Jeremiah 31:32

32 [This one will] not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-a covenant they broke even though I had married them"^[a]-the Lord's declaration.

Jeremiah 31:32 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 31:32

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers,
&c.] Meaning not Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but the ancestors of the Jews that came out of Egypt, as appears by what follows. This was the covenant made at Sinai, which is here referred to; but the above covenant was not according to that; for, though it was not properly a covenant of works, but a typical one; yet it was in some sense faulty and deficient; or, however, the persons under it were faulty, and did not keep it; and besides, it was made with the Israelites; whereas this new covenant belongs both to Jews and Gentiles. That the Sinai covenant is intended is clear by the following circumstances: in the day [that] I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the
land of Egypt;
that is, immediately after their being brought out of Egypt, the covenant was made with them; see ( Exodus 19:1-8 ) ( Exodus 24:7 Exodus 24:8 ) ; at which time of their bringing out, the Lord took them by the hand, as being unable to deliver themselves, and to go out of themselves; which is expressive, as of their weakness, so of his power and goodness, kindness and tenderness to them; and is an aggravation of their ingratitude to him in breaking the covenant, made with them at such a time by the Lord, who was so kind and indulgent to them; and which is still more fully expressed in the following clause: which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them,
saith the Lord;
they promised fair, but did not perform; their hearts were not right with God, nor were they steadfast in his covenant; though it was such a solemn transaction, and had the nature of a matrimonial contract; it was the day of their espousal; they were betrothed to the Lord, and he acted the part of a husband to them in nourishing and cherishing them in providing food and raiment for them; manna that continued with them, and clothes that waxed not old; and in protecting them from their enemies, and bringing them to a good settlement in the land of Canaan. The Septuagint version renders it, "and I regarded them not"; and so the apostle, ( Hebrews 8:9 ) ; for the reconciliation of which to the Hebrew text (See Gill on Hebrews 8:9).

Jeremiah 31:32 In-Context

30 Rather, each will die for his own wrongdoing. Anyone who eats sour grapes-his own teeth will be set on edge.

31 "Look, the days are coming"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

32 [This one will] not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-a covenant they broke even though I had married them"-the Lord's declaration.

33 "Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days"-the Lord's declaration. "I will place My law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.

34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying: Know the Lord, for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them"-the Lord's declaration. "For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin."

Footnotes

• [a] Isa 54:4; 62:4; Mal 2:11