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Jeremiah 3:16

"They shall say no more, The ark of the covenant": a future without the ark

"In those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more." In a restored future, Jerusalem itself will be "the throne of the LORD" (3:17), and the ark will not be missed. Later legends (2 Maccabees 2:4–8) said Jeremiah hid the ark on Mount Nebo; the book of Jeremiah says nothing of the kind.

Stable text: no manuscript differences in meaning

The family tree

Each row is a language or text tradition. Witnesses in the same row may share ancestry, revise one another, or have an uncertain relationship; the line under each box says which. A solid arrow appears only where direct copying or a documented revised edition is established. Order by date never implies copying. Scroll sideways on a phone.

✓ contains this verse · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives

  • Same line, through lost copies
  • Translation
Hebrew
  1. The words as first spoken or writtenlate 7th–6th century BC (by section; debated)
  2. Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The words as first spoken or written
Greek
  1. Greek Jeremiah (library: Giguet's French)Greek translation c. 2nd century BC; French 1872Translated from the Old Greek Jeremiah (a shorter edition)
Latin
  1. Latin Vulgate (Clementine)Jerome c. AD 400, from Hebrew; edition 1592Translated from the Hebrew text Jerome used
English
  1. King James Bible1611Translated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

Every witness, in order

  1. late 7th–6th century BC (by section; debated)

    The words as first spoken or written

    – No copy survives

    No original survives, and Jeremiah circulated in at least two ancient Hebrew editions: a shorter one behind the Old Greek and the longer one preserved as the Masoretic Text. The oldest copies are six fragmentary Qumran manuscripts (2QJer, 4QJer-a to 4QJer-e), from about 200 BC to the 1st century AD.

  2. Jerome c. AD 400, from Hebrew; edition 1592

    Latin Vulgate (Clementine)

    ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from the Hebrew text Jerome used

    How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Clementine Vulgate (1592 edition).

    Cumque multiplicati fueritis, et creveritis in terra in diebus illis, ait Dominus, non dicent ultra: Arca testamenti Domini: neque ascendet super cor, neque recordabuntur illius, nec visitabitur, nec fiet ultra.

    Latin numbering: Jeremiah 3:16. Jerome translated Jeremiah from Hebrew (c. AD 400).

  3. AD 1008

    Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)

    ✓ Contains this passageDescends, through lost copies, from The words as first spoken or written

    How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.

    וְהָיָ֡ה כִּ֣י תִרְבּוּ֩ וּפְרִיתֶ֨ם בָּאָ֜רֶץ בַּיָּמִ֤ים הָהֵ֙מָּה֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה לֹא־יֹ֣אמְרוּ ע֗וֹד אֲרוֹן֙ בְּרִית־יְהוָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א יַעֲלֶ֖ה עַל־לֵ֑ב וְלֹ֤א יִזְכְּרוּ־בוֹ֙ וְלֹ֣א יִפְקֹ֔דוּ וְלֹ֥א יֵעָשֶׂ֖ה עֽוֹד׃

    They will no longer say, The ark of the covenant of the LORD; it will not come to mind, they will not remember it or miss it, and it will not be made again

    Hebrew numbering: Jeremiah 3:16.

  4. 1611

    King James Bible

    ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

    How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).

    And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

  5. Greek translation c. 2nd century BC; French 1872

    Greek Jeremiah (library: Giguet's French)

    ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from the Old Greek Jeremiah (a shorter edition)

    How the site knows this: Known here only through a translation.

    Et voici ce qui arrivera: lorsque vous vous serez multipliés, et que vous aurez grandi sur la terre, dit le Seigneur, en ces jours-là, on ne dira plus: Voici l’arche de l’alliance du Saint d’Israël. Elle n’aura plus de place dans les cœurs, elle n’aura plus de nom, on ne la visitera plus, on ne construira plus rien de pareil.

    Greek (digital file) numbering: Jeremiah 3:16. Giguet's 1872 French of a printed Greek text (D check only), in the Greek book's own order and verse numbering; a C check needs Ziegler's Göttingen Jeremiah or Rahlfs–Hanhart.

What changed, and why

Classification: stable text; a later legend (2 Maccabees 2) that the biblical book does not support.

The fate of the ark is unknown: it is not listed among the temple items taken in 2 Kings 25:13–17 or Jeremiah 52:17–23.

The library's Greek reads "the ark of the covenant of the Holy One of Israel."

What the evidence shows

  • What the text saysJeremiah 3:16 foresees a time when the ark will not be remembered.
  • Not independently verifiedJeremiah hid the ark on Mount Nebo. A later legend (2 Maccabees 2:4–8); not in the book of Jeremiah.
  • Conflicts with current evidenceThe ark's fate is known. No ancient source records it reliably.

Sources

    Related lessons

    • Jeremiah 3: Return, Ye Backsliding Children →"If a man put away his wife… shall he return unto her again?" yet God says, "return again to me" (3:1–5). In the days of Josiah, God shows Jeremiah "backsliding Israel" and "her treacherous sister Judah": Israel was divorced, and Judah did not fear, but played the harlot too, and returned "not with her whole heart, but feignedly" (vv. 6–11). "Return, thou backsliding Israel… for I am merciful" (vv. 12–13). "Turn, O backsliding children… I will take you one of a city, and two of a family… And I will give you pastors according to mine heart"; the ark will not be remembered; Jerusalem will be called "the throne of the LORD"; Judah and Israel will come together from the north (vv. 14–18). "Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God" (vv. 19–25).