Jeremiah 33:3

Context

Jeremiah 33:1 states that this word came to Jeremiah "while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison." At the time, Jerusalem was besieged by the Babylonian army and on the verge of falling, and Jeremiah had been imprisoned for urging surrender (32:1-5). Verse 2 introduces the LORD as the one who does his work and brings it to completion, and verse 3 follows with the call to cry out. Verses 4-26 then promise that the ruined city of Jerusalem will be healed and restored and that a righteous Branch will grow up to David. The "great and hidden things" are therefore generally understood to refer to the promise of restoration that immediately follows.

Interpretation

• As a promise of restoration: In this reading, God promises to reveal, amid the despair of the city's fall, a plan of restoration that no one could have known. The word rendered "hidden" is understood to mean "inaccessible" or "fortified," referring to things beyond the reach of human understanding. The Korean Revised Version renders the phrase "great and secret things."
• As an invitation to prayer: Because God takes the initiative in inviting people to call on him and promises to answer, this reading extends the verse into an encouragement to prayer for all believers. It is often cited together with Psalm 50:15.

Debates and Issues

Some interpret the "great and hidden things" as special revelation received by individuals through prayer or as secret knowledge about the future. Critics respond that, in context, the phrase refers to the promise of Jerusalem's restoration recorded in the verses that follow and does not promise new revelation outside Scripture. Major denominations caution in particular against the use of this verse as a proof text by certain movements that emphasize direct revelation. On the legitimacy of loud, crying-out prayer, many churches, including those in the Pentecostal tradition, appeal to this verse and to the cries of the Psalms, while others stress that the heart matters more than the outward form of prayer.

In the Korean Church

The verse is the signature text for tongsung prayer, all-night prayer vigils, prayer-mountain gatherings, and special early-morning prayer meetings, and it is very frequently adopted as a church prayer motto.

Related Passages

• Jeremiah 33:6-9
• Psalm 50:15
• Matthew 7:7-8
• Isaiah 65:24