Jeremiah 46:28

And you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, for I am with you. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have banished you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Yahweh addresses the exiled remnant of Jacob by the title "my servant," immediately following a promise of rescue from a distant land (v.27). The moment is divine reassurance interwoven with a warning.

The words — עַבְדִּי ('avdi, "my servant") is the designation that grounds the entire address; it is the relationship that gives the command "do not be afraid" its authority.

The thread — The pattern of bounded discipline recurs in Jeremiah 10:24 (correct me with justice, not to the point of annihilation), 1 Corinthians 11:32 (discipline prevents condemnation with the world), and Revelation 3:19 (rebuke as the mark of love).

Why it lands — The verse refuses to let comfort and accountability cancel each other out: you are safe from total destruction, but you will not escape just correction. The reader is asked to hold both at once without collapsing one into the other.

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

אַ֠תָּה'A.tahyou אַל־'al-may not תִּירָ֞אti.Ra'you fear עַבְדִּ֤י'av.D/iO servant/ my יַֽעֲקֹב֙ya.'a.KoJacob נְאֻם־ne.'um-[the] utterance of יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh כִּ֥יkithat אִתְּךָ֖'i.te./Kha[am] with/ you אָ֑נִי'A.niI כִּי֩kithat אֶעֱשֶׂ֨ה'e.'e.SehI will make כָלָ֜הkha.Lahcomplete destruction בְּכָֽל־be./kholon/ all הַגּוֹיִ֣ם׀ha./go.Yimthe/ nations אֲשֶׁ֧ר'a.Sherwhere הִדַּחְתִּ֣יךָhi.dach.Ti./khaI have driven away/ you שָׁ֗מָּהSha.ma/hthere/ towards וְאֹֽתְךָ֙ve./'o.te./Khaand/ <obj.>/ you לֹא־lo'-not אֶעֱשֶׂ֣ה'e.'e.SehI will make כָלָ֔הkha.Lahcomplete destruction וְיִסַּרְתִּ֙יךָ֙ve./yi.sar.Ti./khaand/ I will discipline/ you לַמִּשְׁפָּ֔טla./mish.Patto <the>/ justice וְנַקֵּ֖הve./na.Kehand/ certainly <to leave unpunished>לֹ֥אlo'not אֲנַקֶּֽךָּ׃ ס'a.na.Ke./kaI will leave unpunished/ you

King James Version

Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 10:24 Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice—not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.
1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
Revelation 3:19 Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
Jeremiah 4:27 For this is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be desolate, but I will not finish its destruction.
Jeremiah 30:11 For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”
Amos 9:8 Surely the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares the LORD.
Psalms 46:7 The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Psalms 46:11 The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Isaiah 8:9 Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.