Jeremiah 32:31-41

31 "for this city has been up against My wrath and fury from the day it was built until now. I will therefore remove it from My presence,
32 because of all the evil the Israelites and Judeans have done to provoke Me to anger-they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem.
33 They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them time and time again,[a] they do not listen and receive discipline.
34 They have placed their detestable things[b] in the house that is called by My name and have defiled it.
35 They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through [the fire] to Molech[c]-something I had not commanded them. I had never entertained the thought[d] that they do this detestable act causing Judah to sin!
36 "Now therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to this city about which you said: It has been handed over to Babylon's king through sword, famine, and plague:
37 I am about to gather them from all the lands where I have banished them in My wrath, rage, and great fury, and I will return them to this place and make them live in safety.[e]
38 They will be My people, and I will be their God.
39 I will give them one heart[f] and one way so that for their good and for [the good of] their descendants after them, they will fear Me always.
40 "I will make with them an everlasting covenant:[g] I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put fear of Me in their hearts so they will never again turn away from Me.
41 I will rejoice over them to do what is good to them, and I will plant them faithfully in this land with all My mind and heart.

Jeremiah 32:31-41 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 32

This chapter contains an account of Jeremiah's imprisonment, and the cause of it; of his buying a field of his uncle's son, and the design of it; of his prayer to God, and of the answer returned to him. The time of his imprisonment, the place where, and the reasons of it, are observed in Jer 32:1-5; that his uncle's son would come and offer the sale of a field to him was told him by the Lord, which he did accordingly, Jer 32:6,7; of whom he bought the field, paid the money, had the purchase confirmed in a legal way, before witnesses, Jer 32:8-12; and the writings of it he committed to Baruch, to put in an earthen vessel, where they were to continue some time as a pledge of houses, fields, and vineyards, being possessed again after the captivity, Jer 32:13-15; then follows a prayer of his to the Lord, in which he addresses him as the Maker of all things; as the Lord God omnipotent; as a God of great grace and mercy, as well as strict justice; as a God of wisdom, counsel, and might, and an omniscient and righteous Being, Jer 32:16-19; and recounts the wonderful things he had done for the people of Israel, Jer 32:20-22; and observes the ingratitude and disobedience of that people, which were the cause of the present siege of the city, which should surely be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, Jer 32:23-25; to which prayer an answer is returned, Jer 32:26; in which the Lord describes himself as the God of all flesh, and as able to do what he pleases, Jer 32:27; and confirms the delivery of the city of Jerusalem unto the Chaldeans, Jer 32:28,29; and assigns the causes of it, the backslidings, disobedience, and dreadful idolatry of the people, Jer 32:30-35; and, notwithstanding, promises a restoration of them to their own land again, Jer 32:36,37; when an opportunity is taken to insert the covenant of grace, and the special articles and peculiar promises of it, for the comfort of the spiritual Israel of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, Jer 32:38-40; and the chapter is concluded with a fresh assurance of the return of the captivity, and of the punctual performance of the promise of it; when fields should be bought in every part of the land, in like manner as Jeremiah had bought his, Jer 32:41-44.

Footnotes 7

  • [a]. Lit them, rising up early and teaching
  • [b]. Jr 4:1; 7:30; Ezk 5:11
  • [c]. Lv 20:2-5; Dt 18:10; 2 Kg 23:10
  • [d]. Lit them, and it did not arise on My heart
  • [e]. Dt 12:10; Ezk 28:26; 34:25,28
  • [f]. Ezk 11:19
  • [g]. Jr 50:5; Gn 17:7,13,19; Isa 55:3
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