And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness ... I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness. "Betroth" is thrice repeated, implying the intense love of God to His people, and perhaps also the three Persons of the Triune God severally engaging to make good the betrothal. The marriage-covenant will be as it were renewed from the beginning on a different footing; not for a time only, as before, through the apostasy of the people, but "forever," through the grace of God writing the law on their hearts by the spirit of Messiah (Jeremiah 31:31-37).
In righteousness ... judgment. The Hebrew for "in" may be translated "with" [bª-] "righteousness," which He In righteousness ... judgment. The Hebrew for "in" may be translated "with" [bª-] "righteousness," which He makes over to the Bride by imputation for her justification, and by impartation for her sanctification, and with judgment, whereby He vindicates her cause against her adversary: loving-kindness and mercies are the dowry with which He endows her. The "righteousness" of God is as much set forth as His mercies in saving His people; for the way of salvation is not merely a way of pardon, a way of justification (Romans 3:26).
In loving-kindness, and in mercies. Hereby God assures Israel, who might doubt the possibility of their restoration to His favour: low, sunk, and unworthy as thou art I will restore thee, from a regard to my own "loving-kindness," not to thy merits.
Verse 20. In faithfulness - to my new covenant of grace with thee (1 Thessalonians 5:24; Hebrews 10:23, "He is faithful that promised").
Thou shalt know the Lord - experimentally, which knowledge of God in Christ is eternal life (John 17:3). This knowledge follows as the effect of loving God, because God first loved us.