‘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.
Parallel translations
- 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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 51:15“He has made the earth by his power. He has established the world by his wisdom. By his understanding he has stretched out the heavens.
- Jer 32:17“Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for you,
- Ps 115:15–16Blessed are you by Yahweh, who made heaven and earth.
- Heb 1:10–11And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the works of your hands.
- Ps 146:5–6Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Yahweh, his God:
- Dan 4:17The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets up over it the lowest of men.
- Col 1:16For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him.
- Isa 44:24Yahweh, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb says: “I am Yahweh, who makes all things; who alone stretches out the heavens; who spreads out the earth by myself;
- Isa 42:5Thus says God Yahweh, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it.
- Jer 10:11–12“You shall say this to them: ‘The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.’”
- Isa 45:12I have made the earth, and created man on it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens; and I have commanded all their army.
- Ezra 1:2“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
- Rev 4:11“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!”
- Acts 14:15“Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
- Isa 48:13Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens. when I call to them, they stand up together.
- Acts 17:24The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands,
- Isa 40:21–26Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard, yet? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth?
- Isa 51:13Have you forgotten Yahweh your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth? Do you live in fear continually all day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he prepares to destroy? Where is the fury of the oppressor?
- Ps 136:5–9To him who by understanding made the heavens; for his loving kindness endures forever:
- Ps 135:10–12who struck many nations, and killed mighty kings,
- Job 26:5–14“The departed spirits tremble, those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
- Job 38:4–41“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, 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 1:2has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.
- Deut 32:8When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel.
- Ps 148:2–5Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all his army!
- Deut 2:7For Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He has known your walking through this great wilderness. These forty years, Yahweh your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.
- Gen 1:29–30God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
- Deut 5:16“Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God commanded you; that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you, in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
- Deut 2:21a great people, many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Yahweh destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and lived in their place;
- Deut 4:32For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and from the one end of the sky to the other, whether there has been anything as this great thing is, or has been heard like it?
- Deut 4:35It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides him.
- Josh 1:2–3“Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go across this Jordan, you, and all these people, to the land which I am giving to them, even to the children of Israel.
- Ps 102:25Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.
- Deut 2:9Yahweh said to me, “Don’t bother Moab, neither contend with them in battle; for I will not give you any of his land for a possession; because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession.”
- Gen 9:2–3The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that moves along the ground, and all the fish of the sea, are delivered into your hand.
- Deut 9:29Yet they are your people and your inheritance, which you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.”
- Deut 2:19When you come near the border of the children of Ammon, don’t bother them, nor contend with them; for I will not give you any of the land of the children of Ammon for a possession; because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession.”
- Exod 20:11for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
- Gen 9:6Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.