Jeremiah 7:23
But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
Study Note
Study Note
Within Jeremiah's famous Temple Sermon (7:1–8:3), this verse articulates the essential covenant formula — 'I will be your God and you shall be my people' — which is the theological DNA of the Sinai covenant (Exodus 6:7; Leviticus 26:12). The claim that this relationship was established through the command to 'obey my voice' rather than through the sacrifice system is Jeremiah's persistent polemic against substituting cultic performance for ethical obedience. The verse connects to Jeremiah 31:33 where the same covenant formula is re-issued in the context of the new covenant, suggesting the relationship persists even as the vehicle of covenant fidelity is transformed. Paul's use of this formula in 2 Corinthians 6:16 shows its generative power for New Testament ecclesiology.
Other Translations
but this thing I commanded them, saying, Hearken unto my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk ye in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.
But this thing I commanded them, saying: Hearken to My voice, And I have been to you for God, And ye--ye are to Me for a people, And have walked in all the way that I command you, So that it is well for you.
But this was the order I gave them, saying, Give ear to my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people: go in all the way ordered by me, so that all may be well for you.
Cross References
Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from …
For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of …
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the …
Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to …
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every …
And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which …
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure …
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou …
If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;