Verses 31-34 are one of the most significant passages in the Old Testament. In the background is the covenant made at Sinai (Exo 19.1–24.11), which Israel often disobeyed. In the future the LORD will make a new covenant with his people, and at the same time he will renew them, so that all of them will faithfully obey it.

For Behold see 1.6.

I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah: Make a … covenant is literally “cut a covenant,” which reflects the normal terminology of the Old Testament. A covenant is a formal agreement, often established as firm by some kind of oath or promise (see 3.16). There is often some sign given to mark it as well. If there is no custom in a language which is similar to the biblical covenant, then translators can use an expression such as “I will establish a formal agreement with the people of Israel and Judah, and in it I will make promises of what I will do.” Of course, many languages will have figurative expressions for such an event.

Some commentators believe that and the house of Judah is a later addition, and that the house of Israel originally stood for both Israel and Judah. This is probably the reason that New Jerusalem Bible places “and the House of Judah” in parentheses. However, there is no technical basis for this assumption, and it seems quite unnecessary to suggest removing these words.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .