Jeremiah 33:17
in Jeremiah 33For this is what the LORD says: David will never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For thus saith Jehovah: David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
KJV
For thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
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This verse in Jeremiah 33
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Read literally, these verses promise the permanent restoration of the Davidic throne and (of the Levitical priesthood. As a matter of fact Zedekiah was the last king of David’s line, and the Levitical priest-hood has long passed away. Both these changes Jeremiah himself foretold Jer 22:30; Jer 3:16. In what way then is this apparent contradiction (compare Isa 66:20-23; Ezek. 40–48) to be explained? The solution is probably as follows. It was necessary that the Bible should be intelligible to the people at the time when it was written, and in some degree to the writer.
This site's exposition
Behold, the days are coming, declares
on Jeremiah 33:14-18
The Branch of 23:5 returns, now dated “In those days and at that time,” and paired with the priestly line. Jerusalem receives the name chapter 23 gave the king, “The LORD Our Righteousness,” so the same righteousness rests on the city and its ruler.
This site's exposition
David will never lack a man
Barnes names the difficulty: Zedekiah was the last of David's line to sit on the throne in Israel, and Jeremiah foretold its end at 22:30. Wesley reads the promise as kept in Christ, whose kingdom has no end. Barnes too finds it kept in a spiritual sense.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
David - That is, apparently a promise relating to Christ, for David's line had failed long since, had it not been continued in Christ, whose kingdom is and shall be an everlasting kingdom.
God speaketh once, yea, twice, for the encouragement of his people. We are not only so disobedient that we have need of precept upon precept to bring us to our duty, but so distrustful that we have need of promise upon promise to bring us to our comfort. This word, as the former, came to Jeremiah when he was in prison.
For the confirmation of this it is promised, 1. That the covenant with David shall be as firm as the ordinances of heaven, to the stability of which that of God's promise is compared, ch. xxxi. There is a covenant of nature, by which the common course of providence is settled and on which it is founded, here called a covenant of the day and the night (
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For thus saith the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The promises of perpetuity of the throne of David fulfilled in Messiah, the son of David (2Sa 7:16;
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The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כֹ֖ה | khoh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִכָּרֵ֣ת | yikaret | it will be cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| לְדָוִ֔ד | ledavid | to David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אִ֕ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יֹשֵׁ֖ב | yoshev | [who] sits | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּסֵּ֥א | kise' | [the] throne of | H3678 → | 135 times |
| בֵֽית־ | veit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
כֹ֖הthus
khohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִכָּרֵ֣תit will be cut off
yikaretH3772 →288 times
לְדָוִ֔דto David
ledavidH1732 →999 times
אִ֕ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יֹשֵׁ֖ב[who] sits
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כִּסֵּ֥א[the] throne of
kise'H3678 →135 times
בֵֽית־[the] house of
veit-H1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 9:7Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness…
it leads to
- Luke 1:32–33
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
- Daniel 2:44
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms…
- Daniel 7:14
And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is…
- 2 Samuel 7:16
Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”
- Psalms 45:4–6
In your splendor ride forth in victory on behalf of truth and humility and justice; may your right hand show your awesome deeds.
- Luke 1:32–33
Through
1 Kings 2:4and so that the LORD may fulfill His promise to me: ‘If your descendants take heed to walk faithfully before Me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 20:3
“Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
- 2 Samuel 7:25
And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You have promised,
- 1 Kings 8:25
Therefore now, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for Your servant, my father David, what You promised when You said: ‘You will never fail to have a man to sit before Me on the…
- 2 Kings 20:3
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.