Jeremiah 31:31-40
Expanded Bible
The New Agreement
31 “Look, the ·time is [L days are] coming,” says the Lord,
“when I will ·make [L cut] a new ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
with the ·people [L house] of Israel
and the ·people [L house] of Judah.
32 It will not be like the ·agreement [covenant; treaty]
I ·made [L cut] with their ·ancestors [fathers]
when I took them by the hand
to bring them out of Egypt [C the Mosaic Covenant; Ex. 19–24].
I was a ·husband [or master] to them [2:2],
but they broke ·that agreement [my covenant/treaty],” says the Lord.
33 “This is the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] I will ·make [L cut]
with the ·people [L house] of Israel ·at that time [L after those days],” says the Lord:
“I will put my ·teachings [laws; instructions] in their ·minds [L innards]
and write them on their hearts [Joel 2:28–29].
I will be their God,
and they will be my people [Ex. 6:6–8].
34 People will no longer have to teach their neighbors and ·relatives [brothers]
to know the Lord,
because all people will know me,
from the least to the most important,” says the Lord.
“I will forgive them for ·the wicked things they did [L their iniquities],
and I will not remember their sins anymore [32:37–44; 50:4–5; Ezek. 37:15–28; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:5–14; Heb. 8:8–12; 10:16–17].”
The Lord Will Never Leave Israel
35 The Lord ·makes [L gives] the sun to ·shine in [L light] the day
and [L regulates; fixes the order of] the moon and stars to ·shine at [L light the] night [Gen. 1:14–18].
He stirs up the sea so that its waves ·crash on the shore [L roar].
The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] is his name.
This is what the Lord says:
36 “Only if these ·laws [statutes; ordinances; requirements; C that uphold the natural order] should ever ·fail [give way; Gen. 8:22; 9:8–17],”
says the Lord,
“will Israel’s ·descendants [L seed] ever ·stop [cease]
being a nation before me ·forever [L for all days].”
37 This is what the Lord says:
“Only if people can measure the ·sky [heavens] above
and ·learn [investigate] the ·secrets [L foundations] of the earth below,
will I reject all the ·descendants [L seed] of Israel
because of what they have done,” says the Lord.
The New Jerusalem
38 The Lord says, “The ·time is [L days are] coming when this city [C Jerusalem] will be rebuilt for me—everything from the Tower of Hananel [Neh. 3:1; 12:39; Zech. 14:10] to the Corner Gate [2 Kin. 14:13; 2 Chr. 25:23; 26:9; Zech. 14:10]. 39 The measuring line will stretch from ·the Corner Gate [L before it] straight to the hill of Gareb. Then it will turn to the place named Goah. 40 The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown [C the Hinnom; ch. 19], and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate [2 Chr. 23:15; Neh. 3:28]—all that area will be holy to the Lord. It [C Jerusalem] will never again be torn down or destroyed [1:10].”
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