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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:
Jeremiah 31:35 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB 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:
  • BSB 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:
  • NKJV Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name):
  • NASB ¶This is what the Lord says, He who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— The Lord of armies is His name:
  • NLT It is the Lord who provides the sun to light the day and the moon and stars to light the night, and who stirs the sea into roaring waves. His name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and this is what he says:

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God identifies Himself as the one who fixed the sun, moon, stars, and seas, the LORD of Armies. His creative power guarantees the promises that follow.

Overview

The Lord grounds His covenant faithfulness in His sovereignty over creation, appealing to the fixed ordinances of sun, moon, and sea. The same God who upholds the cosmos has bound Himself to preserve His people. This sets up verse 36's assurance that Israel's continuance is as certain as the created order, a certainty ultimately resting in Christ, through whom and for whom all things were made (Col. 1:16-17).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 32

  • Jer 10:16The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
  • Isa 51:15But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.
  • Ps 136:7–9To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
  • Jer 50:34Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
  • Gen 1:14–18And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
  • Matt 5:45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
  • Matt 8:25–26And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
  • Deut 4:19And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
  • Isa 54:5For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
  • Isa 63:12That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?
  • Jer 51:19The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.
  • Ps 93:3–4The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
  • Ps 72:5They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
  • Ps 19:1–6The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
  • Exod 14:21–22And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
  • Isa 48:2For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name.
  • Ps 74:13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
  • Ps 89:36–37His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
  • Ps 74:16The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
  • Ps 89:2For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
  • Jer 5:22Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
  • Jer 46:18As I live, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
  • Jer 32:18Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,
  • Ps 114:3–5The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.
  • Ps 72:17His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
  • Ps 119:89For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
  • Job 38:10–11And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
  • Ps 78:13He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
  • Ps 107:25–29For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
  • Job 26:12He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
  • Ps 106:9He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
  • Job 38:33Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 31:35YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.

How Jeremiah 31:35 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.