Jeremiah 33:20
18 nor will the priests who are Levites ever fail to have a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to present sacrifices.”
19 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
“This is what the LORD says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night cease to occupy their appointed time,
21 then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant and with My ministers the Levites who are priests, so that David will not have a son to reign on his throne.
22 As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister before Me.”
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
- “This is what the LORD says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night cease to occupy their appointed time,
- KJV
- 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;
- WEB
- “The LORD says: ‘If you can break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night, so that there will not be day and night in their time,
- ASV
- Thus saith Jehovah: If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, so that there shall not be day and night in their season;
- DARBY
- Thus saith Jehovah: If ye can break my covenant [in respect] of the day, and my covenant [in respect] of the night, so that there should not be day and night in their season,
- BLB
- “Thus says YHWH: If you⁺ can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season,
- ÅB
- Så sier Herren: Dersom dere kan bryte min pakt med dagen og min pakt med natten, så det ikke blir dag og natt i sin tid,
- OTB
- Så sier Herren: ‘Hvis du kan bryte Min pakt med dagen og Min pakt med natten, så dag og natt ikke inntreffer på sine fastsatte tider,
- B1930
- Så sier Herren: Dersom I kan bryte min pakt med dagen og min pakt med natten, så det ikke blir dag og natt i sin tid,
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Genesis 8:22
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”
Read in contextIsaiah 54:9–10
“For to Me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you.
Read in contextPsalms 89:37
like the moon, established forever, a faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
Read in contextPsalms 104:19–23
He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.
Read in contextJeremiah 31:35–37
Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:
Read in contextJeremiah 33:25–26
This is what the LORD says: If I have not established My covenant with the day and the night and the fixed order of heaven and earth,
Read in context