Jeremiah 31:36 (WEB)

Passage

“If these ordinances depart from before me,” says Yahweh, “then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before me forever.”

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 31:34 They will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh;’ for they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,” says Yahweh: “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Jeremiah 31:35 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:

Jeremiah 31:36 “If these ordinances depart from before me,” says Yahweh, “then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before me forever.”

Jeremiah 31:37 Yahweh says: “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” says Yahweh.

Jeremiah 31:38 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that the city will be built to Yahweh from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ordinances", "depart", "before", "says", "yahweh", "offspring", "israel", and "cease". 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 "Yahweh who gives the sun for a..." into verse 37's "Yahweh says If heaven above can be...", 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.