It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant.

Moses went and told the people all the LORD's commands and all the ordinances, and all the people answered together, "We will do everything that the LORD has said."

Then he sent young men, and they burned sacrifices to the LORD and sacrificed some cattle as fellowship offerings.

Then he took the book of the covenant, in which the LORD's commands were written, and read it aloud to the people. They said, "We will obey the LORD and do everything that he has commanded."

At Mount Sinai the LORD our God made a covenant,

not only with our fathers, but with all of us who are living today.

"Today you are standing in the presence of the LORD your God, all of you---your leaders and officials, your men,

You are here today to enter into this covenant that the LORD your God is making with you and to accept its obligations,

You are not the only ones with whom the LORD is making this covenant with its obligations.

It was then that I promised to take them out of Egypt and lead them to a land I had chosen for them, a rich and fertile land, the finest land of all.

But they defied me and refused to listen. They did not throw away their disgusting idols or give up the Egyptian gods. I was ready to let them feel the full force of my anger there in Egypt.

"And so I led them out of Egypt into the desert.

I made the keeping of the Sabbath a sign of the agreement between us, to remind them that I, the LORD, make them holy.

But God finds fault with his people when he says, "The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will draw up a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

Now, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel in the days to come, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

But you are the people he rescued from Egypt, that blazing furnace. He brought you out to make you his own people, as you are today.

They are your own people, whom you brought out of Egypt, that blazing furnace.

I have tested you in the fire of suffering, as silver is refined in a furnace. But I have found that you are worthless.

I gave your ancestors no commands about burnt offerings or any other kinds of sacrifices when I brought them out of Egypt.

But I did command them to obey me, so that I would be their God and they would be my people. And I told them to live the way I had commanded them, so that things would go well for them.

You must change the way you are living and the things you are doing, and must obey the LORD your God. If you do, he will change his mind about the destruction that he said he would bring on you.

But I show my love to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my laws.

Pay attention to him and obey him. Do not rebel against him, for I have sent him, and he will not pardon such rebellion.

But if you obey him and do everything I command, I will fight against all your enemies.

"If you live according to my laws and obey my commands,

I will be with you; I will be your God, and you will be my people.

a blessing, if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today;

"If you obey the LORD your God and faithfully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, he will make you greater than any other nation on earth.

"The LORD will bless your towns and your fields.

"The LORD will bless your grain crops and the food you prepare from them.

"The LORD will defeat your enemies when they attack you. They will attack from one direction, but they will run from you in all directions.

"If you obey the LORD your God and do everything he commands, he will make you his own people, as he has promised.

The LORD will give you many children, many cattle, and abundant crops in the land that he promised your ancestors to give you.

The LORD your God will make you the leader among the nations and not a follower; you will always prosper and never fail if you obey faithfully all his commands that I am giving you today.

Samuel said, "Which does the LORD prefer: obedience or offerings and sacrifices? It is better to obey him than to sacrifice the best sheep to him.

Men who live far away will come and help to rebuild the Temple of the LORD. And when it is rebuilt, you will know that the LORD Almighty sent me to you. This will all happen if you fully obey the commands of the LORD your God.

and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age."

When he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him,

I will give them the desire to know that I am the LORD. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God, because they will return to me with all their heart.

(SEE 30:21)

The LORD says, "The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

I am going to give this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army; they will capture it

I will give to you and to your descendants this land in which you are now a foreigner. The whole land of Canaan will belong to your descendants forever, and I will be their God."

I will be with you; I will be your God, and you will be my people.

Then they will keep my laws and faithfully obey all my commands. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

I will do this to keep the Israelites from deserting me and defiling themselves by their sins. They are to be my people, and I will be their God." The Sovereign LORD has spoken.

Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

They will not defile themselves with disgusting idols any more or corrupt themselves with sin. I will free them from all the ways in which they sin and betray me. I will purify them; they will be my people, and I will be their God.

I will live there with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

and will bring them back from east and west to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, ruling over them faithfully and justly.

And I will test the third that survives and will purify them as silver is purified by fire. I will test them as gold is tested. Then they will pray to me, and I will answer them. I will tell them that they are my people, and they will confess that I am their God."

How can God's temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we are the temple of the living God! As God himself has said, "I will make my home with my people and live among them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

Now, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel in the days to come, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.