What is the meaning of Jeremiah 31:29?

In those days

– Jeremiah pinpoints a coming season when God renews Israel (Jeremiah 31:27–28).

– The phrase looks ahead to the New Covenant era introduced by Christ (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:8–12).

– Key idea: restoration follows judgment; exile will not be the final word (Jeremiah 30:3).

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it will no longer be said

– A common proverb is about to become obsolete—God is rewriting the spiritual landscape (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:4, 5).

– The Lord is promising a change so radical that old assumptions will simply drop out of conversation.

– Practical takeaway: when God intervenes, even deeply rooted cultural attitudes must give way.

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The fathers have eaten sour grapes

– The proverb (also in Ezekiel 18:2) lamented that children were suffering for sins their parents committed (see Lamentations 5:7).

– “Sour grapes” pictures deliberate, willful sin; the fathers knowingly chose what they tasted.

– Cross reference: Deuteronomy 24:16—God already affirmed individual accountability in the Law.

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and the teeth of the children are set on edge

– The sharp tang reaches the next generation, symbolizing inherited consequences.

– God now declares that under the coming covenant, each person answers for his or her own actions (Jeremiah 31:30; Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 14:12).

– For believers today: Christ removes condemnation (Romans 8:1), so no believer carries parental guilt—only the call to live responsibly (Galatians 6:4–5).

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summary

Jeremiah 31:29 foretells a New Covenant age when inherited guilt gives way to personal responsibility. The old proverb of “sour grapes” fades because, in Christ’s finished work, judgment and blessing hinge on each individual’s response to God.