Scripture quotations on this page are from the World English Bible (public domain), shown in quotation marks; all commentary is written by Scripture Trove. Source: Jeremiah 31 · Commentary
Jeremiah chapter 31 is the deepest prophecy of the "New Covenant" (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה, berit chadashah) in the entire Old Testament, and the theological summit of the "Book of Consolation" (chs. 30-33). Following chapter 30's declaration of "Jacob's trouble" and its subsequent reversal, this chapter transitions into an all-encompassing proclamation of restoration: God loves Israel with "an everlasting love" (31:3), will lead them through a "second Exodus" (31:8-9), and will turn their mourning into joy (31:13). Verse 31:15 — "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children" — is directly quoted by Matthew 2:18 in connection with Herod's massacre of the infants of Bethlehem. Verses 31:31-34, the "New Covenant" prophecy, represent the single greatest bridge from the Hebrew Bible to the New Testament revelation: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart" — "they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" — "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." These five verses are quoted in full by Hebrews 8:8-12, and are permanently sealed in the Lord's Supper declaration of Luke 22:20 and 1 Corinthians 11:25: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." This is the chapter of the Old Testament that points most directly to Calvary — without rival.
The Summit of the Book of Consolation (the center of chs. 30-33)
Chapters 30-33 form the "Book of Consolation" in Jeremiah, standing in stark contrast to the preceding judgment oracles. These four chapters are thematically distributed: chapter 30 declares that "Jacob's trouble" will give way to restoration; chapter 31 is the summit — the New Covenant; chapter 32 records Jeremiah's purchase of a field while imprisoned, witnessing to hope in the midst of siege; chapter 33 reaffirms the Davidic covenant and the Levitical covenant. Within these four chapters, chapter 31 occupies the highest spiritual altitude: total grace at the end of judgment, total return at the end of exile, total new covenant at the end of the old.
This chapter divides into seven sections:
Everlasting Love (31:1-6) — "I have loved you with an everlasting love." God appears to the remnant in the wilderness; vineyards will again be planted on the mountains of Samaria.
The Second Exodus (31:7-9) — God gathers the remnant from the north country and the farthest parts of the earth. The blind, the lame, the pregnant, and those in labor are all in the procession of return.
Proclamation to the Nations (31:10-14) — "He who scattered Israel will gather him." Mourning turns to joy; priests are satisfied with abundance.
Rachel Weeping for Her Children (31:15-22) — The weeping at Ramah, Ephraim's repentance, "I will surely build you again," and the "new thing" of a woman encompassing a man.
No Longer "The Fathers Ate Sour Grapes" (31:23-30) — The principle of individual responsibility; the sour-grapes proverb is abolished.
The New Covenant Prophecy (31:31-34) — The deepest New Covenant prophecy in the entire Old Testament: the law written on the heart, universal knowledge of God, and eternal forgiveness.
The Unchanging Promise (31:35-40) — God calls the sun, moon, and stars as His witnesses; Israel will never cease to be a nation before Him.
The chapter follows a progressive structure: "declaration of love → promise of return → mourning turned to joy → Rachel's tears → Ephraim's repentance → individual responsibility → the New Covenant → the unchanging promise." The first half (1-22) is dominated by emotion — love, anguish, repentance, joy. The middle section (23-30) pivots on a juridical shift: individual responsibility replaces corporate liability. The final section (31-40) closes with the theological summit: the New Covenant and its eternal guarantee. This chapter is like a symphony: it begins with the adagio of love, accelerates into the allegro of return, drops into the lament of Ramah's weeping, and finally rises to the chorale-like declaration of the New Covenant.
Brothers and sisters, read Jeremiah 31 today — especially verses 31-34 — slowly, one verse at a time. These are the deepest words God has ever spoken through the ashes of exile. "I will make a new covenant" — not a revision of the old, but a wholly new covenant. "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their heart" — no longer engraved on tablets of stone, but inscribed within you. "They shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" — no longer needing a teacher as intermediary, because the Holy Spirit Himself will teach. "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" — no longer needing an annual Day of Atonement, because one offering has accomplished everything forever. When Jeremiah wrote this prophecy, it was still a hidden hope; six hundred years later, at the table of the Last Supper, the Lord Jesus lifted the cup and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." In that moment, Jeremiah 31:31-34 was fulfilled in its entirety. Every time you break bread and share the cup today, you are witnessing the redemption of Jeremiah 31.
| Movement | Verses | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Everlasting Love | 31:1-6 | "I have loved you with an everlasting love" + vineyards in Samaria |
| The Second Exodus | 31:7-9 | Return from the north / the ends of the earth + blind, lame, pregnant, those in labor + Ephraim is my firstborn |
| Proclamation to the Nations | 31:10-14 | The nations must hear + redemption + mourning turned to joy |
| Rachel Weeping | 31:15-22 | The weeping at Ramah + Ephraim's repentance + "There is hope for your future" + a woman encompassing a man |
| No Longer Sour Grapes | 31:23-30 | Individual responsibility + the sour-grapes proverb abolished |
| The New Covenant | 31:31-34 | The law written on the heart + universal knowledge + eternal forgiveness |
| The Unchanging Promise | 31:35-40 | Sun, moon, and stars as witnesses + the unclean land made holy to the LORD |
Brothers and sisters, please read Jeremiah 31 slowly today — especially verses 31-34. Read them three times.
When you finish, do one thing: take a piece of bread and a cup of juice (or a cup of water), sit alone at the table, and treat the bread as the Lord's body and the cup as the Lord's blood. Then reread the words Jesus spoke at the Last Supper: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:20).
Understand what this means: when the Lord Jesus lifted that cup, He was quoting the very passage Jeremiah had written six hundred years earlier — Jeremiah 31:31-34.
"I will make a new covenant" — the Lord Jesus said: "This cup is the new covenant." "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their heart" — the Lord Jesus said: "The Spirit will come and dwell in you" (John 14:17). "They shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" — the Lord Jesus said: "As the Father has given all things to me, so I give them to you" (John 17). "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" — the Lord Jesus said: "This is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt 26:28).
The entire passage of Jeremiah 31:31-34 was fulfilled at the table of the Last Supper. What Jeremiah saw, the Lord Jesus accomplished; what Jeremiah hoped for, the Lord Jesus delivered.
So what does this mean for you today?
First, you no longer need to be "qualified" to know God. Jeremiah 31:34 — "They shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" — means that knowledge of God under the New Covenant is not a spiritual hierarchy. It is not reserved for "pastors, theologians, and seasoned believers." The "least" — including children, new believers, and marginalized brothers and sisters — can know Him directly. If you feel today that "my spiritual level isn't high enough, so I can't really know God," Jeremiah 31:34 refutes that notion head-on. Under the New Covenant, the foundation of knowing God is not your spiritual maturity but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Second, your sins have been forgiven forever. Jeremiah 31:34 — "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." God actively chooses to "forget" — not because His memory is unreliable, but because those sins have been permanently dealt with on the cross. If you are still reproaching yourself today for some old sin — perhaps five years, ten years, twenty years ago — and repeatedly doubting whether you have truly been forgiven, refuse that doubt directly. Hebrews 10:17 says: "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." If God has said "I will remember no more," you should not keep turning back to look.
Third, the law is already in your heart. Jeremiah 31:33 — "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their heart." This means the capacity to obey God is not grounded in the intensity of external commands but in the internal work of the Holy Spirit. If you feel today that "I can't do what God is asking me to do," first acknowledge that you cannot do it, then ask the Holy Spirit to do His work within you. The New Covenant is not "a more strenuous version of the Old Covenant." It is "the Holy Spirit at work within you."
Finally, return to 31:3 — "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness." This is the foundation beneath every promise in this chapter. God loves you not because you are good enough; He loves you because His love is itself everlasting. Even in your most exiled moment, your most shattered moment, your most prodigal moment — His love has never been withdrawn. This is the New Covenant.
In verse 3 — "I have loved you with an everlasting love" — which word is hardest for you to believe today? "Everlasting"? "Love"? "You"? Let the Holy Spirit show you which word is hardest to believe, then bring that unbelief into prayer.
Verse 33 — "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their heart." What is the "I can't do it" you are struggling with most right now? Is it possible that you have been trying to do it by willpower alone, rather than asking the Holy Spirit to work within you?
Verse 34 — "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." What "old sin" are you still reproaching yourself for today? Are you willing today to obey God's word, to "remember it no more," and to permanently delete it from your self-accusation list?
Verse 15 — "Rachel weeping for her children" — and verse 17 — "There is hope for your future." Who are you weeping for right now? A child? A friend? A church? A colleague who is far from God? Write that name down and bring it before God with 31:16-17: "Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded... There is hope for your future."
Section overview: In the sermon structure, this section is "the emotional entrance." The foundation of the entire chapter's New Covenant prophecy is not juridical — it is the love of God. Without first hearing "I have loved you with an everlasting love," the New Covenant is read as a contract document rather than a marriage relationship.
31:1 "“At that time,” says Yahweh, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”"
Jeremiah 31:1（World English Bible）
"At that time" refers to the moment of restoration after the "time of Jacob's trouble" prophesied in chapter 30. "I will be their God, and they will be my people" is the core covenant formula of Sinai (Exod 6:7 / Lev 26:12 / Deut 29:13), but here it is spoken as a promise that will certainly be fulfilled: Israel had already been stripped of this status through apostasy, but now they will be reconstituted as God's people. This covenant formula reappears in 31:33 within the New Covenant passage, forming this chapter's theological inclusio: the core of the New Covenant is not new content but the complete fulfillment of the ancient Sinai promise.
31:2 "Yahweh says, “The people who survive the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”"
Jeremiah 31:2（World English Bible）
"The people who survived the sword" refers to the remnant who survived the exile. "Found grace in the wilderness" reaches back to God's grace toward Israel during the Mosaic wilderness period after the Exodus. This "Second Exodus" theme recurs in Hosea 2:14 ("I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her"), Isaiah 40-55 ("Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness"), and elsewhere. God leading Israel back from exile is a typological reenactment of the Exodus, but at a deeper spiritual level.
31:3 "Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness."
Jeremiah 31:3（World English Bible）
One of the most tender declarations of God's love in the entire Old Testament.
"Everlasting love": Hebrew אַהֲבַת עוֹלָם (ahavat olam), "love from eternity." This "everlasting" does not mean merely "a very long time" — it means love without beginning and without end, love that God established before creation. This echoes Ephesians 1:4: "He chose us in him before the foundation of the world."
"Loving kindness": Hebrew חֶסֶד (chesed), one of the most important theological terms in the Old Testament. It refers to the unfailing, covenant-loyal love of the One who has entered into covenant. This is the core word God used to declare His own name at Sinai in Exodus 34:6-7.
"Drawn": Hebrew מָשַׁךְ (mashakh), "to pull, to draw." This echoes John 12:32: "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." The Greek word helkō in John 12:32 is the Septuagint's standard translation of mashakh. God's love is not passive, waiting for you to come find Him — it is active, drawing you toward Him.
This verse is the foundation of every promise that follows in this chapter. The New Covenant is not God executing a set of terms; it is God fulfilling the love He has had from eternity.
31:4 "I will build you again, and you will be built, O virgin of Israel. You will again be adorned with your tambourines, and will go out in the dances of those who make merry."
Jeremiah 31:4（World English Bible）
"Virgin": Hebrew בְּתוּלַת (betulat), typically referring to an unmarried young woman. In 18:13 and 46:11, this word is used of a corrupted virgin in a judgment context; but this verse reverses the image — God will once again treat Israel as a virgin, washing away the shame of her apostasy.
"Tambourines, dances": Exodus 15:20 — Miriam after the crossing of the Red Sea "took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing." This is the celebration of the Second Exodus: the same drums, the same dance steps, but reenacted in a deeper grace.
31:5 "Again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters will plant, and will enjoy its fruit."
Jeremiah 31:5（World English Bible）
The mountains of Samaria — the heartland of the northern kingdom of Israel, destroyed by Assyria in 722 BC and its population deported. "Planting vineyards and enjoying the fruit" echoes the reversal of Leviticus 19:25 ("In the fifth year you shall eat of its fruit") and the inverse of Deuteronomy 28:30 ("You shall plant a vineyard, and shall not enjoy its fruit" — the curse). The substance of restoration is the complete reversal of the law's curses: those who plant will enjoy, those who were exiled will return, those who apostatized will be loved.
31:6 "For there will be a day that the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim cry, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion to Yahweh our God.’”"
Jeremiah 31:6（World English Bible）
The hills of Ephraim and Mount Zion — after the kingdom split, the northern kingdom (Israel/Ephraim) and the southern kingdom (Judah) were rival states (cf. 1 Kgs 12). This verse prophesies that when restoration comes, the remnant of the northern kingdom will voluntarily call out to go up to Zion for worship: the division ends, north and south are reunited. This is the concrete picture of Hosea 1:11's prophecy: "The children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together."
In the New Testament, this "north-south reunion" finds its deepest fulfillment in Christ: "those who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Eph 2:13). Christ tears down not only the wall between Jew and Gentile but the wall between any communities divided by historical enmity.
Section overview: In the sermon structure, this section is "the concrete picture of return." The preceding section declared God's everlasting love; this section gives that love concrete form as "gathering and return." The core action of the New Covenant is gathering — God gathers His people from the ends of the earth.
31:7 "For Yahweh says, “Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations. Publish, praise, and say, ‘Yahweh, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’"
Jeremiah 31:7（World English Bible）
"The chief of the nations": this is the position God assigned to Israel by His sovereign election. Even in the depths of exile, Israel remains "the chief of the nations" in God's heart. God's election is not revoked by His people's failure. This echoes Romans 11:29: "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."
"The remnant": Hebrew שְׁאֵרִית (she'erit), "the surviving remnant." This is a core concept in prophetic literature: after judgment, a "remnant" always survives, and they become the foundation of restoration. Paul's entire theology of Israel's restoration in Romans 9-11 is built on the "remnant" concept.
31:8 "Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, along with the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who travails with child together. They will return as a great company."
Jeremiah 31:8（World English Bible）
"The north country, the uttermost parts of the earth": Babylon lies geographically east of Judah, but in ancient Near Eastern return consciousness, "from the north" was the standard idiom (consistent with Jer 1:14, 3:18). "The uttermost parts of the earth" (Hebrew יַרְכְּתֵי־אָרֶץ, yarketei-aretz) expands the scope of return: not only the Jews in Babylon but all the scattered descendants of Israel everywhere.
"The blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who travails": this is one of the most tender details in all of prophetic literature. The returning procession includes not only able-bodied warriors but the entire community, including those normally excluded from "long-distance travel." God's return leaves no weak one behind. This echoes Isaiah 35:5-6: "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame man will leap like a deer." In the New Testament, this is fulfilled in Jesus' healing ministry (Matt 11:5: "The blind receive their sight, the lame walk").
31:9 "They will come with weeping. I will lead them with petitions. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they won’t stumble; for I am a father to Israel. Ephraim is my firstborn."
Jeremiah 31:9（World English Bible）
"They will come with weeping": this is not the weeping of grief but the weeping of repentance and overwhelming gratitude. The exiled people weep as they travel the road home — repenting of their apostasy, marveling at God's deliverance. This image of "weeping on the way home" finds its fullest New Testament fulfillment in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15.
"By rivers of waters, in a straight way": this echoes Isaiah 35:7: "Water will break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert." The return is not a trek through a deathly desert but a walk along water channels God has prepared.
"Ephraim is my firstborn": Ephraim was Joseph's younger son — not the physical firstborn (Manasseh was). But Jacob, acting on spiritual discernment, gave the firstborn blessing to Ephraim (Gen 48:14-20). This verse declares that even though the northern kingdom of Ephraim had been exiled for more than 150 years, God has not forgotten His beloved son. This parallels Malachi 3:17: "I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him."
Section overview: In the sermon structure, this section is "the scope of restoration." Return is not a private affair of one tribe or nation — it is God's public declaration before all the nations of what He is doing in Israel.
31:10 "“Hear Yahweh’s word, you nations, and declare it in the distant islands. Say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.’"
Jeremiah 31:10（World English Bible）
"Hear, you nations": this is a New Covenant-caliber announcement. Israel's restoration is not meant for Israel's ears alone — it is meant for all nations to hear. What God is doing in Israel is not a private family matter but a gospel to the whole world. This echoes Isaiah 49:6: "I will also make you a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
"He who scattered will gather... keep him, as a shepherd": God is simultaneously judge (scattering) and redeemer (gathering), simultaneously overseer (keeping) and shepherd. In the New Testament, when Jesus calls Himself the "good shepherd" (John 10:11), He is directly echoing this verse. Christ is the embodiment of Jeremiah 31:10.
31:11 "For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he."
Jeremiah 31:11（World English Bible）
"Ransomed": Hebrew פָּדָה (padah), "to buy back at a price." This word has specific legal background in the redemption of the firstborn (Exod 13:13) and the Year of Jubilee property redemption (Lev 25). The redeemer pays a cost to buy back the pledged person or property.
This prefigures the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus. Paul directly echoes this in Galatians 3:13: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." New Covenant redemption has a price — the blood of Christ.
31:12 "They will come and sing in the height of Zion, and will flow to the goodness of Yahweh, to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd. Their soul will be as a watered garden. They will not sorrow any more at all."
Jeremiah 31:12（World English Bible）
"They will not sorrow any more at all": this is eschatological hope. Its complete fulfillment is in Revelation 21:4: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more." Jeremiah 31:12 is the Old Testament root of Revelation 21:4.
31:13 "Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance; the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow."
Jeremiah 31:13（World English Bible）
"Mourning into joy": this is the hallmark of New Covenant spiritual life. In John 16:20, the Lord Jesus tells His disciples: "You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy" — a direct echo of Jeremiah 31:13. This "mourning-turned-to-joy" is not the optimism of positive psychology; it is the real renewal the Holy Spirit works in those who have been redeemed.
31:14 "I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness,” says Yahweh."
Jeremiah 31:14（World English Bible）
"Fatness": in the ancient system, the choicest portions of the sacrifice were given to the priests (Num 18). "Priests satisfied with fatness" means the restoration of temple worship and the functioning of the entire legal-sacrificial system.
In the New Testament, this promise is fulfilled on two levels: (1) local fulfillment — after the return from exile, the Second Temple was rebuilt (Ezra 3); (2) ultimate fulfillment — Christ as the eternal high priest (Heb 7:25), all believers becoming "a royal priesthood" (1 Pet 2:9), receiving the spiritual "fatness" of satisfaction under the New Covenant.
Section overview: In the sermon structure, this section is "the dual picture of tears and hope." The preceding sections painted the picture of grace; this section enters the deepest image of sorrow — Rachel weeping at Ramah for her children — and then from that sorrow rises Ephraim's repentance and the promise "I will surely build you again." This is the chapter's most emotionally concentrated section and one of the New Testament's most important quotation sources.
31:15 "Yahweh says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”"
Jeremiah 31:15（World English Bible）
The most-quoted grief passage from the Old Testament in the New Testament.
Ramah: a town in the territory of Benjamin (Josh 18:25), approximately five miles north of Jerusalem. Three important historical connections: (1) Rachel's tomb was near Ephrath (Gen 35:19-20); (2) Judahite captives were assembled at Ramah before being marched to Babylon (Jer 40:1: "The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and released him from Ramah"); (3) Ramah is close to Bethlehem in Benjamin's territory, which is the key geographical link for Matthew 2:18's quotation.
Rachel, Jacob's most beloved wife, mother of Joseph and Benjamin. "Rachel weeping for her children": Rachel had long since died (Gen 35:19), but in prophetic genre she functions as the symbolic mother of Israel, weeping in heaven for her descendants. The tribes of Benjamin and Joseph (Ephraim, Manasseh) are all Rachel's descendants, so "Rachel's children" encompasses the entire northern kingdom and part of the southern kingdom.
"She refuses to be comforted, because they are no more": Hebrew כִּי אֵינֶנּוּ (ki einennu), "because he is not." This is the deepest pain of a mother who has lost her children — she refuses all comfort, because death is irreversible.
New Testament echo: Matthew 2:18 quotes this verse verbatim. After Herod's massacre of all male children under two years old in Bethlehem (Matt 2:16-17), Matthew declares: "Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 'A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children. She wouldn't be comforted, because they are no more.'"
This quotation operates on deep theological levels:
31:16 "Yahweh says: “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work will be rewarded,” says Yahweh. “They will come again from the land of the enemy."
Jeremiah 31:16（World English Bible）
God speaks directly to the weeping Rachel: "Stop weeping." This is not a cold command but a comfort-filled appeal: "Don't weep, because there is hope of return."
"Your work will be rewarded": Rachel's tears are themselves treated as "work." The tears a mother sheds for her children constitute a spiritual cost. God sees a mother's tears and responds with return. This verse is the comfort for every brother and sister who weeps for their children, for the church, or for those who are lost: your tears are not in vain.
31:17 "There is hope for your latter end,” says Yahweh. “Your children will come again to their own territory."
Jeremiah 31:17（World English Bible）
"Hope for your future": Hebrew תִקְוָה לְאַחֲרִיתֵךְ (tiqvah le'acharitekh), "for your end there is hope." This is one of the most tender promises in the entire Old Testament: in the deepest sorrow, God preserves hope.
In the New Testament, this echoes Romans 5:5 ("hope does not put us to shame") and 1 Peter 1:3 ("He has given us new birth into a living hope"). True hope is not optimism; it is what God has reserved for His people beyond exile and death.
31:18 "“I have surely heard Ephraim grieving thus, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as an untrained calf. Turn me, and I will be turned; for you are Yahweh my God."
Jeremiah 31:18（World English Bible）
Ephraim's prayer of repentance — one of the most classic "repentance formulas" in prophetic literature:
"Turn me, and I will be turned" is the deepest expression of "repentance theology" in prophetic literature: true repentance is not a human decision to change — it is God first turning the person around so that the person can turn. This echoes Lamentations 5:21: "Turn us to yourself, LORD, and we will be turned"; Acts 5:31: "God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." Repentance is a gift God gives.
31:19 "Surely after that I was turned. I repented. After that I was instructed. I struck my thigh. I was ashamed, yes, even confounded, because I bore the reproach of my youth.’"
Jeremiah 31:19（World English Bible）
"Struck my thigh": an ancient physical gesture of extreme regret (cf. Ezek 21:12). "The reproach of my youth" refers to Ephraim (the northern kingdom)'s 150-year history of golden-calf worship beginning with Jeroboam (1 Kgs 12:28-33). True repentance sees the full catalog of sin stretching back to "youth" — it does not repent only of recent offenses.
31:20 "Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I still earnestly remember him. therefore my heart yearns for him. I will surely have mercy on him,” says Yahweh."
Jeremiah 31:20（World English Bible）
One of the most tender expressions of God's paternal love in the entire Old Testament.
"Dear son... darling child": in the New Testament these very words are applied directly to the Lord Jesus. At His baptism in Matthew 3:17, the voice from heaven says: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The Greek word εὐδόκησα (eudokēsa, "well pleased") corresponds directly to the language of Jeremiah 31:20. God's love for Ephraim (the apostate son of the Old Testament) prefigures God's love for the Lord Jesus (the ultimate "beloved Son").
"My heart yearns for him": Hebrew הָמוּ מֵעַי לוֹ (hamu me'ai lo), "my innards churn for him." The word "innards" (me'ai) is the seat of emotion in Hebrew culture (equivalent to the modern "heart"). God uses the most intensely physical language to express His compassion for the repentant son.
"I will surely have mercy": Hebrew רַחֵם אֲרַחֲמֶנּוּ (rachem arachammennu), a doubled affirmation — "I will absolutely, certainly have mercy." Grammatically emphatic: there is no possibility of God withholding mercy from the repentant.
In the New Testament, the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is the fullest unfolding of Jeremiah 31:20: the father runs to embrace the returning prodigal while the son is still a long way off. The Father Jeremiah glimpses is the very Father Jesus describes.
31:21 "“Set up road signs. Make guideposts. Set your heart toward the highway, even the way by which you went. Turn again, virgin of Israel. Turn again to these your cities."
Jeremiah 31:21（World English Bible）
"Road signs, guide posts": ancient travelers set up markers at critical junctions to avoid getting lost. God tells the exiled people: "Remember the road you came by, and return along the same route." This is an important spiritual principle: when returning, follow the same path you left by — do not try a new route.
31:22 "How long will you go here and there, you backsliding daughter? For Yahweh has created a new thing in the earth: a woman will encompass a man.”"
Jeremiah 31:22（World English Bible）
"A woman will encompass a man": Hebrew נְקֵבָה תְּסוֹבֵב גָּבֶר (neqevah tesovev gaver), "a female surrounds a man." This is one of the most difficult verses in the entire Hebrew Bible to interpret. Historically, dozens of interpretations have been proposed:
Key observation: regardless of interpretation, the word "new thing" (חֲדָשָׁה, chadashah) shares the same root as "new covenant" (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה, berit chadashah) in 31:31, forming a critical verbal link. This section prepares the ground for "new thing, new covenant"; the next section brings the explosion.
Section overview: In the sermon structure, this section is "the juridical pivot" — a transition from the old concept of corporate liability to individual responsibility. This principle is developed in greater detail in Ezekiel 18.
31:23 "Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Yet again they will use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I reverse their captivity: ‘Yahweh bless you, habitation of righteousness, mountain of holiness.’"
Jeremiah 31:23（World English Bible）
Restored Judah will once again be called "habitation of righteousness" and "mountain of holiness." Before the exile, these titles had been abused (Jer 7:4: "The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD" — a mantra of false security), but after restoration they will recover their spiritual substance.
31:24 "Judah and all its cities will dwell therein together, the farmers, and those who go about with flocks."
Jeremiah 31:24（World English Bible）
"Farmers and those who go about with flocks": the imagery of peaceful daily life. After the return, it is not only religious ceremonies that resume — the entire fabric of daily economic activity is restored. This is the same theme as Zechariah 8:4-5: "Old men and old women will again sit in the streets... and the streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing."
31:25-26 "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” On this I awakened, and saw; and my sleep was sweet to me."
Jeremiah 31:25-26（World English Bible）
Verse 26 is Jeremiah's first-person interjection: he wakes from the vision, astonished at its sweetness. This is a rare instance in prophetic literature of the "prophet's own reaction" being recorded. Jeremiah, who spent his entire life proclaiming judgment, has seen something so sweet that it startles him awake.
31:27-28 "“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of animal. It will happen that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant,” says Yahweh."
Jeremiah 31:27-28（World English Bible）
This echoes the "six-verb" commission of Jeremiah 1:10: "to pluck up, to break down, to destroy, to overthrow, to build, and to plant." At the time of his call in chapter 1, those six verbs were a panorama of the entire ministry (four verbs of demolition + two of construction); this verse declares that demolition is finished and construction is about to begin. The same verb "watch over" (שָׁקַד, shaqad — a wordplay on the almond tree [shaqed] in 1:12) is used, but this time the vigilant watching is for building, not for tearing down. God's ultimate purpose in tearing down is always to build. This is Jeremiah 31's complete reversal of what was begun in chapter 1.
31:29-30 "“In those days they will say no more, “‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But everyone will die for his own iniquity. Every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge."
Jeremiah 31:29-30（World English Bible）
"The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge": a popular proverb in ancient Israel expressing the concept of generational corporate liability — the father's sin causes suffering for the son. This concept has some biblical basis (e.g., Exod 20:5: "visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generation"), but it was misused as an excuse to avoid personal responsibility: "My situation isn't my fault — it's the sin my father passed down to me."
God declares: this proverb will be abolished. In the New Covenant era, each person dies for his own sin; the principle of individual responsibility is fully established. This principle is developed most completely in Ezekiel 18: "The soul who sins, he shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father; neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son" (Ezek 18:20).
In the New Testament, this principle reaches its fullest development in Romans 14:12 ("each one of us will give an account of himself to God") and 2 Corinthians 5:10 ("we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ"). Judgment is personal: you cannot blame your ancestors, you cannot blame your environment, and you cannot blame Adam (Romans 5 is Paul's treatment of precisely this tension in the Adam-Christ typology).
Section overview: These four verses are the deepest "New Covenant" prophecy in the entire Old Testament. They carry the single greatest bridge from the Hebrew Bible to the New Testament revelation. Any Bible study article, any sermon, any exegetical training that discusses "the New Covenant" must start from these four verses. Within the "Book of Consolation" (chs. 30-33), this is the highest peak — deeper than the battle-and-restoration theme of chapter 30, deeper than the field-purchase witness of chapter 32, deeper than the Davidic and Levitical covenant reaffirmation of chapter 33. This is God directly declaring: "I am going to do something entirely new."
31:31 "“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:"
Jeremiah 31:31（World English Bible）
"A new covenant": Hebrew בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה (berit chadashah), "a wholly new covenant."
"The house of Israel and the house of Judah": both the divided northern and southern kingdoms are included in the New Covenant. At the time of the exile, the northern kingdom had already been destroyed for more than 150 years, but in God's New Covenant the north is not forgotten: the two kingdoms are reunited in the New Covenant. In the New Testament, this promise is fully developed in Paul's theology of "true Israel" (Rom 9:6) and "Gentiles grafted into the olive tree" (Rom 11:17): the "Israel" of the New Covenant includes all who are in Christ, no longer divided between north and south, Jew and Gentile.
New Testament quotation: Hebrews 8:8 directly quotes this verse: "For he finds fault with them when he says, 'Behold, the days come,' says the Lord, 'that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...'" (Heb 8:8-12 quotes 31:31-34 in full, all five verses). The entire priestly theology of Hebrews — Christ as the eternal high priest, offering one sacrifice forever, seated at the right hand of the Father — is built upon this quotation. Without Jeremiah 31:31-34, the book of Hebrews could not have been written.
31:32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which covenant of mine they broke, although I was a husband to them,” says Yahweh."
Jeremiah 31:32（World English Bible）
"Not according to": Hebrew לֹא כַבְּרִית (lo khaberit), "not like that covenant." The New Covenant explicitly contrasts with the Sinai covenant — it is not an extension or revision of Sinai but a fundamentally different covenant.
Key contrasts:
| Dimension | Sinai Covenant (at the Exodus) | New Covenant (Jer 31) |
|---|---|---|
| Mode | God "took them by the hand" — external guidance | God "writes on their heart" — internal renewal |
| Mediator | Moses as intermediary | The Holy Spirit directly (John 14:26 / 2 Cor 3:6) |
| Outcome | "They broke my covenant" — failure | God Himself guarantees — certain success |
"I was a husband to them": Hebrew בָּעַלְתִּי בָם (ba'alti vam), "I was their husband/lord." Marriage imagery: the Sinai covenant is understood as God's marriage covenant with Israel (Exod 19 → the wedding at Mount Sinai). But Israel was unfaithful, "breaking my covenant." This image of marital unfaithfulness is developed in detail in Hosea 1-3 and Ezekiel 16, 23, and is one of the central metaphors of Jeremiah's prophetic idiom.
31:33 "“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart. I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
Jeremiah 31:33（World English Bible）
The deepest declaration of "the law written on the heart" in the entire Old Testament.
"I will put my law in their inward parts": Hebrew נָתַתִּי אֶת־תּוֹרָתִי בְּקִרְבָּם (natati et-torati be-qirbam), "I will place my Torah inside them." "Inside them" (be-qirbam) — no longer externally engraved on tablets of stone (as with the two tablets of the Sinai covenant) but placed within the person.
"I will write it in their heart": Hebrew עַל־לִבָּם אֶכְתֳבֶנָּה (al-libam ekhtovennah), "I will inscribe it on their heart." "Heart" (לֵב, lev) in Hebrew culture is the center of reason, will, emotion, and decision — equivalent to the modern "personality center" or "conscience."
Critical contrast — the stark reversal with 17:1:
| Verse | Content |
|---|---|
| Jer 17:1 | "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond; it is engraved on the tablet of their heart" — sin engraved on the heart-tablet |
| Jer 31:33 | "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their heart" — God's law written on the heart |
This contrast is the most beautiful theological reversal in the entire book of Jeremiah: the heart-tablet was originally inscribed with sin; now God Himself re-inscribes that same tablet with His Torah. This is the theological foundation of the New Testament doctrine that the Holy Spirit renews the human heart: 2 Corinthians 3:3 — "written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts"; Romans 8:4 — "that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
"I will be their God, and they shall be my people": echoing the opening declaration of 31:1, forming this chapter's theological inclusio. The substance of the New Covenant is not "new content" but "the complete fulfillment of the ancient Sinai promise" — the core covenant formula finally realized at the level of the heart.
New Testament echoes:
31:34 "They will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh;’ for they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,” says Yahweh: “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”"
Jeremiah 31:34（World English Bible）
The deepest declaration of "universal knowledge of God" + "eternal forgiveness" in the entire Old Testament.
"They will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them": the defining characteristic of the New Covenant era — universal, egalitarian, direct knowledge of God.
New Testament fulfillment of this promise:
This does not negate the role of teachers and pastors (Eph 4:11-12 still establishes teachers); rather, the foundation of knowing God lies not in external instruction but in the indwelling of the Spirit. This is the theological basis for the New Covenant doctrine of the priesthood of all believers (1 Pet 2:9).
"I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more": the foundation of eternal forgiveness.
New Testament fulfillment of this promise:
Theological summary of this passage in 1,500 words compressed:
Jeremiah 31:31-34 is the complete theological framework of the New Covenant that God clearly declared around 600 BC. The law written on the heart, universal knowledge, eternal forgiveness — these three pillars are inseparable in the New Covenant era:
These three pillars were all fulfilled at the Lord's Last Supper: He lifted the cup and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:20). In that moment, the prophecy of 600 BC became reality; the hope of the entire Old Testament was concentrated in one cup. Every time you break bread and share the cup today, you are witnessing the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-34. The New Covenant is not Jeremiah's dream — it is Christ's accomplishment. It is not something hoped for — it is something that has already happened.
Section overview: In the sermon structure, this section is "the theological guarantee of the New Covenant." The New Covenant is not a promise floating in mid-air — it is grounded in the order of God's creation.
31:35 "Yahweh, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar; Yahweh of Armies is his name, says:"
Jeremiah 31:35（World English Bible）
God pledges the covenant in His identity as Creator. The order of the sun, moon, and stars, the movement of the ocean waves — all are demonstrations of God's sovereignty. The reliability of the New Covenant is identical to the reliability of the universe's operations.
31:36 "“If these ordinances depart from before me,” says Yahweh, “then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before me forever.”"
Jeremiah 31:36（World English Bible）
A double negative forming emphatic affirmation: "If these ordinances could be abolished... then Israel's descendants would also cease." The meaning: as long as the sun and moon function, Israel will exist forever. This is God's strongest promise to Israel.
In the New Testament, Paul's "Israel theology" in Romans 11 is entirely built on this verse: "All Israel will be saved" (Rom 11:26). Paul knows that God's promise to Israel is never revoked.
31:37 "Yahweh says: “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” says Yahweh."
Jeremiah 31:37（World English Bible）
A second double negative forming emphatic affirmation: "If heaven could be measured... then I would cast off Israel." Since humans cannot measure heaven, God will never cast off Israel.
31:38-40 "“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that the city will be built to Yahweh from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner. The measuring line will go out further straight onward to the hill Gareb, and will turn toward Goah. The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate toward the east, will be holy to Yahweh. It will not be plucked up or thrown down any more forever.”"
Jeremiah 31:38-40（World English Bible）
Specific geographical details of restoration: Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and all "unclean" places — the valley of dead bodies and ashes (the Valley of Hinnom, where children had been burned as sacrifices to Molech) — will be made holy to the LORD. The most unclean places are thoroughly sanctified. This echoes Ephesians 5:26: "that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word."
"Not plucked up or thrown down any more forever": echoing the six verbs of 1:10, but this time as a permanent reversal. The era of tearing down is definitively ended; the era of building has permanently begun. This is the chapter's ultimate guarantee: once established, the New Covenant is never abolished.
| Term | Hebrew | Transliteration | Verse | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everlasting love | אַהֲבַת עוֹלָם | ahavat olam | 31:3 | Love from eternity — without beginning, without end; echoes Eph 1:4 |
| Loving kindness | חֶסֶד | chesed | 31:3 | The covenant-keeper's unfailing, loyal love |
| Draw | מָשַׁךְ | mashakh | 31:3 | To pull, to attract actively; John 12:32 helkō is the LXX's standard translation |
| Virgin | בְּתוּלַת | betulat | 31:4, 21 | An unmarried young woman; God treats Israel as a "renewed virgin" |
| Remnant | שְׁאֵרִית | she'erit | 31:7 | The surviving remnant — a core concept of prophetic literature |
| Weeping | בְּכִי | bekhi | 31:9, 15-16 | Jeremiah's signature emotion; also the tears of repentance on the road of return |
| Ransom / redeem | פָּדָה | padah | 31:11 | To buy back at a price; the Old Testament root of Gal 3:13 |
| Rachel | רָחֵל | Rachel | 31:15 | Jacob's most beloved wife, functioning as the symbolic mother of Israel |
| Refuses to be comforted | מֵאֲנָה לְהִנָּחֵם | me'anah le-hinnachem | 31:15 | A mother's deepest grief for lost children; quoted by Matt 2:18 |
| Hope for your future | תִקְוָה לְאַחֲרִיתֵךְ | tiqvah le'acharitekh | 31:17 | The most tender promise of hope; echoes Rom 5:5 |
| Turn / repent | שׁוּב | shuv | 31:18-19 | The core word for repentance; "turn me, and I will be turned" is grace theology |
| Struck the thigh | סָפַקְתִּי עַל־יָרֵךְ | safaqti al-yarekh | 31:19 | An ancient physical gesture of extreme regret |
| Dear son | בֵּן יַקִּיר | ben yaqir | 31:20 | "Beloved son"; Matt 3:17's "this is my beloved Son" echoes this word |
| Darling child | יֶלֶד שַׁעֲשֻׁעִים | yeled sha'ashu'im | 31:20 | "A child of delight"; same theme as the heavenly voice at Jesus' baptism |
| My heart yearns | הָמוּ מֵעַי לוֹ | hamu me'ai lo | 31:20 | "My innards churn for him" — the most intensely physical language for God's compassion |
| I will surely have mercy | רַחֵם אֲרַחֲמֶנּוּ | rachem arachammennu | 31:20 | Doubled affirmation: "absolute, certain mercy" |
| A woman encompassing a man | נְקֵבָה תְּסוֹבֵב גָּבֶר | neqevah tesovev gaver | 31:22 | One of the most enigmatic verses in the Hebrew Bible; multiple interpretations |
| New thing | חֲדָשָׁה | chadashah | 31:22 | Shares the root of "new covenant" (berit chadashah) — a verbal bridge |
| New covenant | בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה | berit chadashah | 31:31 | The core term of the deepest New Covenant prophecy in the entire OT |
| Torah / law | תּוֹרָה | torah | 31:33 | "Instruction, guidance" — the Sinai law |
| Heart | לֵב | lev | 31:33 | The center of reason, will, emotion, and decision — the personality center |
| I will be their God | וְהָיִיתִי לָהֶם לֵאלֹהִים | ve-hayiti lahem le-Elohim | 31:1, 33 | The core Sinai covenant formula; this chapter's theological inclusio |
| Know | יָדַע | yada' | 31:34 | Relational knowledge — not factual knowledge but personal acquaintance; echoes John 6:45 / Heb 8:11 |
| Forgive | סָלַח | salach | 31:34 | The core word for forgiveness of sin; under the New Covenant, once-for-all and complete |
| Remember no more | לֹא־אֶזְכָּר־עוֹד | lo-ezkar-od | 31:34 | "Absolutely never remember again"; quoted directly by Heb 10:17 |
| Watch over | שָׁקַד | shaqad | 31:28 | Same root as the almond-tree wordplay in 1:12; God's vigilant watching, now for building |
| Proverb | מָשָׁל | mashal | 31:29 | The "sour grapes" proverb, expressing the old concept of generational corporate liability |
A. Everlasting Love (31:1-6) — The Emotional Foundation
A1. Sinai covenant formula (1) — "I will be the God of Israel; they shall be my people"
A2. Grace in the wilderness (2) — Foreshadowing the Second Exodus
A3. **Everlasting love** (3) — *ahavat olam*: the foundation of every promise in this chapter
A4. The virgin rebuilt (4) — "tambourines, dancing" echoing Miriam
A5. Vineyards again in Samaria (5) — Northern kingdom restoration
A6. Reunion at Zion (6) — North and south reunited
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B. The Second Exodus (31:7-9) — The Concrete Picture of Return
B1. Chief of the nations (7) — The remnant's election
B2. Blind, lame, pregnant, those in labor all return (8) — No weak one left behind
B3. Ephraim is my firstborn (9) — The northern kingdom remains God's "firstborn"
C. Proclamation to the Nations (31:10-14) — The Scope of Restoration
C1. The nations must hear (10) — A universal announcement
C2. The ransom of Jacob (11) — The OT root of Gal 3:13
C3. Mourning turned to joy (12-13) — Echoes John 16:20, Rev 21:4
C4. Priests satisfied with abundance (14) — Temple worship restored
D. **Rachel Weeping for Her Children** (31:15-22) — The Dual Picture of Tears and Hope
D1. **The weeping at Ramah** (15) — Quoted directly by Matt 2:18, fulfilled in Herod's infanticide
D2. **Hope for your future** (16-17) — "Your work will be rewarded"
D3. Ephraim's repentance (18-19) — "Turn me, and I will be turned"
D4. The intensity of fatherly love (20) — Matt 3:17's heavenly voice at Jesus' baptism directly echoes this
D5. Set up road signs (21) — Return along the original route
D6. A woman encompassing a man (22) — "New thing" prepares for the "**New Covenant**" below
E. No Longer Sour Grapes (31:23-30) — The Juridical Pivot
E1. Restored Judah (23-25) — "Habitation of righteousness, mountain of holiness"
E2. Jeremiah wakes from the vision (26) — A rare prophetic interjection
E3. Plucking-up and building reversed (27-28) — Echoing the six verbs of 1:10
E4. The sour-grapes proverb abolished (29-30) — Individual responsibility
★★★★★ F. **The New Covenant Prophecy** (31:31-34) — The Chapter's Summit, the Deepest New Covenant Prophecy in the OT ★★★★★
F1. **Making a new covenant** (31) — *berit chadashah*: both Israel and Judah included
F2. **Not like the Sinai covenant** (32) — Explicit contrast: "external vs. internal"
F3. **Written on the heart** (33) — The law on the heart: contrast with 17:1's "sin engraved on the heart-tablet" — complete theological reversal
F4. All shall know, from least to greatest (34a) — Universal knowledge: the basis of the priesthood of all believers
F5. **Forgive and remember no more** (34b) — Eternal forgiveness: Heb 10:17 uses this as the basis for "there is no more offering for sin"
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G. The Unchanging Promise (31:35-40) — The Theological Guarantee of the New Covenant
G1. The Creator pledges the covenant (35) — Sun, moon, and stars as witnesses
G2. Double-negative emphatic affirmation 1 (36) — "If sun and moon cease, then Israel ceases"
G3. Double-negative emphatic affirmation 2 (37) — "If heaven can be measured, then Israel is cast off"
G4. Unclean land made holy (38-40) — The Valley of Hinnom completely reversed
— "Not plucked up or thrown down any more" echoes 1:10 but is a permanent reversal
Structural observations: The chapter follows a progressively ascending structure: "emotion (A-D) → juridical pivot (E) → theological summit (F) → eternal guarantee (G)." Section F (31:31-34) is the structural center: everything before it prepares for it; section G provides its eternal assurance. The "summit" of the entire Old Testament is in section F — the core passage in which God reveals the New Covenant to humanity.
| Theme | ANE Context | This Chapter's Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| Covenant formula | ANE treaties commonly contained "I will be your God and you will be my people" covenant language (Hittite / Assyrian / Babylonian suzerainty treaties all have similar formulae) | Jer 31:1, 33 adopts this formula |
| Heart-tablets | ANE documents were commonly inscribed on stone, clay tablets, or metal plates; "inscribing" was the standard covenant-making action | Jer 31:33 — "written on the heart" is a spiritual reversal of this cultural practice, moving from external material to internal personhood |
| Marital infidelity | ANE treaties compared a vassal state's betrayal of the suzerain to a wife's infidelity toward her husband | Jer 31:32 — "I was a husband to them, but they broke my covenant" |
| Rachel weeping for her children | ANE tradition included important female ancestors (e.g., Sumerian Inanna, Canaanite Asherah) "weeping for their people," but these are pagan myths | Jer 31:15 transforms this tradition into the grief of a real Israelite mother — more humanly grounded, more historically specific |
| Father-son love | ANE poetry contains the motif of "a god establishing a covenant for his son," but "a god feeling fatherly tenderness toward a human" is rare | Jer 31:20 — "my heart yearns for him" (hamu me'ai lo) is one of the rarest instances of "emotionally paternal" language for God in the Hebrew Bible |
31:1 "at that time," 31:27 "the days come," 31:31 "the days come," 31:33 "after those days," 31:38 "the days come" — the chapter repeatedly points toward the future, declaring that the New Covenant is not a present-tense event but something "coming."
This chapter is the summit of the Book of Consolation (chs. 30-33) and concentrates nearly all of the book's positive themes:
| Old Testament | New Testament Echo | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Jer 31:3 "I have loved you with an everlasting love" | Eph 1:4 "He chose us in him before the foundation of the world" | Everlasting love concretized as everlasting election |
| Jer 31:3 "I have drawn you with loving kindness" | John 12:32 "I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" | Greek helkō is the LXX's standard translation of mashakh (draw); Jesus directly echoes Jer 31:3 |
| Jer 31:8 "the blind and the lame return" | Matt 11:5 "the blind receive their sight, the lame walk" | Jesus' healing ministry fulfills Jer 31:8 / Isa 35:5-6 |
| Jer 31:9 "Ephraim is my firstborn" | Mal 3:17 "I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him" | God's love for the northern "firstborn" transcends exile |
| Jer 31:10 "He who scattered will gather; He keeps as a shepherd" | John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd" | Jesus is the embodiment of Jer 31:10 — gathering + shepherding |
| Jer 31:11 "The LORD has ransomed Jacob" | Gal 3:13 "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us" | New Covenant redemption has a price — the blood of Christ |
| Jer 31:12 "They will not sorrow any more at all" | Rev 21:4 "He will wipe away every tear... Death will be no more; neither mourning, crying, nor pain" | The eschatological hope of the new heaven and new earth |
| Jer 31:13 "I will turn their mourning into joy" | John 16:20 "You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy" | Jesus directly echoes Jer 31:13 |
| Jer 31:15 "Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted" | Matt 2:18 "Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 'A voice was heard in Ramah...'" | Full verbatim quotation, fulfilled in Herod's massacre of infants under two in Bethlehem |
| Jer 31:18 "Turn me, and I will be turned" | Lam 5:21 "Turn us to yourself, LORD, and we will be turned"; Acts 5:31 "God exalted him... to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" | Repentance is a gift God gives |
| Jer 31:20 "Is Ephraim my dear son? My darling child?" | Matt 3:17 "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (eudokēsa) | The heavenly voice at Jesus' baptism directly echoes the language of Jer 31:20 |
| Jer 31:20 "My heart yearns for him" | Luke 15:20 "While he was still far off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" | The prodigal's father is the concrete unfolding of Jer 31:20 |
| Jer 31:29 "The fathers ate sour grapes" (proverb abolished) | Ezek 18:20 "The soul who sins, he shall die"; Rom 14:12 "Each one of us will give an account of himself to God" | Individual responsibility fully established |
| Jer 31:31 "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" | Heb 8:8 "Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will make a new covenant..." (Heb 8:8-12 quotes 31:31-34 in full, all five verses) | The entire priestly theology of Hebrews is built on this quotation |
| Jer 31:31 "a new covenant" | Luke 22:20 "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you"; 1 Cor 11:25 "This cup is the new covenant in my blood" | Jesus at the Last Supper directly declares His blood is the "new covenant" promised in Jer 31:31-34 |
| Jer 31:33 "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their heart" | 2 Cor 3:3 "You are a letter of Christ... written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts"; 2 Cor 3:6 "ministers of a new covenant" | Paul directly echoes Jer 31:33 |
| Jer 31:33 "I will write the law on their heart" | Rom 2:14-15 "Gentiles who don't have the law do by nature the things of the law... their conscience testifying"; Rom 8:4 "that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us" | The theological foundation of the Holy Spirit's renewal of the human heart |
| Jer 31:34 "They will all know me, from the least to the greatest" | John 6:45 "They will all be taught by God"; 1 John 2:27 "The anointing remains in you, and you don't need for anyone to teach you"; Heb 8:11 "They will not teach every man his fellow citizen" | Universal, direct knowledge of God under the New Covenant; the basis of the priesthood of all believers |
| Jer 31:34 "I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more" | Matt 26:28 "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins"; Heb 10:14, 17-18 "By one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified... their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. Where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin" | Eternal forgiveness; the foundation of Hebrews' "sacrifice has ceased" theology |
| Jer 31:36 "Israel's descendants will never cease to be a nation" | Rom 11:1-2 "Did God reject his people? May it never be!"; Rom 11:26 "All Israel will be saved" | God's promise to Israel is never revoked |
| Jer 31:40 "Unclean land made holy... not plucked up or thrown down any more forever" | Eph 5:26 "that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word" | The most unclean is thoroughly sanctified |
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Background overview: This chapter is the summit of Jeremiah's "Book of Consolation" (chs. 30-33), written approximately during Zedekiah's reign (597-587 BC) or around the time of Jerusalem's fall. This is the prophet at his darkest hour declaring the brightest hope.
To appreciate the weight of Jeremiah 31, one must first understand the circumstances in which these words were spoken. After the first deportation in 597 BC, Jerusalem's situation grew increasingly desperate. Nebuchadnezzar had already carried away Judah's finest — King Jehoiachin, the young nobility (including Daniel and his three friends), craftsmen, priests, and scribes — leaving behind only "the remnant." Zedekiah was installed by Babylon as a puppet king. Within the court, a hardline anti-Babylonian faction (urging alliance with Egypt against Babylon) was growing. False prophets like Hananiah (ch. 28) publicly declared: "Within two years the exiles and the temple vessels will return." The air was thick with false optimism.
It was in this context that God led Jeremiah into the writing of the "Book of Consolation." Jeremiah did not indulge in political fantasies; he knew that judgment would come, the temple would be burned, and the exile would last seventy years (25:11-12 / 29:10). But simultaneously, God gave him a vision deeper than the present: at the end of judgment, there is total grace; at the end of exile, there is total return; at the end of the Old Covenant, there is a totally new covenant. This is chapters 30-33: a lamp in the darkness, a gospel in the midst of despair.
Jeremiah 31 stands at the highest spiritual altitude within these four chapters of consolation. Chapter 30 declares that "Jacob's trouble" will turn to restoration, but still carries a martial tone; chapter 32 witnesses to hope through Jeremiah's purchase of a field while imprisoned, but it remains a local-level type; chapter 33 reaffirms the Davidic and Levitical covenants, focusing more on the restoration of the royal system. Only chapter 31 reaches directly to "internal, universal, eternal" — the three fundamental dimensions of the New Covenant that no other Old Testament chapter attains.
This chapter establishes the three pillars of the entire New Testament: (1) the law on the heart (31:33 → Rom 2:14-15 / 2 Cor 3:3); (2) universal knowledge (31:34 → John 6:45 / Heb 8:11 / 1 John 2:27); (3) eternal forgiveness (31:34 → Heb 10:14, 17-18). The New Covenant was not "improvised" by God — it was clearly declared by God through Jeremiah around 600 BC. What Jeremiah saw was not a vague hope but the complete theological contour of the New Covenant, already fully formed in God's mind.
| Dimension | Content |
|---|---|
| Era | Approximately Zedekiah's reign (597-587 BC), or around the fall of Jerusalem |
| Reigning king | Zedekiah (the last king, indecisive) |
| Primary threat | Nebuchadnezzar already beginning a second campaign against Judah |
| Internal conditions | False-prophet optimism rampant; Jeremiah already imprisoned multiple times |
| Concurrent events | Jer 32: Jeremiah buys a field while imprisoned (concurrent or immediately following) |
| Contemporary prophets | Ezekiel (in Babylon), Daniel (in Babylon) |
| OT typological connections | The Second Exodus (same theme as Isa 40-55) + Rachel weeping for her children (Gen 35:19-20 + Matt 2:18) |
| Theme | Content |
|---|---|
| Everlasting love | 31:3 ahavat olam, echoing Eph 1:4's election before the foundation of the world |
| The Second Exodus | 31:8-9, same theme as Isa 40-55: God reenacts salvation |
| Rachel weeping for her children | 31:15, directly quoted by Matt 2:18 and fulfilled in Herod's infanticide |
| Hope for your future | 31:17, preserving hope in the deepest grief; echoes Rom 5:5 / 1 Pet 1:3 |
| God turns the person around | 31:18, repentance is a gift God gives; echoes Lam 5:21 / Acts 5:31 |
| The intensity of fatherly love | 31:20, "dear son... darling child" directly echoed by the heavenly voice at Jesus' baptism (Matt 3:17) |
| Individual responsibility | 31:29-30, the sour-grapes proverb abolished; fully developed in Ezek 18 |
| The New Covenant | 31:31-34, the law on the heart + universal knowledge + eternal forgiveness; quoted in full by Heb 8:8-12; fulfilled in the Lord's Supper (Luke 22:20) |
| The unchanging promise | 31:35-37, with the sun, moon, and stars as witnesses; echoes Rom 11:29 — God's call is irrevocable |
| Unclean land made holy | 31:38-40, the Valley of Hinnom sanctified to the LORD — complete reversal |