Jeremiah 45:4

4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up--that is, the whole land.

Jeremiah 45:4 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 45:4

Thus shalt thou say unto him
This is spoken to Jeremiah, and is an order from the Lord to him, what he should say in his name to Baruch: the Lord saith thus, behold, [that] which I have built will I break
down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up;
the Jewish nation, both as to church and state; which the Lord had built up as a spacious and beautiful house to dwell in, and had planted as a vineyard, and set it with pleasant plants; but now would demolish this building, and destroy this plantation: even this whole land;
not a few cities only, or only Jerusalem the metropolis, but the whole land of Judea; no part of it but what should be left desolate. So the Targum,

``even the whole land of Israel, which is mine.''

Jeremiah 45:4 In-Context

1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neri'ah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoi'akim the son of Josi'ah, king of Judah:
2 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch:
3 You said, 'Woe is me! for the LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.'
4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up--that is, the whole land.
5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not; for, behold, I am bringing evil upon all flesh, says the LORD; but I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go."
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.