Ezekiel 37:26-27

37:26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. ¹  I will establish them, ²  increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary among them forever. 37:27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Isaiah 55:3

55:3 Pay attention and come to me!

Listen, so you can live! ³ 

Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to ⁴  you,

just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David. ⁵ 

Isaiah 55:2

55:2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you? ⁶ 

Why spend ⁷  your hard-earned money ⁸  on something that will not satisfy?

Listen carefully ⁹  to me and eat what is nourishing! ¹⁰ 

Enjoy fine food! ¹¹ 

1 Samuel 23:5

23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. ¹²  David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31:31 “Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, ¹³  “when I will make a new covenant ¹⁴  with the people of Israel and Judah. ¹⁵  31:32 It will not be like the old ¹⁶  covenant that I made with their ancestors ¹⁷  when I delivered them ¹⁸  from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” ¹⁹  says the Lord. ²⁰  31:33 “But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel ²¹  after I plant them back in the land,” ²²  says the Lord. ²³  “I will ²⁴  put my law within them ²⁵  and write it on their hearts and minds. ²⁶  I will be their God and they will be my people. ²⁷ 

31:34 “People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. ²⁸  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” ²⁹  says the Lord. “For ³⁰  I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

Jeremiah 32:38-41

32:38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. ³¹  32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for ³²  their own good and the good of the children who descend from them. 32:40 I will make a lasting covenant ³³  with them that I will never stop doing good to them. ³⁴  I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that ³⁵  they will never again turn ³⁶  away from me. 32:41 I will take delight in doing good to them. I will faithfully and wholeheartedly plant them ³⁷  firmly in the land.’

Jeremiah 50:5

50:5 They will ask the way to Zion;

they will turn their faces toward it.

They will come ³⁸  and bind themselves to the Lord

in a lasting covenant that will never be forgotten. ³⁹ 

Hosea 2:19-20

2:19 I will commit myself to you ⁴⁰  forever;

I will commit myself to you in ⁴¹  righteousness and justice,

in steadfast love and tender compassion.

2:20 I will commit myself to you in faithfulness;

then ⁴²  you will acknowledge ⁴³  the Lord.” ⁴⁴ 

Hebrews 8:10

8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put ⁴⁵  my laws in their minds ⁴⁶  and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people. ⁴⁷ 

Hebrews 12:24

12:24 and to Jesus, the mediator ⁴⁸  of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does. ⁴⁹ 

Hebrews 13:20

Benediction and Conclusion

13:20 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ,

[37:26]  ¹ sn See Isa 24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Jer 32:40; 50:5; Ezek 16:60, for other references to perpetual covenants.

[37:26]  ² tn Heb “give them.”

[55:3]  ³ tn The jussive with vav (ו) conjunctive following the imperative indicates purpose/result.

[55:3]  ⁴ tn Or “an eternal covenant with.”

[55:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “the reliable expressions of loyalty of David.” The syntactical relationship of חַסְדֵי (khasde, “expressions of loyalty”) to the preceding line is unclear. If the term is appositional to בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”), then the Lord here transfers the promises of the Davidic covenant to the entire nation. Another option is to take חַסְדֵי (khasde) as an adverbial accusative and to translate “according to the reliable covenantal promises.” In this case the new covenantal arrangement proposed here is viewed as an extension or perhaps fulfillment of the Davidic promises. A third option, the one reflected in the above translation, is to take the last line as comparative. In this case the new covenant being proposed is analogous to the Davidic covenant. Verses 4-5, which compare David’s international prominence to what Israel will experience, favors this view. In all three of these interpretations, “David” is an objective genitive; he is the recipient of covenantal promises. A fourth option would be to take David as a subjective genitive and understand the line as giving the basis for the preceding promise: “Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, because of David’s faithful acts of covenantal loyalty.”

[55:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “for what is not food.”

[55:2]  ⁷ tn The interrogative particle and the verb “spend” are understood here by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[55:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “your labor,” which stands by metonymy for that which one earns.

[55:2]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute follows the imperative and lends emphasis to the exhortation.

[55:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “good” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[55:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Let your appetite delight in fine food.”

[23:5]  ¹² tn Heb “and struck them down with a great blow.”

[31:31]  ¹³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:31]  ¹⁴ tn Or “a renewed covenant” (also in vv. 22-23).

[31:31]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

[31:32]  ¹⁶ tn The word “old” is not in the text but is implicit in the use of the word “new.” It is supplied in the translation for greater clarity.

[31:32]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “fathers.”

[31:32]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “when I took them by the hand and led them out.”

[31:32]  ¹⁹ tn Or “I was their master.” See the study note on 3:14.

[31:32]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:33]  ²¹ tn Heb “with the house of Israel.” All commentators agree that the term here refers to both the whole nation which was divided into the house of Israel and the house of Judah in v. 30.

[31:33]  ²² tn Heb “after those days.” Commentators are generally agreed that this refers to the return from exile and the repopulation of the land referred to in vv. 27-28 and not to something subsequent to the time mentioned in v. 30. This is the sequencing that is also presupposed in other new covenant passages such as Deut 30:1-6; Ezek 11:17-20; 36:24-28.

[31:33]  ²³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:33]  ²⁴ tn Heb “‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days:’ says the Lord, ‘I will….’” The sentence has been reworded and restructured to avoid the awkwardness of the original style.

[31:33]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in their inward parts.” The Hebrew word here refers to the seat of the thoughts, emotions, and decisions (Jer 9:8 [9:7 HT]). It is essentially synonymous with “heart” in Hebrew psychological terms.

[31:33]  ²⁶ tn The words “and minds” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation to bring the English psychology more into line with the Hebrew where the “heart” is the center both of knowing/thinking/reflecting and deciding/willing.

[31:33]  ²⁷ sn Compare Jer 24:7; 30:22; 31:1 and see the study note on 30:2.

[31:34]  ²⁸ tn Heb “teach…, saying, ‘Know the Lord.’” The indirect quote has been chosen for stylistic reasons, i.e., to better parallel the following line.

[31:34]  ²⁹ sn This statement should be understood against the background of Jer 8:8-9 where class distinctions were drawn and certain people were considered to have more awareness and responsibility for knowing the law and also Jer 5:1-5 and 9:3-9 where the sinfulness of Israel was seen to be universal across these class distinctions and no trust was to be placed in friends, neighbors, or relatives because all without distinction had cast off God’s yoke (i.e., refused to submit themselves to his authority).

[31:34]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) that introduces this clause refers to more than just the preceding clause (i.e., that all will know the Lord) but to all of vv. 31-34a (See BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.c).

[32:38]  ³¹ sn The covenant formula setting forth the basic relationship is reinstituted along with a new covenant (v. 40). See also 24:7; 30:22; 31:1 and the study note on 30:22.

[32:39]  ³² tn Heb “I will give to them one heart and one way to [= in order that they may] fear me all the days for good to them.” The phrase “one heart” refers both to unanimity of will and accord (cf. 1 Chr 12:38 [12:39 HT]; 2 Chr 30:12) and to singleness of purpose or intent (cf. Ezek 11:19 and see BDB 525 s.v. ֵלב 4 where reference is made to “inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will”). The phrase “one way” refers to one way of life or conduct (cf. BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a where reference is made to moral action and character), a way of life that is further qualified by the goal of showing “fear, reverence, respect” for the Lord. The Hebrew sentence has been broken up to avoid a long complex sentence in English which is contrary to contemporary English style. However, an attempt has been made to preserve all the connections of the original.

[32:40]  ³³ tn Heb “an everlasting covenant.” For the rationale for the rendering “agreement” and the nature of the biblical covenants see the study note on 11:2.

[32:40]  ³⁴ tn Or “stop being gracious to them” or “stop blessing them with good”; Heb “turn back from them to do good to them.”

[32:40]  ³⁵ tn Or “I will make them want to fear and respect me so much that”; Heb “I will put the fear of me in their hearts.” However, as has been noted several times, “heart” in Hebrew is more the center of the volition (and intellect) than the center of emotions as it is in English. Both translations are intended to reflect the difference in psychology.

[32:40]  ³⁶ tn The words “never again” are not in the text but are implicit from the context and are supplied not only by this translation but by a number of others.

[32:41]  ³⁷ tn Heb “will plant them in the land with faithfulness with all my heart and with all my soul.” The latter expressions are, of course, anthropomorphisms (see Deut 6:5).

[50:5]  ³⁸ tc The translation here assumes that the Hebrew בֹּאוּ (bo’u; a Qal imperative masculine plural) should be read בָּאוּ (ba’u; a Qal perfect third plural). This reading is presupposed by the Greek version of Aquila, the Latin version, and the Targum (see BHS note a, which mistakenly assumes that the form must be imperfect).

[50:5]  ³⁹ sn See Jer 32:40 and the study note there for the nature of this lasting agreement.

[2:19]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “I will betroth you to me” (so NIV) here and in the following lines. Cf. NRSV “I will take you for my wife forever.”

[2:19]  ⁴¹ tn The preposition בְּ (bet), which is repeated throughout 2:19-20 [21-22], denotes price paid (BDB 90 s.v. בְּ III.3; e.g., Ezek 3:14). The text contains an allusion to the payment of bridal gifts. The Lord will impute the moral character to Israel that will be necessary for a successful covenant relationship (contra 4:1).

[2:20]  ⁴² tn The vav consecutive on the suffix conjugation verb וְיָדַעַתְּ (véyada’at, “then you will know”) introduces a result clause (cf. NASB, CEV).

[2:20]  ⁴³ tn Or “know.” The term יָדַע (yada’, “know, acknowledge”) is often used in covenant contexts. It can refer to the suzerain’s acknowledgment of his covenant obligations to his vassal or to the vassal’s acknowledgment of his covenant obligations to his suzerain. When used in reference to a vassal, the verb “know” is metonymical (cause for effect) for “obey.” See H. Huffmann, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew ya„daà,” BASOR 181 (1966): 31-37.

[2:20]  ⁴⁴ tc The MT reads יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”); however, many Hebrew mss read כִּי אָנִי (ki ’ani, “that it is I”), as also reflected in the Latin Vulgate (cf. CEV “know who I am”).

[8:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “putting…I will inscribe.”

[8:10]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “mind.”

[8:10]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “I will be to them for a God and they will be to me for a people,” following the Hebrew constructions of Jer 31.

[12:24]  ⁴⁸ tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.

[12:24]  ⁴⁹ sn Abel’s shed blood cried out to the Lord for justice and judgment, but Jesus’ blood speaks of redemption and forgiveness, something better than Abel’s does (Gen 4:10; Heb 9:11-14; 11:4).