Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB It shall happen that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant,” says Yahweh.
- 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.
- 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.
- NASB And just as I have watched over them to uproot them, tear them down, ruin, destroy, and bring disaster on them, so I will watch over them to build and to plant them,” declares the Lord.
- 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!
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
As God once watched to uproot and destroy, He now pledges to watch over His people to build and to plant. It shows judgment giving way to restoration under the same sovereign care.
Overview
This verse echoes Jeremiah's commissioning (1:10), where the same verbs of plucking up and building first appeared, showing God's word accomplishing both its severe and its gracious purposes. The Lord who superintended the discipline now superintends the renewal, demonstrating His constancy and control over Israel's history. The God who plants and builds His people finds fulfillment in Christ, who builds His church (Matt. 16:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Jer 24:6I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.
- Jer 1:10See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”
- Jer 44:27I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and every man of Judah who is in the land of Egypt will meet his end by sword or famine, until they are finished off.
- Jer 45:4Thus Jeremiah was to say to Baruch: “This is what the LORD says: Throughout the land I will demolish what I have built and uproot what I have planted.
- Jer 18:7–9At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed.
- Acts 15:16‘After this I will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,
- Eccl 3:2–3a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
- Dan 9:14Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it upon us. For the LORD our God is righteous in all He does; yet we have not obeyed His voice.
- Jer 32:41Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.
- Amos 9:11“In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,
- Ps 147:2The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel.
- Dan 9:25Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress.
- Ps 69:35For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah, that they may dwell there and possess it.
- Ps 102:16For the LORD will rebuild Zion; He has appeared in His glory.
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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 31:28 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.