What Does Jeremiah 27:7 Mean in the King James?
And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The same Hebrew verb first places nations in service to the king, then turns that service back onto him.
THE MEANING
The ruler and his heirs receive service only until the appointed time of their land arrives. Then other nations and great kings draw service from him. The verse holds both positions inside the same verb, so neither is permanent.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the belief that a ruler who is served can never become subject to others.
THE ROOT
עָבַד
ʿāvad
GROWS FROM
עבד
ʿ-b-d
To work or serve.
The same verb describes the nations serving the ruler and later kings receiving service from him. English uses different constructions, but the Hebrew repeats עָבַד (ʿāvad, to work or serve), placing the reversal inside one word.
ALSO GROWS
ʿeved: A servant or slave.
עֶבֶד
This noun from the same root names the person in the role of serving; the verse’s reversal shifts who occupies that role.
ʿavodah: Work, labor, or service.
עֲבֹדָה
This branch shows the labor beneath the political language: service is work imposed or received, not merely a title.
THE PATTERN
Service reveals the direction of power, and that direction can reverse.
And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.THE THREAD
And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.“Servants” here is עֲבָדִים (ʿavadim, servants), from the same root עבד (ʿ-b-d) as “serve” in Jeremiah. The shared root makes the reversal visible: those once served can themselves become the ones who serve.
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