Jeremiah 31:36

God's faithfulness Israel and the nations

³⁴ And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

³⁵ Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

³⁷ Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

³⁸ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: “Only if this fixed order departed from My presence, declares the LORD, would Israel’s descendants ever cease to be a nation before Me.”
KJV: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
WEB: “If these ordinances depart from before me,” says the LORD, “then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before me forever.”
ASV: If these ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
DARBY: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
BLB: “If these ordinances depart from before Me, a declaration of YHWH, even the seed of Israel will cease from being a nation before Me all the days.”

ÅB: Dersom disse lover ikke lenger står ved makt for mitt åsyn, sier Herren, da skal også Israels slekt opphøre å være et folk for mitt åsyn alle dager.
OTB: "Først hvis disse bestemmelsene forsvinner fra mitt syn," sier Herren, "vil Israels etterkommere noen gang opphøre å være en nasjon for meg."
B1930: Dersom disse lover ikke lenger står ved makt for mitt åsyn, sier Herren, da skal også Israels ætt ophøre å være et folk for mitt åsyn alle dager.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Jeremiah 33:20–26
Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;
Read in context
Psalms 89:36–37
His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
Read in context
Isaiah 54:9–10
For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
Read in context
Psalms 148:6
He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
Read in context
Jeremiah 46:28
Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
Read in context
Amos 9:8–9
Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.
Read in context
Psalms 119:89
For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 32:26
I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
Read in context