Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice—not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh, correct me, but in measure: not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
- KJV O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
- NKJV O Lord, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.
- NASB Correct me, Lord, but with justice; Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.
- NLT So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jeremiah asks God to correct him with justice and measure, not in anger that would destroy him. He pleads for tempered, restorative discipline.
Overview
The prophet, identifying with his people, prays for correction 'in measure' rather than in the full fury of wrath that would reduce him to nothing. He accepts the need for discipline while appealing to God's mercy. The verse models a believer's posture under God's chastening hand and foreshadows the gospel hope that, in Christ, God's people receive fatherly correction rather than condemning wrath.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 38:1A Psalm of David, for remembrance. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.
- Ps 6:1For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, according to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.
- Jer 30:11For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”
- Isa 40:23He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.
- Job 6:18Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish.
- Hab 3:2O LORD, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy!
- Isa 41:11–12Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 10:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.