Christ, as the Jews' forefathers did; or so as to fall, be broken, and perish, Isaiah 8:14;

for am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn; and so very dear to him, as in Jeremiah 31:20. So the Targum,

"and Ephraim is beloved before me;''

all the blessings of grace which God bestows upon men, whether Jews or Gentiles, all flow from a prior relation he stands in to them; he first takes them into the relation of children, is a father to them in covenant; and then bestows children's blessings and covenant mercies on them. The allusion, perhaps, is to Joseph's having the birthright, and whose younger son, Ephraim, was preferred to Manasseh the elder, 1 Chronicles 5:2. Ephraim intends the same as Israel, the ten tribes, and includes the whole body of the Jewish nation.

(n) "cum beneficientiis", Tigurine version, Gataker; so Kimchi and Ben Melech. (o) "ad torrentes, vel fluvios aquarum", Munster, Tigurine version, Calvin, Cocceius; "ad fontes aquarum", Schmidt.

They shall come with {m} weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of {n} waters in a straight way, in which they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is {o} my firstborn.

(m) That is, lamenting their sins which had not given ear to the prophets and therefore it follows that God received them to mercy, Jer 50:4. Some take it that they should weep for joy.

(n) Where they found no impediments, but abundance of all things.

(o) That is, my dearly beloved as the first child is to the father.

31:9 With weeping - Some think that it had been better translated, they went weeping; for though the verb be the future tense in the Hebrew, yet that tense has often the signification of the preterperfect tense, thus it answereth, Psa 126:5,6. He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shalt doubtless come again rejoicing. There is a weeping for joy, as well as for sorrow, and thus the text corresponds with that, Zech 12:10. I will pour upon them the spirit of grace and supplications, and they shall look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn. By rivers - And they shall have no want as they had when they came out of Egypt, through the wilderness, where they often wanted water.

supplications: or, favours

9. weeping-for their past sins which caused their exile (Ps 126:5, 6). Although they come with weeping, they shall return with joy (Jer 50:4, 5).

supplications-(Compare Jer 31:18, 19; Jer 3:21-25; Zec 12:10). Margin translates "favors," as in Jos 11:20; Ezr 9:8; thus God's favors or compassions are put in opposition to the people's weeping; their tears shall be turned into joy. But English Version suits the parellelism best.

I will cause . to walk by . waters . straight way-(Isa 35:6-8; 43:19; 49:10, 11). God will give them waters to satisfy their thirst as in the wilderness journey from Egypt. So spiritually (Mt 5:6; Joh 7:37).

Ephraim-the ten tribes no longer severed from Judah, but forming one people with it.

my first-born-(Ex 4:22; Ho 11:1; Ro 9:4). So the elect Church (2Co 6:18; Jas 1:18).

31:1-9 God assures his people that he will again take them into covenant relation to himself. When brought very low, and difficulties appear, it is good to remember that it has been so with the church formerly. But it is hard under present frowns to take comfort from former smiles; yet it is the happiness of those who, through grace, are interested in the love of God, that it is an everlasting love, from everlasting in the counsels, to everlasting in the continuance. Those whom God loves with this love, he will draw to himself, by the influences of his Spirit upon their souls. When praising God for what he has done, we must call upon him for the favours his church needs and expects. When the Lord calls, we must not plead that we cannot come; for he that calls us, will help us, will strengthen us. The goodness of God shall lead them to repentance. And they shall weep for sin with more bitterness, and more tenderness, when delivered out of their captivity, than when groaning under it. If we take God for our Father, and join the church of the first-born, we shall want nothing that is good for us. These predictions doubtless refer also to a future gathering of the Israelites from all quarters of the globe. And they figuratively describe the conversion of sinners to Christ, and the plain and safe way in which they are led.