“Only if this fixed order departed from My presence, declares the LORD, would Israel’s descendants ever cease to be a nation before Me.”
Parallel translations
- WEB “If these ordinances depart from before me,” says Yahweh, “then the offspring of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.”
- 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.
- NKJV “If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the Lord, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever.”
- NASB “If this fixed order departs From Me,” declares the Lord, “Then the descendants of Israel also will cease To be a nation before Me forever.”
- NLT “I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to abolish the laws of nature!”
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
Only if the fixed order of creation ceased would Israel cease to be a nation before God. It guarantees the perpetual existence of God's covenant people.
Overview
Using the reliability of the natural ordinances just named, God pledges that His people will endure as surely as creation itself. This is an unconditional promise of preservation, not dependent on Israel's faithfulness. Faithful Christians have understood its fulfillment in the enduring people of God, gathered from Israel and the nations in Christ, against whom even the gates of hell will not prevail (Rom. 11:1-2; Matt. 16:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Isa 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.
- Ps 89:36–37his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne before Me like the sun,
- Jer 33:20–26“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,
- Ps 148:6He established them forever and ever; He issued a decree that will never pass away.
- Ps 119:89Your word, O LORD, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens.
- Jer 46:28And you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, for I am with you. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have banished you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”
- Ps 102:28The children of Your servants will dwell securely, and their descendants will be established before You.”
- Ps 72:5May they fear him as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon remains, through all generations.
- Amos 9:8–9Surely the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares the LORD.
- Deut 32:26I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,
- Ps 72:17May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 31:36 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.