Jeremiah 31:31-40

The New Covenant

31 ¹"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make ²a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,

32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when ³I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, ⁴though I was their husband, declares the LORD.

33 ⁵But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: ⁶I will put my law within them, and I will write it ⁷on their hearts. ⁸And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'⁹for they shall all know me, ¹⁰from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For ¹¹I will forgive their iniquity, and ¹²I will remember their sin no more."

35 Thus says the LORD, who ¹³gives the sun for light by day and ¹⁴the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar-- ¹⁵the LORD of hosts is his name:

36 ¹⁶"If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the LORD, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever."

37 Thus says the LORD: "If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, ¹⁷then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the LORD."

38 ¹⁸"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when the city shall be rebuilt for the LORD ¹⁹from the Tower of Hananel to ²⁰the Corner Gate.

39 ²¹And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah.

40 ²²The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, and all the fields as far as the ²³brook Kidron, to the corner of ²⁴the Horse Gate toward the east, ²⁵shall be sacred to the LORD. ²⁶It shall not be uprooted or overthrown anymore forever."

Jeremiah 31:31-40 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 31

This chapter is connected with the former, respects the same times, and is full of prophecies and promises of spiritual blessings; of the coming of Christ; of the multiplication of his people, and the increase of their joy; of the conversion of the Gentiles; of the covenant of grace; and of the stability of the saints. It begins with the principal promise of the covenant, confirmed by past experience, of divine goodness, and with a fresh declaration of God's everlasting love, Jer 31:1-3; an instance of which would appear, in planting vines or churches in Samaria, the metropolis of Ephraim or the ten tribes, under the ministry of the apostles, the watchmen, on Mount Ephraim; whereby the Israel of God would be built, beautified, and made to rejoice, Jer 31:4-6; yea, it would be matter of joy to all that heard of it; since, notwithstanding distance and other difficulties, a great number should come to Christ, and to his church, drawn by the Father's love to them, and as owing to the relation he stands in to them, Jer 31:7-9; redemption out of the hands of Satan, and every spiritual enemy, must be published among the Gentiles; which would cause great joy, and give great satisfaction to the priests and people of the Lord, expressed by various metaphors, Jer 31:10-14; and though, upon the birth of the Redeemer, there would be an event, which might tend to damp the joy of saints on account of it, the murder of the infants at Bethlehem; yet some things are said to encourage faith, hope, and joy, and to abate sorrow and weeping, Jer 31:15-17; Ephraim's affliction, and behaviour under it, his repentance and reception, are recorded, Jer 31:18-20; backsliding Israel are called upon to return, in consideration of the birth of the Messiah, Jer 31:21,22; the happy and flourishing estate of the people of God is promised; all which were made known to the prophet by a dream in the night, Jer 31:23-26; and fresh promises are made, that the Lord would do them good, and not punish the children for their fathers' sins, but everyone for their own, Jer 31:28-30; and then an account is given of the new covenant of grace, as distinct from the old, and of the articles of it; the inscription of the law in the heart, spiritual knowledge of the Lord, and remission of sin, Jer 31:31-34; then follow assurances of the everlasting continuance of the true Israel and church of God, Jer 31:35-37; and the chapter is concluded with a promise of rebuilding the city of Jerusalem, and of the holiness of it, and of its abiding for ever, Jer 31:38-40.

Cross References

• 1. ver. 31-34, cited Hebrews 8:8-12
• 2. Luke 22:20; 2 Corinthians 3:6
• 3. [Deuteronomy 1:31]
• 4. See Jeremiah 3:14
• 5. Jeremiah 32:40; Ezekiel 37:26; Cited Hebrews 10:16
• 6. Jeremiah 32:40; Ezekiel 37:26; Cited Hebrews 10:16
• 7. Psalms 37:31; 2 Corinthians 3:3
• 8. Hosea 2:23; Zechariah 8:8; Zechariah 13:9; Revelation 21:7; See Jeremiah 30:22
• 9. Isaiah 54:13
• 10. See Jeremiah 6:13
• 11. Jeremiah 33:8; Jeremiah 36:3; Jeremiah 50:20; Micah 7:18; Acts 10:43; Romans 11:27; Cited Hebrews 10:17
• 12. Isaiah 43:25
• 13. Genesis 1:16
• 14. See ver. 36
• 15. See Jeremiah 10:16
• 16. [Psalms 148:6; Isaiah 54:9, 10]; For ver. 36, 37, see Jeremiah 33:20-26
• 17. Romans 11:1
• 18. ver. 27, 31
• 19. Nehemiah 3:1; Nehemiah 12:39; Zechariah 14:10
• 20. 2 Kings 14:13
• 21. Ezekiel 40:3; Zechariah 1:16; Zechariah 2:1, 2; [Revelation 11:1]
• 22. [Jeremiah 7:31, 32]
• 23. See 2 Samuel 15:23
• 24. 2 Chronicles 23:15
• 25. Isaiah 52:1; Joel 3:17
• 26. [ver. 28]