Jeremiah 31:28 (WEB)

Passage

It will happen that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant,” says Yahweh.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 31:26 On this I awakened, and saw; and my sleep was sweet to me.

Jeremiah 31:27 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of animal.

Jeremiah 31:28 It will happen that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant,” says Yahweh.

Jeremiah 31:29 “In those days they will say no more, “‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

Jeremiah 31:30 But everyone will die for his own iniquity. Every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "happen", "like", "watched", "over", "pluck", "break", "down", and "overthrow". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "happen" and "like", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 27's "Behold the days come says Yahweh that..." into verse 29's "In those days they will say no...", so "happen" and "like" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "happen" and "like" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.