Jeremiah 31:31–34

Jeremiah announces a new covenant, written on the heart

³¹Look, days are coming, declares YHWH, when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant,
³²not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares YHWH.
³³For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares YHWH: I will put my instruction within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be to them Elohim, and they will be to me a people.
³⁴And no longer will they teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know YHWH,’ for all of them will know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares YHWH; for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will not remember anymore.”

Study it word by word

In its context

²⁹In those days they will no longer say, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.’

³⁰But each one for his own iniquity will die; every human being who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.

…

³⁵Thus says YHWH, who gives the sun for light by day, the statutes of the moon and of the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; YHWH Tsevaot is his name:

³⁶“If these statutes depart from before me, declares YHWH, then also the offspring of Israel will cease from being a nation before me all the days.”

Read all of Jeremiah 31

Its words in the original

יָמִיםyamim· day
Day: the hours of light, or a whole day from one evening to the next. Also an indefinite time or age ("in the day that...", "in those days").
בָּאִיםbaim· come, go in, bring
Come, arrive, go in, enter. In the causative form, "bring" or "carry in". "Go in to" a woman is to have marital relations with her.
נְאֻםneum· declaration
Solemn declaration. "Declares YHWH" is the formula that marks words as spoken by God himself.
יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
כָרַתִּיcharati· cut, cut off
Cut, cut down. Said of a living being, cut off, destroy. "Cut a covenant" is the Hebrew expression for making a covenant, because it was sealed by cutting animals in two (Genesis 15).
בֵּיתbet· house, household
House. Also the family that lives in it ("the house of Noah") and someone's descendants ("the house of David"); also a temple, "the house of God".
יִשְׂרָאֵלyisrael· Israel
Israel, the new name Jacob received from God, explained as "you have striven with God" (Genesis 32:28); then the name of the people that came from him and, after the division, of the northern kingdom.
יְהוּדָהyehuda· Judah
Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah; also the tribe that came from him and its land, and later the southern kingdom; King David came from it. The name sounds like "give thanks". Borne also by other Israelites.
בְּרִיתberit· covenant
Covenant: a solemn commitment between two parties, with promises and obligations. When God makes it, he is the one who offers it and guarantees it.
חֲדָשָׁהchadasha· new
New.
אֲבוֹתָavota· father
Father; also ancestor ("our fathers"), and the founder or head of a family or group.
הֶחֱזִיקִhecheziki· be strong, seize
Be strong; take hold of firmly, seize. In other forms, strengthen, encourage, repair; said of the heart, become stubborn.
יָדָyada· hand, power
Hand. Figuratively, power or control ("into the hand of" = into the power of); also side, part, or share. Also a projecting piece, such as a tenon.
הוֹצִיאָhotsia· go out, bring out
Go out, come out. In the causative form, "make go out", "bring out", "lead out", "produce".
אֶרֶץerets· earth, land
The earth, in two senses: the whole world in contrast with the heavens, or a particular country or region ("the land of Egypt").
מִצְרָיִםmitsrayim· Egypt, Mizraim
Mizraim, the Hebrew name of Egypt; also the Egyptians. As a person, a son of Ham, ancestor of the Egyptians.
הֵפֵרוּheferu· break, annul
Break, annul, frustrate; break a covenant, fail to keep it.
בָּעַלְתִּיbaalti· marry; be master
Marry a woman, be her husband; rule over, be master. "Married to a husband" is a woman who already has one.
נָתַתִּיnatati· give, put, set
Give, in a very wide sense: hand over, put, place, grant, allow, make something be.
תּוֹרָתִtorati· instruction, law
"Torah": instruction, teaching that gives direction; hence "law". Later it is the name of the five books of Moses. This translation uses "instruction", and "law" when the body of laws is meant.
קִרְבָּkirba· inside, midst
The inside, what is within; "in the midst of", "within".
לִבָּliba· heart
Heart. In Hebrew it is not only the place of feelings: it is the center of the person, where one thinks, decides and wills; also the middle of something.
אֶכְתֲּבֶechtave· write
Write; also write down, record.
הָיִיתִיhayiti· be, become, happen
Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".
אלֹהִיםlohim· Elohim, God, gods
The Hebrew word usually translated "God". This translation keeps "Elohim" when it speaks of the one true God, the Creator, the God of Israel. The word ends like a plural, but it does not mean several: for him the verb is singular ("Elohim created"); the plural form expresses greatness. The same word as a common noun names the "gods" of other peoples, and there it is a true plural, translated "gods". It is also used of mighty ones or judges.
עָםam· people
People: a human group joined by kinship, history and destiny. "My people", said by God, is Israel. Also the people as a crowd, or troops.
יְלַמְּדוּyelamdu· teach, learn
Teach; in another form of the verb, learn.
אִישׁish· man, husband, each
Man, male; with a possessive, husband. Also "each one", "anyone". It is "ish", distinct from "adam" (human being); it is used for the man in contrast with the woman ("ishah").
רֵעֵree· neighbor, friend
The other person one deals with: companion, neighbor, friend; in the laws, "neighbor". "One to another" is "a man to his neighbor".
אָחִיachi· brother
Brother; also a close relative, or someone of the same people.
אמֹרmor· say
Say, speak. The most common verb for bringing in what someone says; sometimes "think" (say to oneself) or "command".
דְּעוּdeu· know
Know. Not only having a fact: it is knowing by experience and closely; also recognize, care for, make known. So Hebrew also uses it for the intimate union of a man and his wife ("he knew his wife").
קְטַנָּketana· small, younger
Small; the younger or lesser of two, in size, age or importance.
גְּדוֹלָgedola· great
Great in size, number, age or importance; also "the elder" of two; "high priest" is "great priest".
אֶסְלַחeslach· forgive
Forgive, pardon. In the Bible this verb has only God as its subject.
עֲוֺנָavona· iniquity
Iniquity: wickedness, a serious wrong. The same word covers the wrong, the guilt it leaves and the punishment it brings.
חַטָּאתָchatata· sin, sin offering
Sin: missing the mark of what God asks; also the guilt and the punishment. In the laws the same word also names the sacrifice offered for sin.
אֶזְכָּרezkar· remember
Remember, call to mind; also mention. When God "remembers" someone, it is not that he had forgotten: it means he acts in his favor.

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