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.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Yahweh speaks to Jeremiah, who relays the word to the exiles in Babylon. The moment is the second basket of figs: the good ones, the exiles, identified as the object of divine attention.

The words — שַׂמְתִּי (sam.ti, "I will set") is a deliberate placement, not passive watching; it pairs with לְטוֹבָה (le.to.vah, "for good"), a noun that makes the orientation concrete rather than abstract.

The thread — The "build and not tear down, plant and not uproot" formula recurs in Jeremiah 42:10, where it is addressed to those who remain in the land rather than flee to Egypt. Jeremiah 29:10 supplies the timeline (seventy years) and Jeremiah 33:7 echoes the restoration.

Why it lands — The verse asks the reader to accept that the scattering was not the final word and that the reversal is framed as active, sustained work (building, planting), not a single act of rescue.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְשַׂמְתִּ֨יve./sam.Tiand/ I will set עֵינִ֤י'ei.N/ieye/ my עֲלֵיהֶם֙'a.lei./Hemon/ them לְטוֹבָ֔הle./to.Vahfor/ good וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֖יםva./ha.shi.vo.Ti/mand/ I will bring back/ them עַל־'al-to הָאָ֣רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ land הַזֹּ֑אתha./Zot<the>/ this וּבְנִיתִים֙u./ve.ni.Ti/mand/ I will build up/ them וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not אֶהֱרֹ֔ס'e.he.RosI will tear [them] down וּנְטַעְתִּ֖יםu./ne.ta'.Ti/mand/ I will plant/ them וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not אֶתּֽוֹשׁ׃'e.To.oshI will pluck [them] up

King James Version

For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 42:10 ‘If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I will relent of the disaster I have brought upon you.
Jeremiah 29:10 For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.
Jeremiah 33:7 I will restore Judah and Israel from captivity and will rebuild them as in former times.
Jeremiah 12:15 But after I have uprooted them, I will once again have compassion on them and return each one to his inheritance and to his land.
Jeremiah 32:41 Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.
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 32:37 I will surely gather My people from all the lands to which I have banished them in My furious anger and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them dwell in safety.
Psalms 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
Ezekiel 36:24 For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land.
1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”