Jeremiah 32:40

I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD speaks to Jeremiah in a vision, immediately after commanding him to buy a field in besieged Anathoth (ch. 32). The audience is the remnant of Judah and Benjamin who will return from exile.

The words — עולם (ʿôlām) is rendered "everlasting" but its literal sense is "perpetuity" or "of long duration," not strictly "without end." The phrase מֵאַחֲרֵי הֶם (mēʾaḥărêi hēm), "from after them," means "from withdrawing behind them" — i.e., not pulling His presence away.

The thread — This "fear in their hearts" language echoes Jer 24:7 ("a heart to know Me") and Ezek 36:26 ("a heart of flesh"), all pointing toward the new covenant of Jer 31:31.

Why it lands — The verse is a divine declaration, not a human obligation; it asks the reader to hold the present (siege, exile, brokenness) against a stated intent that has not yet arrived.

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

וְכָרַתִּ֤יve./kha.ra.Tiand/ I will makeלָהֶם֙la./Hemto <the>/ themבְּרִ֣יתbe.Rita covenant of עוֹלָ֔םo.Lamperpetuity אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.Sherwhich לֹֽא־lo'-not אָשׁוּב֙'a.ShuvI will turn back מֵאַ֣חֲרֵיהֶ֔םme./'A.cha.rei./Hemfrom/ after/ them לְהֵיטִיבִ֖יle./hei.ti.V/ito/ do good to/ I אוֹתָ֑ם'o.Ta/m<obj.>/ them וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>יִרְאָתִי֙yir.'a.T/ifear/ my אֶתֵּ֣ן'e.TenI will put בִּלְבָבָ֔םbi/l.va.Va/min/ heart/ their לְבִלְתִּ֖יle./vil.Tito/ not ס֥וּרsurto turn aside מֵעָלָֽי׃me./'a.La/ifrom/ with <the>/ me

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Jeremiah 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.
Hebrews 6:13 When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.
Ezekiel 39:29 And I will no longer hide My face from them, for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”
1 Peter 1:5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Jeremiah 50:5 They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.
Hebrews 13:20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,