TRV
Translation
King James Version
Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
KJV (with Strong's)
Complete Jewish Bible
"Haven't you noticed that these people are saying, 'ADONAI has rejected the two families he chose'? Hence they despise my people and no longer look at them as a nation.
Berean Standard Bible
“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.
American Standard Version
Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which Jehovah did choose, he hath cast them off? thus do they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
World English Bible Messianic
Don’t consider what this people has spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD chose, he has cast them off? thus do they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Considerest thou not what this people haue spoken, saying, The two families, which the Lord hath chosen, hee hath euen cast them off? thus they haue despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
Young's Literal Translation
`Hast thou not considered what this people have spoken, saying: The two families on which Jehovah fixed, He doth reject them, And my people they despise--So that they are no more a people before them!
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Commentary on Jeremiah 33 verses 17–26
17 ¶ For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.
19 And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying,
20 Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;
21 Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers.
22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
23 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
25 Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
Three of God's covenants, that of royalty with David and his seed, that of the priesthood with Aaron and his seed, and that of Peculiarity with Abraham and his seed, seemed to be all broken and lost while the captivity lasted; but it is here promised that, notwithstanding that interruption and discontinuance for a time, they shall all three take place again, and the true intents and meaning of them all shall be abundantly answered in the New Testament blessings, typified by those conferred on the Jews after their return out of captivity.
I. The covenant of royalty shall be secured and the promises of it shall have their full accomplishment in the kingdom of Christ, the Son of David, Jer 33:17. The throne of Israel was overturned in the captivity; the crown had fallen from their head; there was not a man to sit on the throne of Israel; Jeconiah was written childless. After their return the house of David made a figure again; but it in the Messiah that this promise is performed that David shall never want a man to sit on the throne of Israel, and that David shall have always a son to reign upon his throne. For as long as the man Christ Jesus sits on the right hand of the throne of God, rules the world, and rules it for the good of the church, to which he is a quickening head, and glorified head over all things, as long as he is King upon the holy hill of Zion, David does not want a successor, nor is the covenant with him broken. When the first-begotten was brought into the world it was declared concerning him, The Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, Luk 1:32, Luk 1:33. For the confirmation of this it is promised, 1. That the covenant with David shall be as firm as the ordinances of heaven, to the stability of which that of God's promise is compared, Jer 31:35, Jer 31:36. There is a covenant of nature, by which the common course of providence is settled and on which it is founded, here called a covenant of the day and the night (Jer 33:20, Jer 33:25), because this is one of the articles of it, That there shall be day and night in their season, according to the distinction put between them in the creation, when God divided between the light and the darkness, and established their mutual succession, and a government to each, that the sun should rule by day and the moon and stars by night (Gen 1:4, Gen 1:5, Gen 1:16), which establishment was renewed after the flood (Gen 8:22), and has continued ever since, Psa 19:2. The morning and the evening have both of them their regular outgoings (Psa 65:8); the day-spring knows its place, knows its time, and keeps both, so do the shadows of the evening; and, while the world stands, this course shall not be altered, this covenant shall not be broken. The ordinances of heaven and earth (of this communication between heaven and earth, the dominion of these ordinances of heaven upon the earth), which God has appointed (Jer 33:25; compare Job 38:33), shall never be disappointed. Thus firm shall the covenant of redemption be with the Redeemer - God's servant, but David our King, Jer 33:21. This intimates that Christ shall have a church on earth to the world's end; he shall see a seed in which he shall prolong his days till time and day shall be no more. Christ's kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and when the end cometh, and not till then, it shall be delivered up to God, even the Father. But it intimates that the condition of it in this world shall be intermixed and counterchanged, prosperity and adversity succeeding each other, as light and darkness, day and night. But this is plainly taught us, that, as sure as we may be that, though the sun will set tonight, it will rise again tomorrow morning, whether we live to see it or no, so sure we may be that, though the kingdom of the Redeemer in the world may for a time be clouded and eclipsed by corruptions and persecutions, yet it will shine forth again, and recover its lustre, in the time appointed. 2. That the seed of David shall be as numerous as the host of heaven, that is, the spiritual seed of the Messiah, that shall be born to him by the efficacy of his gospel and his Spirit working with it. From the womb of the morning he shall have the dew of their youth, to be his willing people, Psa 110:3. Christ's seed are not, as David's were, his successors, but his subjects; yet the day is coming when they also shall reign with him (Jer 33:22): As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, so will I multiply the seed of David, so that there shall be no danger of the kingdom's being extinct, or extirpated, for want of heirs. The children are numerous; and, if children, then heirs.
II. The covenant of priesthood shall be secured, and the promises of that also shall have their full accomplishment. This seemed likewise to be forgotten during the captivity, when there was no altar, no temple service, for the priests to attend upon; but this also shall revive. It did so; immediately upon their coming back to Jerusalem there were priests and Levites ready to offer burnt-offerings and to do sacrifice continually (Ezr 3:2, Ezr 3:3), as is here promised, Jer 33:18. But that priesthood soon grew corrupt; the covenant of Levi was profaned (as appears Mal 2:8), and in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans it came to a final period. We must therefore look elsewhere for the performance of this word, that the covenant with the Levites, the priests, God's ministers, shall be as firm, and last as long, as the covenant with the day and the night. And we find it abundantly performed, 1. In the priesthood of Christ, which supersedes that of Aaron, and is the substance of that shadow. While that great high priest of our profession is always appearing in the presence of God for us, presenting the virtue of his blood by which he made atonement in the incense of his intercession, it may truly be said that the Levites do not want a man before God to offer continually, Heb 7:3, Heb 7:17. He is a priest for ever. The covenant of the priesthood is called a covenant of peace (Num 25:12), of life and peace, Mal 2:5. Now we are sure that this covenant is not broken, nor in the least weakened, while Jesus Christ is himself our life and our peace. This covenant of priesthood is here again and again joined with that of royalty, for Christ is a priest upon his throne, as Melchizedek. 2. In a settled gospel ministry. While there are faithful ministers to preside in religious assemblies, and to offer up the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, the priests, the Levites, do not want successors, and such as have obtained a more excellent ministry. The apostle makes those that preach the gospel to come in the room of those that served at the altar, Co1 9:13, Co1 9:14. 3. In all true believers, who are a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood (Pe1 2:5, Pe1 2:9), who are made to our God kings and priests (Rev 1:6); they offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, and themselves, in the first place, living sacrifices. Of these Levites this promise must be understood (Jer 33:22), that they shall be as numerous as the sand of the sea, the same that is promised concerning Israel in general (Gen 22:17); for all God's spiritual Israel are spiritual priests, Rev 5:9, Rev 5:10; Rev 7:9, Rev 7:15.
III. The covenant of peculiarity likewise shall be secured and the promises of that covenant shall have their full accomplishment in the gospel Israel. Observe, 1. How this covenant was looked upon as broken during the captivity, Jer 33:24. God asks the prophet, "Hast though not heard, and dost thou not consider, what this people have spoken?" either the enemies of Israel, who triumphed in the extirpation of a people that had made such a noise in the world, or the unbelieving Israelites themselves, "this people among whom thou dwellest;" they have broken covenant with God, and then quarrel with him as if he had not dealt faithfully with them. The two families which the Lord hath chosen, Israel and Judah, whereas they were but one when he chose them, he hath even cast them off. "Thus have they despised my people, that is, despised the privilege of being my people as if it were a privilege of no value at all." The neighbouring nations despised them as now no more a nation, but the ruins of a nation, and looked upon all their honour as laid in the dust; but, 2. See how firm the covenant stands notwithstanding, as firm as that with day and night; sooner will God suffer day and night to cease then he will cast away the seed of Jacob. This cannot refer to the seed of Jacob according to the flesh, for they are cast away, but to the Christian church, in which all these promises were to be lodged, as appears by the apostle's discourse, Rom 11:1, etc. Christ is that seed of David that is to be perpetual dictator to the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and, as this people shall never want such a king, so this king shall never want such a people. Christianity shall continue in the dominion of Christ, and the subjection of Christians to him, till day and night come to an end. And, as a pledge of this, that promise is again repeated, I will cause their captivity to return; and, having brought them back, I will have mercy on them. To whom this promise refers appears Gal 6:16, where all that walk according to the gospel rule are made to be the Israel of God, on whom peace and mercy shall be.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 17–26. Public domain.
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Theodoret of CyrusAD 458
ON JEREMIAH 7:33.18
We see the fulfillment of this prophecy as well. When the new covenant was given, in keeping with the divine promise, the priesthood was also given according to the order of Melchizedek, and those to whom it was promised offer the spiritual sacrifice to God continually. Then he says, as it is impossible for day to become night, so it is impossible for the Davidic monarchy to be destroyed. The fulfillment of this prophecy is also clear: Christ, who is of David according to the flesh, does not occupy the throne here below. He does, however, govern all things as he sits next to the Father. This is precisely what he also says about the priests and the Levites, noting that their line will be compared with the host of heaven and the sand of the sea. The facts confirm what is said: the whole land and sea are full of high priests and the deacons performing the liturgy of the Levites.
CassiodorusAD 585
EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 32:11
“But the counsel of the Lord stands forever. The thoughts of his heart are for all time.” Just as he said that the debased plans of people are to be made vain, so now he says that the dispositions of the Lord remain forever. While the sinner and the mortal person experience transient things, the eternal Lord established what will never be blameworthy. As Isaiah says, “All my counsel shall be enduring, and all that I meditated I shall achieve.” Jeremiah too says the same thing: “If my covenant were not under guard day and night, I should not have issued the laws of heaven and earth.”
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 33:24 encapsulates the profound skepticism and despair prevalent among the surrounding nations, and even within Judah itself, regarding God's covenant faithfulness to His chosen people. The verse records the accusation that the Lord has abandoned "the two families"—Israel and Judah—thereby despising His own people and ensuring their complete dissolution as a nation. This statement stands in stark contrast to the divine promises of restoration and an everlasting covenant that permeate the surrounding chapters of Jeremiah, highlighting the tension between human perception of dire circumstances and God's unwavering, sovereign plan.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 33:24 employs several powerful literary devices. The verse opens with a Rhetorical Question, "Considerest thou not...?", which immediately draws the listener or reader into the dialogue, inviting them to confront the prevailing despair and the accusations leveled against God. This question serves to highlight the gravity of the people's doubt and to set the stage for God's subsequent, emphatic refutation. There is strong Irony present, as the people's statement—that God has "cast off" His chosen families—is uttered precisely at a moment when God is reiterating His unbreakable covenant and promises of future restoration. The verse also uses Contrast, juxtaposing the human perception of abandonment and national annihilation with the divine reality of enduring covenant faithfulness, which will be explicitly affirmed in the verses that follow. Finally, the phrase "this people have spoken" can be seen as a form of Personification, as it gives voice to a collective sentiment or widespread rumor, making the doubt almost a palpable entity that God must address.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 33:24 serves as a crucial theological pivot, articulating the depth of human despair and the challenge to divine faithfulness during a period of national catastrophe. It underscores the profound truth that God's covenant promises are not contingent upon human performance or the vicissitudes of history, but upon His unchanging character and sovereign will. The accusation that God has "cast off" His chosen families is a direct assault on His immutability and trustworthiness. However, the very inclusion of this doubt within the "Book of Consolation" highlights God's willingness to confront and ultimately overcome such skepticism, reaffirming that His commitment to His people, rooted in His eternal covenant, is unbreakable. This passage thus becomes a powerful testament to God's enduring love and His ultimate triumph over all appearances of defeat, ensuring the preservation and restoration of His people according to His divine purpose.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 33:24 offers a profound mirror for contemporary believers, reflecting the human tendency to doubt God's promises when circumstances appear overwhelming or contradictory. In moments of personal or collective crisis—whether it be illness, financial hardship, relational brokenness, or societal upheaval—it is easy for the "people" around us, and even our own hearts, to whisper that God has abandoned us or that His plans for us have failed. This verse calls us to confront such despair with the unwavering truth of God's character. Just as God would not "cast off" Israel and Judah, despite their sin and the devastation they faced, so too does He remain faithful to His covenant with us. Our security and hope are not found in the stability of our circumstances, but in the immutable faithfulness of the One who chose us. We are challenged to trust His word above the evidence of our senses or the opinions of a skeptical world, remembering that God's plans for His people are ultimately for their good, His glory, and the fulfillment of His eternal purposes.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What are "the two families" mentioned in Jeremiah 33:24?
Answer: "The two families" refer to the northern kingdom of Israel (also known as Ephraim or Samaria) and the southern kingdom of Judah. After the reign of Solomon, the united kingdom of Israel divided into these two separate entities (1 Kings 12:16-20). While both had fallen into idolatry and faced God's judgment—Israel to Assyria in 722 BCE and Judah to Babylon in 586 BCE—God's covenant promises, particularly those made to Abraham and David, encompassed both branches of His chosen people. The people's accusation in Jeremiah 33:24 highlights the widespread belief that God had abandoned both, but God's subsequent reaffirmation in the chapter demonstrates His enduring commitment to restore and reunite them.
Why did "this people" believe God had cast off Israel and Judah?
Answer: "This people" likely refers to the surrounding Gentile nations who witnessed the catastrophic downfall of both Israel and Judah, including the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the deportation of the Jewish people into exile. From their perspective, the God of Israel had failed to protect His people, leading them to conclude that He had "cast them off" and that Israel would "be no more a nation." This belief was fueled by the visible evidence of national defeat and dispersion, which seemed to contradict God's earlier promises of protection and blessing. Even some disheartened Israelites may have shared this despair, struggling to reconcile their current suffering with God's covenant faithfulness.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 33:24, with its portrayal of human doubt against the backdrop of divine faithfulness, finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The accusation that God had "cast off" His chosen families, rendering them "no more a nation," is powerfully refuted by God's unwavering commitment, which culminates in the New Covenant established through Christ. Jesus, as the true Israel and the ultimate Son of David, embodies the fulfillment of God's covenant promises to both "families." He gathers not only the scattered remnant of Israel but also brings in Gentiles, forming one new people of God, the Church (Ephesians 2:14-16). The apparent "casting off" of Israel through judgment and exile ultimately paved the way for a greater, more expansive work of redemption. Christ's death on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension demonstrate God's unshakeable faithfulness, proving that He never abandons His people. Instead, He provides the means for their ultimate restoration and eternal security, not through nationalistic power, but through spiritual transformation and inclusion in His eternal Kingdom (Hebrews 8:6-13). In Christ, the promise that God's people would "be no more a nation" is overturned, as He builds an everlasting spiritual nation, a "holy nation, a peculiar people" (1 Peter 2:9), whose identity and destiny are eternally secured in Him.