Jeremiah 32:40 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
Jeremiah 32:40 kjv
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
Jeremiah 32:40 nkjv
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.
Jeremiah 32:40 niv
I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.
Jeremiah 32:40 esv
I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.
Jeremiah 32:40 nlt
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.
Jeremiah 32 40 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 55:3 | Incline your ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. | Everlasting Covenant, God's steadfast love. |
| Eze 36:27 | And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. | God's internal work for obedience. |
| Heb 8:10 | This is the covenant I will make... I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. | New Covenant, internal transformation. |
| Heb 13:20 | ...that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus... | The blood of the eternal covenant (Jesus). |
| 2 Sam 23:5 | Is not my house established with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. | God's everlasting covenant with David. |
| Gen 9:16 | When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature... | Earlier usage of "everlasting covenant." |
| Jer 31:31-33 | "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah... I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts." | New Covenant detailed, parallel to Jer 32:40. |
| Deut 30:6 | The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart... | God's work for sincere love and obedience. |
| Phil 1:6 | He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. | God's faithfulness in perfecting His work. |
| 1 Pet 1:5 | who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed... | God's power preserving His people. |
| Jud 1:24 | To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy... | God's ability to preserve His people blameless. |
| Psa 100:5 | For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. | God's enduring goodness and faithfulness. |
| Psa 103:17 | But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him... | God's everlasting love for those who fear Him. |
| Mal 3:6 | "I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed." | God's unchangeable nature as guarantor. |
| Jas 1:17 | Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. | God's unchanging character as source of good. |
| Rom 8:38-39 | For I am convinced that neither death nor life... will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. | Security of God's love and relationship. |
| Isa 60:21 | Then all your people will be righteous and will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands... | God's planting and lasting righteousness. |
| Jer 24:7 | I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. | A new heart to know God and return. |
| Zeph 3:17 | The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you... | God's delight and active presence. |
| Hos 2:19-20 | I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness... | Everlasting betrothal, secured by God's character. |
| John 10:28-29 | I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. | Eternal security of believers by divine power. |
| 1 Jn 2:19 | They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us... This showed that none of them really belonged to us. | Those genuinely in the covenant do not depart. |
Jeremiah 32 verses
Jeremiah 32 40 meaning
Jeremiah 32:40 describes a sovereign promise from God to His people regarding an enduring future relationship. It asserts God's initiative in establishing an "everlasting covenant" that guarantees His continuous benevolence towards them. Central to this promise is God's active role in implanting a reverent awe of Him in their hearts, ensuring their sustained loyalty and preventing them from turning away, thereby securing the covenant's permanence through both divine action and human response empowered by Him.
Jeremiah 32 40 Context
Jeremiah 32:40 occurs during one of the darkest periods in Judah's history: the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army, just prior to its fall and the subsequent exile. Jeremiah himself is imprisoned for prophesying this impending doom. However, within this grim context, God commands Jeremiah to purchase a field, an act that seems absurd on the surface but serves as a powerful symbolic gesture of future hope and restoration. The preceding verses (Jer 32:37-39) already speak of gathering the dispersed and establishing an unbreakable covenant, hinting at the new covenant elaborated in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Verse 40 specifically guarantees the permanence and efficacy of this covenant, assuring God's unceasing commitment to His people and their preserved faithfulness, emphasizing divine initiative for future blessing and preventing repeated apostasy like in previous covenants.
Jeremiah 32 40 Word analysis
- And I will make: The Hebrew phrase "w'karati" (וְכָרַתִּי) implies God's unilateral action. This covenant originates entirely with God, demonstrating His sovereign will and initiative. It's a proactive establishment, not a negotiation.
- an everlasting covenant: "bərît ʿôlām" (בְּרִית עוֹלָם).
- bərît: Signifies a solemn agreement, usually involving oaths and specific terms, establishing a relationship. In this context, God is the covenant-maker and guarantor.
- ʿôlām: Translates to "everlasting," "eternal," "perpetual." It conveys an unlimited duration, extending into the distant future and not bound by temporal human limitations. This term ensures the covenant's absolute permanence, contrasting with previous broken covenants.
- with them: Refers to the people of Judah and Israel, signifying God's covenant loyalty despite their past failures. The "them" also broadens, through the New Covenant, to include all who believe.
- I will never stop: A strong double negative in Hebrew "lō'-ʾāsûg" (לֹא־אָשׁוּב) coupled with an infinite continuation, expressing an emphatic and absolute resolve. God will never turn back or cease from His benevolent actions. It highlights God's unchangeable purpose and steadfastness.
- doing good to them: "lehêtîb ʿalêhem" (לְהֵיטִיב עֲלֵיהֶם).
- lehêtîb: The root "y-ṭ-b" means "to be good, well, pleasing." Here it’s the causative, meaning "to do good, to make well." This encompasses all forms of blessing, provision, and restoration.
- ʿalêhem: "Upon them." God's good work is actively directed toward their benefit and welfare. This is not conditional on their immediate performance but part of His established commitment.
- and I will put awe of me: "wəyirʾātî ʾettēn" (וְיִרְאָתִי אֶתֵּן).
- yirʾātî: "My awe," "My fear." This is not primarily terror but a deep, reverential respect, moral deference, and profound obedience that stems from recognizing God's holy and powerful nature. It's an internal, transformative spiritual quality.
- ʾettēn: "I will give/put." God sovereignly places this reverence within them, making it an internal motivation.
- in their hearts: "bi-lēbābām" (בִּלְבָבָם). The "heart" (lēḇ) in Hebrew thought is the center of intellect, will, emotion, and moral decision-making. It's where convictions and desires originate. Placing awe "in their hearts" means an internal transformation that changes their fundamental desires and inclinations towards God.
- so that they will not turn away from me: "l'biltî sûri mimmennî" (לְבִלְתִּי סוּר מֵעָלַי). This specifies the ultimate purpose of instilling awe. It ensures the covenant's permanence by enabling the people to remain faithful. "Sûr" (סוּר) means "to turn aside," "depart," "stray." God provides the means by which their inherent tendency to wander will be overcome. This is an outcome secured by divine grace, not solely human willpower.
Words-group analysis:
- "I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them": This pair of clauses emphasizes divine initiative and commitment. The "everlasting covenant" defines the unbreaking nature of the relationship, while "never stop doing good" defines the quality and quantity of God's actions within that relationship – continuous benevolence.
- "and I will put awe of me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from me": This grouping reveals the internal, spiritual mechanism by which the covenant's permanence is maintained. God provides the internal change (awe/reverence) that results in sustained obedience and faithfulness, preventing defection. This is God ensuring His people will meet the covenant's requirements, fundamentally different from previous covenants where human failure broke them.
Jeremiah 32 40 Bonus section
The "awe of me" placed "in their hearts" (yirʾātî bi-lēbābām) is often linked directly to the indwelling Holy Spirit in the New Covenant. The Spirit provides the internal enablement for righteousness and devotion that human will alone could not sustain. This "awe" is therefore not simply a human emotion but a divinely implanted spiritual faculty, leading to joyful obedience rather than a slavish fear. This verse, therefore, highlights God's holistic approach to redemption, addressing both external circumstances (restoration) and internal spiritual brokenness (transforming hearts). The concept of "security of the believer" finds its roots here, emphasizing that salvation is not solely dependent on a believer's perfect adherence but significantly on God's active, perpetual, and internal work of preservation and enabling grace.
Jeremiah 32 40 Commentary
Jeremiah 32:40 is a pivotal statement within the prophecy of Jeremiah, especially significant when considered with the "new covenant" passages (Jer 31). It underscores the radical difference between this promised new covenant and the old. The old covenant was often broken by the people's disobedience and turning away; this new covenant's enduring nature is secured by God's unchanging character and His active work within His people. He does not just promise good; He ensures that they will not forfeit it by granting them the inner disposition of reverent awe ("fear") that preserves them in fidelity. This is a promise of sustained, unmerited divine benevolence, underwritten by divine power to transform and uphold. The divine "I will" is paramount, guaranteeing both God's faithful action and His people's enabled response. It is the ultimate expression of the security found in a covenant relationship initiated and sustained by God Himself. This verse points to the finished work of Christ in the New Testament, through whom God enacts this everlasting covenant, writing His laws on hearts by the Spirit and guaranteeing perseverance.