Jeremiah 45:4
in Jeremiah 45Thus 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus shalt thou say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up; and this in the whole land.
KJV
Thus shalt thou say unto him, The Lord saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.
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This verse in Jeremiah 45
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
This is what the LORD says: Throughout the land I will demolish what I have built
on Jeremiah 45:4-5
The answer sets Baruch’s grief inside the ruin: “I will demolish what I have built and uproot what I have planted.” Baruch is rebuked for seeking “great things for yourself”. The promise, “I will grant your life as a spoil of war,” is the one given to Ebed-melech in 39:18.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thus shalt thou say unto him,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Behold, that which I have built - I most certainly will fulfill all those threatenings contained in the roll thou hast written; for I will destroy this whole land.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
land - Or, earth. Baruch’s lot was cast in one of those troublous times when God enters into judgment with all flesh Jer 45:5. It was not Judaea only but the whole known world that was thrown into turmoil by Nebuchadnezzars energy Jer 25:26.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and it is all the land that is being judged with this uprooting and tearing down.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And you seek great things for yourself? [“Great things” means] prophecies. Cf. “Please tell me all the great things etc.” (II Kings:4). “Call to me..and I will tell you great, etc,” (above:3).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֣ה׀ | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| תֹּאמַ֣ר | tomar | you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֗יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כֹּ֚ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּנִ֙יתִי֙ | baniti | I have built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| הֹרֵ֔ס | hores | [am] about to tear down | H2040 → | 43 times |
| וְאֵ֥ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָטַ֖עְתִּי | nata'ti | I have planted | H5193 → | 58 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| נֹתֵ֑שׁ | notesh | [am] about to pluck up | H5428 → | 21 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הִֽיא׃ | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
כֹּ֣ה׀thus
kohH3541 →577 times
תֹּאמַ֣רyou will say
tomarH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֗יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
כֹּ֚הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הִנֵּ֤הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אֲשֶׁר־[that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בָּנִ֙יתִי֙I have built
banitiH1129 →376 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
הֹרֵ֔ס[am] about to tear down
horesH2040 →43 times
וְאֵ֥תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁר־[that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
נָטַ֖עְתִּיI have planted
nata'tiH5193 →58 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
נֹתֵ֑שׁ[am] about to pluck up
noteshH5428 →21 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הִֽיא׃it
hi'H1931 →1879 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
Jeremiah 1:10See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:28
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.
- Jeremiah 24:6
I 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- Isaiah 44:26–28
who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I…
- Jeremiah 31:4–5
Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.
- Jeremiah 31:28
Through
Jeremiah 31:28Just 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.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:10
See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”
- Jeremiah 44:27
I 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…
- Jeremiah 1:10
Through
Jeremiah 11:17The LORD of Hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you on account of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have brought upon themselves, provoking Me to…
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:2
He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield…
- Isaiah 5:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).