Jeremiah 31:36 (KJV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Jeremiah 31:35 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 31:36 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.

Jeremiah 31:37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:38 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ordinances", "depart", "before", "saith", "lord", "seed", "israel", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ordinances" and "depart", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 35's "Thus saith the LORD which giveth the..." into verse 37's "Thus saith the LORD If heaven above...", so "ordinances" and "depart" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "ordinances" and "depart" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.