# Jeremiah 31 đ: The New Covenant
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đ Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#đ§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#âď¸ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#đ Key Principles / đ Life Application]]
> [[#đŹ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#âď¸ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đ Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#đ Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đ Internal Notes]]
## đ Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]] At that time I will be the God of all the clans of Israel
and they will be my people.
I, the Lord, affirm it!â
### Israel Will Be Restored and Join Judah in Worship
[[#Verse 02.]] The Lord says:
âThe people of Israel who survived
death at the hands of the enemy
will find favor in the wilderness
as they journey to find rest for themselves.
[[#Verse 03.]] In a faraway land the Lord will manifest himself to them.
He will say to them, âI have loved you with an everlasting love.
That is why I have continued to be faithful to you.
[[#Verse 04.]]Â I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel,
so that you will once again be built up.
Once again you will take up the tambourine
and join in the happy throng of dancers.
[[#Verse 05.]]Â Once again you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria.
Those who plant them
will once again enjoy their fruit.
[[#Verse 06.]]Â Yes, a time is coming
when watchmen will call out on the mountains of Ephraim,
âCome! Let us go to Zion
to worship the Lord our God!âââ
[[#Verse 07.]] Moreover, the Lord says:
âSing for joy for the descendants of Jacob.
Utter glad shouts for that foremost of the nations.
Make your praises heard.
Then say, âLord, rescue your people.
Deliver those of Israel who remain alive.â
[[#Verse 08.]] Then I will reply, âI will bring them back from the land of the north.
I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth.
Blind and lame people will come with them,
so will pregnant women and women about to give birth.
A vast throng of people will come back here.
[[#Verse 09.]]Â They will come back shedding tears of contrition.
I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance.
I will lead them besides streams of water,
along smooth paths where they will never stumble.
I will do this because I am Israelâs father;
Ephraim is my firstborn son.ââ
[[#Verse 10.]] Listen to the Lordâs message, O nations.
Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.
Say, âThe one who scattered Israel will regather them.
He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.â
[[#Verse 11.]] For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob.
He will secure their release from those who had overpowered them.
[[#Verse 12.]]Â They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion.
They will be radiant with joy over the good things the Lord provides,
the grain, the fresh wine, the olive oil,
the young sheep, and the calves he has given to them.
They will be like a well-watered garden
and will not grow faint or weary any more.
[[#Verse 13.]] The Lord says, âAt that time young women will dance and be glad.
Young men and old men will rejoice.
I will turn their grief into gladness.
I will give them comfort and joy in place of their sorrow.
[[#Verse 14.]]Â I will provide the priests with abundant provisions.
My people will be filled to the full with the good things I provide.â
[[#Verse 15.]] The Lord says:
âA sound is heard in Ramah,
a sound of crying in bitter grief.
It is the sound of Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted, because her children are gone.â
[[#Verse 16.]] The Lord says to her,
âStop crying! Do not shed any more tears.
For your heartfelt repentance will be rewarded.
Your children will return from the land of the enemy.
I, the Lord, affirm it!
[[#Verse 17.]]Â Indeed, there is hope for your posterity.
Your children will return to their own territory.
I, the Lord, affirm it!
[[#Verse 18.]] I have indeed heard the people of Israel say mournfully,
âWe were like a calf untrained to the yoke.
You disciplined us and we learned from it.
Let us come back to you and we will do so,
for you are the Lord our God.
[[#Verse 19.]]Â For after we turned away from you we repented.
After we came to our senses we struck our thigh in sorrow.
We are ashamed and humiliated
because of the disgraceful things we did previously.â
[[#Verse 20.]]Â Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.
They are the children I take delight in.
For even though I must often rebuke them,
I still remember them with fondness.
So I am deeply moved with pity for them
and will surely have compassion on them.
I, the Lord, affirm it!
[[#Verse 21.]] I will say, âMy dear children of Israel, keep in mind
the road you took when you were carried off.
Mark off in your minds the landmarks.
Make a mental note of telltale signs marking the way back.
Return, my dear children of Israel.
Return to these cities of yours.
[[#Verse 22.]]Â How long will you vacillate,
you who were once like an unfaithful daughter?
For I, the Lord, promise to bring about something new on the earth,
something as unique as a woman protecting a man!ââ
### Judah Will Be Restored
[[#Verse 23.]] The Lord of Heavenâs Armies, the God of Israel, says,
âI will restore the people of Judah to their land and to their towns.
When I do, they will again say of Jerusalem,
âMay the Lord bless you, you holy mountain,
the place where righteousness dwells.â
[[#Verse 24.]]Â The land of Judah will be inhabited by people who live in its towns,
as well as by farmers and shepherds with their flocks.
[[#Verse 25.]]Â I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary
and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint.
[[#Verse 26.]]Â Then they will say, âUnder these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleep
when I wake up and look around.â
### Israel and Judah Will Be Repopulated
[[#Verse 27.]] âIndeed, a time is coming,â says the Lord, âwhen I will cause people and animals to sprout up in the lands of Israel and Judah.Â
[[#Verse 28.]] In the past I saw to it that they were uprooted and torn down, that they were destroyed and demolished and brought disaster. But now I will see to it that they are built up and firmly planted. I, the Lord, affirm it!
### The Lord Will Make a New Covenant with Israel and Judah
[[#Verse 29.]] âWhen that time comes, people will no longer say, âThe parents have eaten sour grapes, but the childrenâs teeth have grown numb.âÂ
[[#Verse 30.]]Â Rather, each person will die for his own sins. The teeth of the person who eats the sour grapes will themselves grow numb.
[[#Verse 31.]] âIndeed, a time is coming,â says the Lord, âwhen I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.Â
[[#Verse 32.]] It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,â says the Lord.
[[#Verse 33.]] âBut I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,â says the Lord. âI will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people.
[[#Verse 34.]] âPeople will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,â says the Lord. âFor I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.â
### The Lord Guarantees Israelâs Continuance
[[#Verse 35.]] The Lord has made a promise to Israel.
He promises it as the one who fixed the sun to give light by day
and the moon and stars to give light by night.
He promises it as the one who stirs up the sea so that its waves roll.
His name is the Lord of Heavenâs Armies.
[[#Verse 36.]] The Lord affirms, âThe descendants of Israel will not
cease forever to be a nation in my sight.
That could only happen if the fixed ordering of the heavenly lights
were to cease to operate before me.â
[[#Verse 37.]] The Lord says, âI will not reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all that they have done. That could only happen if the heavens above could be measured or the foundations of the earth below could all be explored,â
says the Lord.
### Jerusalem Will Be Enlarged
[[#Verse 38.]] âIndeed a time is coming,â says the Lord, âwhen the city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt as my special city. It will be built from the Tower of Hananel westward to the Corner Gate.Â
[[#Verse 39.]]Â The boundary line will extend beyond that, straight west from there to the Hill of Gareb and then turn southward to Goah.Â
[[#Verse 40.]] The whole valley where dead bodies and sacrificial ashes are thrown, and all the terraced fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far north as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be included within this city that is sacred to the Lord. The city will never again be torn down or destroyed.â
## đ Verse-by-Verse Commentary
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## đ¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Jeremiah 31:31-34 is the only place in the Old Testament that uses the exact phrase "new covenant."
2. Hebrews 8:8-12 quotes this passage in full, the longest Old Testament quotation in the New Testament.
3. Matthew 2:18 quotes 31:15 about Rachel weeping, connecting it to Herod's killing of the children in Bethlehem.
4. Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, and her tomb was traditionally located near Bethlehem (Genesis 35:19-20).
5. Ramah was a town of Benjamin just north of Jerusalem. Jeremiah himself was later found among the exiles at Ramah (40:1).
6. Ephraim is called God's "firstborn" (31:9), a title of love and honor.
7. The proverb about sour grapes (31:29) is also addressed in Ezekiel 18:2.
8. God says His covenant is as sure as the fixed order of the sun, moon, and stars (31:35-36).
9. The Tower of Hananel and the Corner Gate (31:38) were landmarks on Jerusalem's walls, also mentioned in Nehemiah 3:1 and Zechariah 14:10.
10. The Valley of dead bodies and ashes, likely the Hinnom Valley, will one day be holy to the Lord (31:40).
## đ§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## âď¸ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Mediator of the new covenant God promised here (31:31-34). At the Last Supper Jesus said the cup is the new covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20), and through Him God remembers our sins no more (Hebrews 8:12).
## đ Key Principles / đ Life Application
> [!note] đą Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đŹ Discussion Questions
1. God says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (31:3). How does the permanence of God's love speak to you today?
2. Rachel weeping for her children (31:15) is followed by hope (31:16-17). How does God meet us in grief?
3. The new covenant promises God's law written on the heart and sins forgiven (31:33-34). How is this different from simply trying harder to obey?
## âď¸ Key Verses to Remember
- đ verse 3: I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with faithful love.
- đ verse 15: Rachel weeps for her children and refuses to be comforted.
- đ verses 33-34: I will put My law within them and write it on their hearts, and I will remember their sin no more.
## đ Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đ [[Luke 22#Verse 20.|Luke 22:20]] - The new covenant in Jesus' blood.
- đ [[Hebrews 08#Verse 08.|Hebrews 8:8-12]] - The new covenant quoted in full.
- đ [[Matthew 02#Verse 16.|Matthew 2:16-18]] - Rachel weeping for her children.
- đ [[2 Corinthians 03#Verse 03.|2 Corinthians 3:3]] - Written on tablets of human hearts.
- đ [[Ezekiel 36#Verse 26.|Ezekiel 36:26-27]] - A new heart and a new spirit.
## đ Devotional Reflection
đ SOAP: [[Jeremiah 31 - SOAP|The Hidden Treasure of Godâs Word]]
## đ Internal Notes