English Standard Version
Jeremiah 31:28
28And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 31:28 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord.
- New International Version (NIV)Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord.
- New Living Translation (NLT)In the past I deliberately uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will just as deliberately plant it and build it up. I, the Lord, have spoken!
Context of Jeremiah 31:28
26At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me. 27"Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord. 29In those days they shall no longer say: "'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' 30But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
Read all of Jeremiah 31Jeremiah 31:28 word by word
וְהָיָ֞ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֧ר שָׁקַ֣דְתִּי עֲלֵיהֶ֗ם לִנְת֧וֹשׁ וְלִנְת֛וֹץ וְלַהֲרֹ֖ס וּלְהַאֲבִ֣יד וּלְהָרֵ֑עַ כֵּ֣ן אֶשְׁקֹ֧ד עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם לִבְנ֥וֹת וְלִנְט֖וֹעַ נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- like as I have watched overשָׁקַדshâqad · to watchH8245
- them, to pluck upנָתַשׁnâthash · to uprootH5428
- and to break downנָתַץnâthats · to tearH5422
- and to throw downהָרַסhâras · to overthrowH2040
- and to destroyאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
- and to afflictרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489
- them, to buildבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
- and to plantנָטַעnâţa‛ · to plantH5193
- saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Jeremiah 31:28
- Jeremiah 44:27Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them.
- Daniel 9:14Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice.
- Jeremiah 1:10See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
- Jeremiah 18:7If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it,
- Jeremiah 45:4Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land.
- Jeremiah 24:6I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
- Jeremiah 32:41I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
- Psalms 69:35For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it;
- Psalms 102:16For the Lord builds up Zion; he appears in his glory;
- Psalms 147:2The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
- Ecclesiastes 3:2a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
- Daniel 9:25Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.
- Amos 9:11"In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old,
- Acts 15:16"'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,
Commentaries on Jeremiah 31:28
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27-34Verses 27-34 The prophet shows that the happiness of Israel and Judah, united in one prosperous nation, will rest upon the consciousness that their chastisement has been the result of sins which they have themselves committed, and that God‘s covenant depends not upon external sanctions, but upon a renewed heart. Jeremiah 31:27 So rapid shall be the increase that it shall seem as if children and young cattle sprang up out of the ground. Jeremiah 31:29…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 27-34Verses 27-34 The people of God shall become numerous and prosperous. In Heb. 8:8,9, this place is quoted as the sum of the covenant of grace made with believers in Jesus Christ. Not, I will give them a new law; for Christ came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it; but the law shall be written in their hearts by the finger of the Spirit, as formerly written in the tables of stone. The Lord will, by his grace, make his people willing people in the day…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 28The future involves the return of the exiled people to the Promised Land. The Lord had promised to plant and build them there (see Jeremiah 1:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2828. (Jr 44:27). The same God who, as it were (in human language), was on the watch for all means to destroy, shall be as much on the watch for the means of their restoration.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries