Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Jeremiah 32:17 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 17. 17Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The prophetic or communal lament states or reports “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched…” at Jeremiah 32:17 as a specific part of “Jeremiah's Prayer Holds Creation, Exodus, and Siege Together.”
Read It With
- Jeremiah 32:16–25
Read Jeremiah 32:17 with 32:16–25. By itself, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, imperial horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: After giving Baruch the deeds, Jeremiah recalls divine power and covenant history yet voices the contradiction between promised purchase and captured land.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within the same chapter, this unit advances from “A Field Purchase Enacts Hope under Siege” into “Jeremiah's Prayer Holds Creation, Exodus, and Siege Together.” Its non-interchangeable movement is: After giving Baruch the deeds, Jeremiah recalls divine power and covenant history yet voices the contradiction between promised purchase and captured land. This verse's placement is specific: The prophetic or communal lament states or reports “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched…” at Jeremiah 32:17 as a specific part of “Jeremiah's Prayer Holds Creation, Exodus, and Siege Together.”
Follow the Context
- The unit begins at 32:16 with the speech, scene, image, or date named in its title.
- After giving Baruch the deeds, Jeremiah recalls divine power and covenant history yet voices the contradiction between promised purchase and captured land.
- At 32:25 the movement reaches its response or transition before the next unit.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Nothing being too hard for God does not guarantee every requested miracle or outcome.
What Remains True
Jeremiah confesses creation power while struggling with a land purchase during siege. In Jeremiah 32:17, that bounded truth is carried through this verse's role: The prophetic or communal lament states or reports “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched…” at Jeremiah 32:17 as a specific part of “Jeremiah's Prayer Holds Creation, Exodus, and Siege Together.”
How It Can Shape Life
- Pray boldly without blaming people when desired outcomes do not occur. This verse directs that response through its exact role: The prophetic or communal lament states or reports “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched…” at Jeremiah 32:17 as a specific part of “Jeremiah's Prayer Holds Creation, Exodus, and Siege Together.”
Teach It Back
Explain Jeremiah 32:17's precise role in Jeremiah 32:16–25: The prophetic or communal lament states or reports “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched…” at Jeremiah 32:17 as a specific part of “Jeremiah's Prayer Holds Creation, Exodus, and Siege Together.” State how “Jeremiah's Prayer Holds Creation, Exodus, and Siege Together” controls the line, keep this uncertainty visible—The prayer does not suppress doubt or make military defeat a simple measure of faith.—trace role to contextual meaning to enduring truth to application, and reject one use the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Jeremiah 32:16–25 — Jeremiah's Prayer Holds Creation, Exodus, and Siege TogetherSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Jeremiah 32:16–25, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 32:16–25
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Jeremiah with Translator, Textual, and Study Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; official eBible PDF distribution, NET Bible Second Edition; official PDF accessed 2026
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, names, textual problems, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Jeremiah PDF, pp. 1258-1459, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Jeremiah 32:16–25
Open the official NET Jeremiah PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Jeremiah: Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Themes, and Bible in the World
Terence E. Fretheim and Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current public course accessed 2026
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with ancient-to-modern limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Jeremiah course, Outline and Themes: restoration, new covenant, field, Baruch scroll, siege, and fall; applied to Jeremiah 32:16–25
Open the Enter the Bible Jeremiah course ↗open university study guide series
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Jeremiah Parts 1-3 Study Guides
Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub
Yale Bible Study, 2024
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and explicit composition questions.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah Part 2 study guide, pp. 1-6: prophetic conflict, politics, exile, and restoration; applied to Jeremiah 32:16–25
Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗