Jeremiah 3:16

16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the LORD, “people will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made.

Jeremiah 3:16 in Other Translations

16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

16 And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, declares the LORD, they shall no more say, "The ark of the covenant of the LORD." It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again.

16 “And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the LORD, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the LORD ’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark.

16 "And this is what will happen: You will increase and prosper in the land. The time will come" - God's Decree! - "when no one will say any longer, 'Oh, for the good old days! Remember the Ark of the Covenant?' It won't even occur to anyone to say it - 'the good old days.' The so-called good old days of the Ark are gone for good.

16 When you multiply and increase in the land, in those days"-the Lord's declaration-"no one will say any longer: The ark of the Lord's covenant. It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. It will never again be made.

Jeremiah 3:16 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 3:16

And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and
increased in the land
That is, when the number of the disciples and followers of Christ, and true believers in him, shall be multiplied and increased in the land of Judea, and in the Gentile world also, under the ministry of the above said pastors, apostles, and ministers of the Gospel, who should be succeeded everywhere, as they were; see ( Acts 6:1 Acts 6:2 Acts 6:7 ) : in those days, saith the Lord of hosts, they shall say no more, the ark
of the covenant of the Lord;
because the antitype of it would be come, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word that is made flesh and dwelt among men; and in whom the Shechinah, or divine Majesty, dwells in a more glorious manner than it did over the ark, for in him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and the ark may be put for the whole ceremonial law, which was abolished at the death of Christ, and to be used and spoken of no more; and whereas it was, for a good while after the abrogation of it, a matter of debate and contention, and was not wholly under the church's feet until about the times of Constantine, when there was a great multiplication and increase of Christians throughout the Roman empire, the prophecy may be thought to belong to those times, at least there was then a greater accomplishment of it; see ( Revelation 12:1 ) : neither shall it come to mind, neither shall they remember it;
as it should not be spoken of, so it should not be thought of any more than if it had never been: neither shall they visit it;
to inquire of the Lord, before it, about what they wanted to be informed of, as they used to do, ( Judges 20:23 Judges 20:27 Judges 20:28 ) : neither shall that be done any more;
or, "made any more" ^F7 the Jews

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 say, the ark was wanting in the second temple, and was never afterwards remade: all the expressions denote the utter abolition of legal rites and ceremonies, never to be revived more. The Targum paraphrases the last clause,

``neither shall they make war with it any more;''

and so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it as if it was a prophecy of such a time of profound peace, that there would be no need of bringing out the ark as formerly; this use of it would be quite forgotten; but this was not the principal use of the ark, and very rarely was it ever used in this way.
F7 (dwe hvey alw) "neque reparabitur amplius, [vel] et non constuetur amplius", Schmidt.
F8 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 21. 2.

Jeremiah 3:16 In-Context

14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.

15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the LORD, “people will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made.

17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.

18 In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.

Cross References

• 1. S Numbers 3:31; S 1 Chronicles 15:25
• 2. S Isaiah 65:17