Bible Strands
Jeremiah 3:16
“In those days, when you multiply and increase in the land,” declares the LORD, “they will no longer discuss the ark of the covenant of the LORD. It will never come to mind, and no one will remember it or miss it, nor will another one be made.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Israel with a future promise immediately following His pledge to provide shepherds after His own heart. This declaration occurs within a prophetic vision of national restoration and spiritual renewal.
The words — תִרְבּוּ (tir.Bu) means "you will multiply" and פְרִיתֶם (fe.ri.Tem) means "you will be fruitful," describing the demographic expansion God will bring to the land. נְאֻם (ne.'um) functions as a formal marker for the utterance of the LORD.
The thread — The pattern of multiplied descendants and transformed worship runs through Amos 9:14, Isaiah 65:17, and Ezekiel 37:26, where God restores His people and establishes an everlasting covenant. These passages parallel Jeremiah’s vision of a future reality that no longer centers on the physical ark.
Why it lands — The text states that in the coming days the ark will cease to be discussed, remembered, or replaced. It requires readers to accept that future covenant faithfulness will render former ritual objects obsolete.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
Cross-references
- Amos 9:14 I will restore My people Israel from captivity; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
- Isaiah 65:17 For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
- Ezekiel 37:26 And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever.
- Isaiah 66:1 This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or where will My place of repose be?
- Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’
- Zechariah 8:4 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age.
- Isaiah 60:22 The least of you will become a thousand, and the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will accomplish it quickly.
- Isaiah 61:4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.
- Jeremiah 30:19 Thanksgiving will proceed from them, a sound of celebration. I will multiply them, and they will not be decreased; I will honor them, and they will not be belittled.
- Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, including the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor. They will return as a great assembly!