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 31:36KJV
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Jeremiah 31:36 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 31:36 mean?

Jeremiah 31:36 says that as long as God’s established order in creation continues, the descendants of Israel will never stop being a nation before Him. God is promising that Israel’s existence as a people is as secure as the ongoing patterns He set in the world.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Israel, who were facing exile and uncertainty about their future. The verse uses the stability of God’s “ordinances”—the dependable laws of nature—as a guarantee for Israel’s continued identity as a nation. This reassurance comes in the middle of a passage where God is making new promises of restoration and faithfulness to His people.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 31:36

  • ordinances (חֻקּוֹת, ḥuqqōt): This word refers to fixed laws or decrees, often understood as the unchanging patterns God set in creation, like the cycles of day and night. Here, it points to the reliability and permanence of God’s order.
  • depart (מוּשׁ, mûsh): This verb means to move away or depart. The verse says that if these fixed laws could somehow leave God’s presence, only then would Israel cease to be a nation—highlighting how impossible that is.
  • cease (שָׁבַת, shāvat): This word means to stop or come to an end. God is saying Israel will never “cease” to be a nation before Him, as long as His creation stands.
  • nation (גּוֹי, goy): This word means a people or nation. The verse affirms Israel’s continued existence as a distinct people before God.

Why Jeremiah 31:36 matters

  • Jeremiah 31:36 clears up the fear that Israel could be permanently rejected or erased as a people, even after exile or disaster, by tying their future to the unbreakable order of creation.
  • The verse emphasizes God’s faithfulness and the security of His promises, especially in a time when Israel’s national survival seemed impossible.
  • This verse connects to the larger context of Jeremiah 31, where God is making a new covenant and promising restoration, showing that His relationship with Israel is enduring and unbreakable.

Where else these words appear

“depart” Hebrew H4185 · used in 19 verses

  • Exodus 13:22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
  • Psalms 55:11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
  • Jeremiah 17:8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

“cease” Hebrew H7673 · used in 67 verses

  • Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
  • 2 Chronicles 36:21 To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
  • Jeremiah 48:35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

“ordinances” Hebrew H2706 · used in 124 verses

  • Genesis 47:22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
  • Deuteronomy 26:16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
  • Psalms 119:8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.