The Meaning of Jeremiah 33:17 Explained

Jeremiah 33:17

KJV: For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

YLT: For thus said Jehovah: 'Not cut off to David is one sitting on the throne of the house of Israel,

Darby: For thus saith Jehovah: There shall never fail to David a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

ASV: For thus saith Jehovah: David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For thus saith  the LORD;  David  shall never  want  a man  to sit  upon the throne  of the house  of Israel; 

What does Jeremiah 33:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

From then on there would always be a Davidic king ruling over the nation of Israel (cf. 1 Kings 2:4; 1 Kings 8:25; 1 Kings 9:5). [1]
That King has appeared, but His subjects, the Israelites, refused to accept Him as their King. Therefore, He returned to heaven-but He will return to earth to restore and rule over Israel in the future, at the Second Coming. Christ"s present rule over the church today, from heaven, is not the same rule as the one promised here. The one promised here is a reign over the Israelites at the time of their future restoration.
Covenant premillennialists and "progressive" dispensationalists take a slightly different position. They believe that Christ"s present rule from heaven is the first phase of His reign as the Davidic King, and the second phase will begin with His return to the earth to rule over Israel and the whole world. [2]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 33

1  God promises to the captivity a gracious return;
9  a joyful state;
12  a settled government;
15  Christ the branch of righteousness;
17  a continuance of kingdom and priesthood;
19  and a stability of a blessed seed

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 33:17 mean?

For thus says Yahweh never shall lack David a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel
כִּי־ כֹ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה לֹֽא־ יִכָּרֵ֣ת לְדָוִ֔ד אִ֕ישׁ יֹשֵׁ֖ב עַל־ כִּסֵּ֥א בֵֽית־ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

כֹ֖ה  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֣ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֑ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
לֹֽא־  never 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִכָּרֵ֣ת  shall  lack 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
לְדָוִ֔ד  David 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
אִ֕ישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
יֹשֵׁ֖ב  to  sit 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
כִּסֵּ֥א  the  throne 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כִּסֵּא 
Sense: seat (of honour), throne, seat, stool.
בֵֽית־  of  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.