Jeremiah 31:37

This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth below searched out would I reject all of Israel’s descendants because of all they have done,” declares the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh declares this to Israel immediately after promising their perpetual national existence in Jeremiah 31:36. The statement functions as a closing guarantee before the prophecy shifts to Jerusalem’s physical reconstruction in Jeremiah 31:38.

The words — The Hebrew אִם־ (ʾim-) introduces a conditional clause meaning "if," while יֵחָקְרוּ (yēḥāqrū) means "they may be explored" or "searched out." These terms frame the impossible condition Yahweh sets for rejecting Israel.

The thread — The text runs parallel to Jeremiah 33:22, which compares Israel’s descendants to the uncountable stars and unmeasurable sand. It also mirrors the rhetorical structure of Isaiah 40:12, which questions who could measure the heavens or mark the earth.

Why it lands — The text states that God would only reject Israel if the physical universe could be measured and explored. A reader must accept that divine rejection is logically impossible given the stated condition.

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

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.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 33:24 “Have you not noticed what these people are saying: ‘The LORD has rejected the two families He had chosen’? So they despise My people and no longer regard them as a nation.
Isaiah 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?
Jeremiah 33:22 As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister before Me.”
Romans 11:1 I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
Romans 11:26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob.
Job 11:7 Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?
Jeremiah 46:28 And you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, for I am with you. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have banished you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”
Psalms 89:2 For I have said, “Loving devotion is built up forever; in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”
Proverbs 30:4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!
Jeremiah 30:11 For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”