Jeremiah 31:28-38

28 "As I have ¹watched over them to ²pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will watch over them to ³build and to plant," declares the LORD.

29 "In those days they will not say again, '⁴The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge.'

30 "But ⁵everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.

31 "⁶Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a ⁷new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

32 not like the ⁸covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I ⁹took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My ¹⁰covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.

33 "But ¹¹this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "¹²I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and ¹³I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

34 "They will ¹⁴not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all ¹⁵know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will ¹⁶forgive their iniquity, and their ¹⁷sin I will remember no more."

35 Thus says the LORD, Who ¹⁸gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who ¹⁹stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; ²⁰The LORD of hosts is His name:

36 "²¹If this fixed order departs From before * Me," declares the LORD, "Then the offspring of Israel also will ²²cease From being a nation before Me forever *."

37 Thus says the LORD, "²³If the heavens above * can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also ²⁴cast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done," declares the LORD.

38 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the ²⁵city will be rebuilt for the LORD from the ²⁶Tower of Hananel to the ²⁷Corner Gate.

Jeremiah 31:28-38 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. Jeremiah 44:27; Daniel 9:14
• 2. Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 18:7
• 3. Jeremiah 24:6
• 4. Lamentations 5:7; Ezekiel 18:2
• 5. Deuteronomy 24:16; Isaiah 3:11; Ezekiel 18:4, 20
• 6. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:8-12
• 7. Jeremiah 32:40; Jeremiah 33:14; Ezekiel 37:26; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8-12; Hebrews 10:16, 17
• 8. Exodus 19:5; Exodus 24:6-8; Deuteronomy 5:2, 3
• 9. Deuteronomy 1:31; Isaiah 63:12
• 10. Jeremiah 11:7, 8
• 11. Jeremiah 32:40; Hebrews 10:16
• 12. Psalms 40:8; 2 Corinthians 3:3
• 13. Jeremiah 24:7; Jeremiah 30:22; Jeremiah 32:38
• 14. 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 John 2:27
• 15. Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 54:13; Jeremiah 24:7; Habakkuk 2:14; John 6:45; 1 John 2:20
• 16. Jeremiah 33:8; Jeremiah 50:20; Micah 7:18; Romans 11:27
• 17. Isaiah 43:25; Hebrews 10:17
• 18. Genesis 1:14-18; Deuteronomy 4:19; Psalms 19:1-6; Psalms 136:7-9
• 19. Isaiah 51:15
• 20. Jeremiah 10:16; Jeremiah 32:18; Jeremiah 50:34
• 21. Psalms 89:36, 37; Psalms 148:6; Isaiah 54:9, 10; Jeremiah 33:20-26
• 22. Amos 9:8, 9
• 23. Isaiah 40:12; Jeremiah 33:22
• 24. Jeremiah 33:24-26; Rom 11:2-5, 26, 27
• 25. Jeremiah 30:18; Jeremiah 31:4
• 26. Nehemiah 3:1; Nehemiah 12:39; Zechariah 14:10
• 27. 2 Kings 14:13; 2 Chronicles 26:9

Footnotes

• [a] Or "dull"
• [b] Or "dull"
• [c] Lit "statutes"
• [d] Lit "these statutes"
• [e] Lit "all the days"