A New Covenant

31 “Behold, the (A)days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that (B)I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, [a]though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 (C)But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: (D)I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their [b]hearts; (E)and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for (F)they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For (G)I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

35 Thus says the Lord,
(H)Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs (I)the sea,
And its waves roar
(J)(The Lord of hosts is His name):

36 “If (K)those ordinances depart
From before Me, says the Lord,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease
From being a nation before Me forever.”

37 Thus says the Lord:

(L)“If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also (M)cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, says the Lord.

38 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the city shall be built for the Lord (N)from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 (O)The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. 40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, (P)to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, (Q)shall be holy to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 31:32 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. and I turned away from them
  2. Jeremiah 31:33 Lit. inward parts

The New Agreement

31 This is what the Lord said, “The time is coming when I will make a new agreement with the family of Israel and with the family of Judah. 32 It will not be like the agreement I made with their ancestors. I made that agreement when I took them by the hand and brought them out of Egypt. I was their master, but they broke that agreement.” This message is from the Lord.

33 “In the future I will make this agreement with the people of Israel.” This message is from the Lord. “I will put my teachings in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 People will not have to teach their neighbors and relatives to know the Lord, because all people, from the least important to the most important, will know me.” This message is from the Lord. “I will forgive them for the evil things they did. I will not remember their sins.”

The Lord Will Never Leave Israel

35 He makes the sun shine in the day,
    and he makes the moon and the stars shine at night.
He stirs up the sea so that its waves crash on the shore.
    The Lord All-Powerful is his name.

This is what the Lord says:
36 “The descendants of Israel will never stop being a nation.
    That would happen only if I lost control of the sun, moon, stars, and sea.”

37 The Lord says, “I will never reject the descendants of Israel.
    That would happen only if people could measure the sky above,
    and learn all the secrets of the earth below.
Only then would I reject them for the bad things they have done.”
    This message is from the Lord.

The New Jerusalem

38 This message is from the Lord, “The days are coming when the city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt for the Lord. The whole city will be rebuilt—from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The measuring line[a] will stretch from the Corner Gate straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to the place named Goah. 40 The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown and all the terraces down to the bottom of Kidron Valley all the way to the corner of Horse Gate will be holy to the Lord. The city of Jerusalem will never again be torn down or destroyed.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 31:39 measuring line A rope or chain for measuring property lines.