the days are coming
This phrase indicates a future event, a prophetic vision that is yet to be fulfilled. It suggests an eschatological perspective, pointing to a time when God's plans will come to fruition. Historically, this phrase reassures the Israelites of God's ongoing involvement in their future, despite their current circumstances of exile and despair.

declares the LORD
The phrase "declares the LORD" underscores the divine origin of the prophecy. In Hebrew, "נְאֻם־יְהוָה" (ne'um-YHWH) is a formulaic expression used to affirm that the message is not from the prophet himself but from God. This adds weight and authority to the prophecy, reminding the audience of God's sovereignty and faithfulness.

when I will make
The phrase "when I will make" indicates God's active role in establishing the new covenant. The Hebrew verb "כָּרַת" (karat) often used here, literally means "to cut," reflecting the ancient practice of cutting animals in covenant-making ceremonies. This signifies a solemn and binding agreement initiated by God Himself.

a new covenant
The "new covenant" is a pivotal concept in biblical theology. In Hebrew, "בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה" (berit chadashah) signifies a fresh, unprecedented agreement between God and His people. This covenant is contrasted with the old Mosaic covenant, which was based on the law. The new covenant promises a transformative relationship characterized by internal change and direct knowledge of God, ultimately fulfilled in the New Testament through Jesus Christ.

with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
This phrase specifies the recipients of the new covenant: "the house of Israel and the house of Judah." Historically, this refers to the divided kingdoms of Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah (the southern kingdom). The mention of both houses signifies the reunification and restoration of God's people. It highlights God's inclusive plan for all His chosen people, transcending past divisions and foreshadowing the unity found in the body of Christ.

The promise is too commonly dealt with as standing by itself, without reference to the sequence of thought in which we find it placed. That sequence, however, is not hard to trace. The common proverb about the sour grapes had set the prophet thinking on the laws of God's dealings with men. He felt that something more was needed to restrain men from evil than the thought that they might be transmitting evil to their children's children--something more even than the thought of direct personal responsibility, and of a perfectly righteous retribution. And that something was to be found in the idea of a law--not written on tablets of stone, not threatening and condemning from without, and denouncing punishment on the transgressors and their descendants, but written on heart and spirit (2Corinthians 3:3-6). It is noticeable, as showing how like thoughts were working in the minds of the two prophets, that in Ezekiel also the promise of a "new heart and new spirit" comes in close sequence upon the protest against the adage about the "children's teeth being set on edge" (Ezekiel 18:31). In the words for "saith the Lord" we have the more solemn word which carries with it the announcement as of an oracle from God. . . .

(1) The relation between God and his people is protected from all risk by God himself making the people what he would have them be.

(2) "Whereas, in the case of the old, the law of duty was written on tables of stone, in the case of the new the law is to be written on the heart; whereas, under the old, owing to the ritual character of the worship, the knowledge of God and his will was a complicated affair, in which men generally were helplessly dependent on a professional class, under the new, the worship of God would be reduced to the simplest spiritual elements, and it would be in every man's power to know God at first hand, the sole requisite for such knowledge as would then be required being a pure heart." And

(3) "whereas, under the old, the provisions for the cancelling of sin were very unsatisfactory, and utterly unfit to perfect the worshipper as to conscience, by dealing thoroughly with the problem of guilt, under the new God would grant to his people a real, absolute, and perennial forgiveness, so that the abiding relation between him and them should be as if sin had never existed" (Dr. A.B. Bruce, in The Expositor, January, 1880, pp. 70, 71). Comp. the abolition of the ark indicated in Jeremiah 3:16. - The inspired author of Hebrews tells us (Hebrews 8:6-13), speaking generally, that this promise delivered through Jeremiah was fulfilled in the gospel. But it must be remembered that the gospel has not yet taken form outwardly, except in a comparatively meagre sense. If the Jews as a nation (that is, the better part or kernel of Israel) should embrace the gospel, not necessarily in the logical expression familiar to the West, but in its essential facts and truths, we should see quite another embodiment of the promise, and feel the spiritual impulse in ourselves as we have not yet done. It seems appropriate, in conclusion, to quote a finely expressed passage from De Quincey's exposition of the New Testament term μετάνοια. Without pledging ourselves to the absolute correctness of his explanation of that word, his language may be well applied to Jeremiah's prophecy. "What would have been thought of any prophet, if he should have promised to transfigurate the celestial mechanics; if he had said, 'I will create a new pole star, a new zodiac, and new laws of gravitation;' briefly, 'I will make new earth and new heavens'? And yet a thousand times more awful it was to undertake the writing Of new laws upon the spiritual conscience of man."

Parallel Commentaries ...