Limitless Word
By My great power and outstretched arm, I made the earth and the men and beasts on the face of it, and I give it to whom I please.
Jeremiah 27:5 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB ‘I have made the earth, the men and the animals that are on the surface of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it to whom it seems right to me.
  • KJV I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
  • NKJV ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me.
  • NASB ‘I have made the earth, mankind, and the animals which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight.
  • NLT With my great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose.

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

God declares that He made the earth and all its creatures by His power and gives dominion to whomever He chooses. His sovereign right to dispose of the nations is absolute.

Overview

The basis for God's command is His identity as Creator of all things. Because He made the world by His 'great power and outstretched arm' (language recalling the Exodus), He alone determines who shall rule. This grounds political authority in divine sovereignty rather than human strength. The Creator's right to give the kingdoms to whom He wills assures believers that history serves His redemptive purpose.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • Jer 51:15The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
  • Jer 32:17“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
  • Ps 115:15–16May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
  • Heb 1:10–11And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
  • Ps 146:5–6Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
  • Dan 4:17This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’
  • Col 1:16For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.
  • Isa 44:24Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth,
  • Isa 42:5This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:
  • Jer 10:11–12Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”
  • Isa 45:12It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.
  • Ezra 1:2“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah.
  • Rev 4:11“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and came to be.”
  • Acts 14:15“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
  • Isa 48:13Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together.
  • Acts 17:24The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
  • Isa 40:21–26Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?
  • Isa 51:13But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. You live in terror all day long because of the fury of the oppressor who is bent on destruction. But where is the fury of the oppressor?
  • Ps 136:5–9By His insight He made the heavens. His loving devotion endures forever.
  • Ps 135:10–12He struck down many nations and slaughtered mighty kings:
  • Job 26:5–14The dead tremble—those beneath the waters and those who dwell in them.
  • Job 38:4–41Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
  • John 1:1–3In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  • Heb 1:2But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.
  • Deut 32:8When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
  • Ps 148:2–5Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.
  • Deut 2:7Indeed, the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The LORD your God has been with you these forty years, and you have lacked nothing.
  • Gen 1:29–30Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.
  • Deut 5:16Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
  • Deut 2:21They were a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place,
  • Deut 4:32Indeed, ask now from one end of the heavens to the other about the days that long preceded you, from the day that God created man on earth: Has anything as great as this ever happened or been reported?
  • Deut 4:35You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.
  • Josh 1:2–3“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore arise, you and all these people, and cross over the Jordan into the land that I am giving to the children of Israel.
  • Ps 102:25In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
  • Deut 2:9Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
  • Gen 9:2–3The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand.
  • Deut 9:29But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.”
  • Deut 2:19But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”
  • Exod 20:11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
  • Gen 9:6Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (11)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 27:5YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 27:5 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.