Meaning, commentary and cross references
Jeremiah 32:17
“Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”In other translations
KJV · King James Version
Ah 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:
NIV · New International Version
“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
WEB · World English Bible
“Ah Lord GOD! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you.
What does Jeremiah 32:17 mean?
John Gill · Exposition of the Entire Bible, on Jeremiah 32:17
Ah Lord God!.... Which the Vulgate Latin version repeats three times, "Ah, ah, ah", as being greatly distressed with the trouble that was coming upon his people; and, it may be, not without some doubts and temptations about their deliverance; or, at least, was pressed in his mind with the difficulties and objections started by the Jews that were with him in the court: behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm; with great propriety is the making of the heaven and the earth ascribed to the mighty power of God; for nothing short of almighty power could have produced such a stupendous work as the heavens, with all the host of them, sun, moon, and…
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible, on Jeremiah 32:16–25
That with him nothing is impossible, no difficulty insuperable: Nothing is too hard for thee. When human skill and power are quite nonplussed, with God are strength and wisdom sufficient to master all the opposition. 3. That he is a God of boundless bottomless mercy; mercy is his darling attribute; it is his goodness that is his glory: "Thou not only art kind, but thou showest lovingkindness, not to a few, to here and there one, but to thousands, thousands of persons, thousands of generations." 4. That he is a God of impartial and inflexible justice.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706–21; Romans–Revelation completed by Nonconformist ministers). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
John Calvin · Commentaries, on Jeremiah 32:16–18
17. Heu Domine Jehova! Ecce tu fecisti coelos et terram in potentia tua magna et brachio tuo extento; non est ulla res abscondita a to, (vel, mirabilis) 18. Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: The Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, 18.
John Calvin, Commentaries (Calvin Translation Society English text). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
Context: Jeremiah 32:14–20 (WEB)
14the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.’ 15For the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land.’ 16Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying, 17“Ah Lord GOD! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you. 18You show loving kindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them. The great, the mighty God, the LORD of Armies is your name: 19great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings; 20who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even to this day, both in Israel and among other men; and made yourself a name, as it is today;
Cross references
- Luke 1:37
For nothing spoken by God is impossible.”
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?
- Genesis 18:14
Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes around, and Sarah will have a son.”
- Job 42:2
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be restrained.
- Matthew 19:26
Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- Exodus 20:11
for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
- Genesis 1:1–31
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
- Jeremiah 27:5
‘I have made the earth, the men, and the animals that are on the surface of the earth by my great power and by my outstretched arm. I give it to whom it seems right to me.