Jeremiah 32 17

Jeremiah 32:17 kjv

Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

Jeremiah 32:17 nkjv

'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

Jeremiah 32:17 niv

"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Jeremiah 32:17 esv

'Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

Jeremiah 32:17 nlt

"O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!

Jeremiah 32 verses

Jeremiah 32 17 meaning

Jeremiah 32:17 is a fervent declaration of faith by the prophet Jeremiah, offered as a prayer of awe and perplexity to God amidst a challenging and seemingly paradoxical divine command. It proclaims God's supreme omnipotence as the Creator of the universe through immense power and active intervention. This assertion culminates in the absolute truth that nothing is too difficult or impossible for Him, serving as a foundational truth that grounds Jeremiah's, and ultimately humanity's, trust in God's promises even in the direst of circumstances.

Jeremiah 32 17 Context

Jeremiah chapter 32 is set during a pivotal and grim moment in Judah's history, around 588-587 BC. Jerusalem is under siege by the Babylonian army, and King Zedekiah has imprisoned Jeremiah for prophesying the city's destruction and Judah's seventy-year exile. Despite this impending catastrophe, God gives Jeremiah a highly unusual command: to buy a field in Anathoth from his cousin Hanamel. This act, purchasing property in a land about to be conquered and its inhabitants exiled, appears financially senseless and humanly impossible. It is a powerful prophetic sign, however, signifying God's future restoration of Israel. Verse 17 is Jeremiah's personal prayer in response to this divine instruction. It reflects his internal struggle – understanding God's ultimate power yet grappling with the immediate, illogical command – ultimately leading to a profound confession of faith in the Lord's limitless capability to accomplish the impossible, even when circumstances defy all human logic and hope.

Jeremiah 32 17 Word analysis

• Ah, Lord GOD! (Hebrew: אֲהָהּ אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה - 'Ahāh 'Adonai YHWH):

  • Ah ('Ahāh): An interjection expressing strong emotion—a sigh, lament, awe, or profound reverence and possibly bewilderment. Here, it conveys Jeremiah's overwhelmed state as he processes a divinely commanded, paradoxical action.
  • Lord GOD (Adonai YHWH): This combination is highly significant. Adonai signifies absolute sovereignty and mastership. YHWH (the Tetragrammaton, pronounced as Yahweh or traditionally rendered LORD in English Bibles) is God's covenant name, revealing His personal, faithful, and redemptive nature. Together, it's a cry to the Sovereign and Covenant-Keeping God, acknowledging His ultimate authority and reliability.

• it is You who have made (Hebrew: עָשִׂיתָ אֶת - 'asita 'et):

  • made ('asita): The verb "to make, to do, to create." Implies purposeful action, crafting, and bringing into existence.

• the heavens and the earth (Hebrew: הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ - ha-shamayim wə-'et ha-'aretz):

  • heavens and the earth: A merism (a figure of speech in which a pair of contrasting words refers to the whole) encompassing the entire cosmos, all of creation, indicating God's comprehensive, ultimate creative act.

• by Your great power (Hebrew: בְּכֹחֲךָ הַגָּדֹול - bə-khochaḵa ha-gādol):

  • great power (khoach gadol): Refers to immense strength, ability, force, and might. It speaks to the infinite and unassailable potency of God, demonstrating His inherent ability to bring about creation and sustain it.

• and by Your outstretched arm! (Hebrew: וּבִזְרֹעֲךָ הַנְּטוּיָה - u-vizroaʿaka ha-nətuyah):

  • outstretched arm (zroaʿ nətuyah): A vivid anthropomorphic idiom used frequently in the Old Testament. It signifies powerful, decisive, active intervention, particularly in acts of salvation (e.g., the Exodus from Egypt) or judgment. It points to God's readiness and ability to exert His will.

• Nothing is too hard for You! (Hebrew: לֹא־יִפָּלֵא מִמְּךָ כָּל־דָּבָר - lo'-yippālē' mimmeḵa kol-dāḇār):

  • Nothing (kol-dāḇār): "every word/thing." When combined with the negative lo', it means "no thing," "no matter."
  • is too hard (yippālē'): Derived from the root pālā', which means "to be wonderful, extraordinary, difficult, incomprehensible." It captures the idea of something being beyond normal human capacity, utterly astounding, or too marvelous to be accomplished. In this context, it affirms God's ability to do the humanly impossible or incomprehensible, linking directly to the perplexing command of buying a field during a siege.

Jeremiah 32 17 Bonus section

The specific choice of the divine titles Adonai YHWH (Lord GOD) is particularly rich. While Adonai conveys authority and mastery, YHWH points to God's unchanging nature and covenant faithfulness. Jeremiah, facing national apostasy and divine judgment, appeals to the very essence of God's being—His sovereign power and His faithful character—as the basis for hope. This shows that God's power is not arbitrary but tied to His promises. The imagery of the "outstretched arm" is almost always associated with the Exodus event, Israel's ultimate salvation experience from human bondage. By evoking this, Jeremiah reminds himself, and tacitly God, of a past mighty deliverance, setting a precedent for future intervention despite the current dire straits. This prayer acts as a critical turning point for Jeremiah, moving from doubt and petition to full understanding and confident prophecy.

Jeremiah 32 17 Commentary

Jeremiah 32:17 is a magnificent testament to God's omnipotence and a prayerful affirmation of faith by Jeremiah during a crisis. The prophet is confronted with a divine command that defies human logic: purchase a field when the land is under siege and its people face exile. His response isn't immediate compliance, but a prayer acknowledging the overwhelming nature of God's power. By calling upon "Ah, Lord GOD!" he combines a cry of awe or wonder with an address to God as both sovereign ruler (Adonai) and covenant-keeping God (YHWH). He grounds his faith in the irrefutable fact of God as the sole Creator of "the heavens and the earth," brought forth "by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm." This recalls God's foundational act of creation and His powerful historical interventions, like the Exodus.

This grand declaration of creation and power serves as the preamble to the core truth of the verse: "Nothing is too hard for You!" This statement of absolute divine capability answers the very question raised by Jeremiah's bewildering situation. The Hebrew word pālā' encapsulates not just "difficulty" but also "wonder" or "marvel." This means that not only is nothing beyond God's capacity to do, but His actions are often extraordinary, miraculous, and beyond human comprehension. This verse is Jeremiah grappling with a humanly impossible situation through the lens of God's limitless power, thus preparing his heart to receive and act upon the equally miraculous promise of restoration. It underscores that what God commands, no matter how illogical to man, is always feasible for the Creator whose power knows no bounds. This is a foundational truth for trusting God's promises even in times of despair or uncertainty.