TRV
Translation
Berean Standard Bible
Behold, they keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come now!”
American Standard Version
Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of Jehovah? let it come now.
Young's Literal Translation
Lo, they are saying unto me: `Where is the word of Jehovah? pray, let it come.'
In the KJVVerse 19,373 of 31,102
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Commentary on Jeremiah 17 verses 12–18
12 ¶ A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.
16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.
18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
Here, as often before, we have the prophet retired for private meditation, and alone with God. Those ministers that would have comfort in their work must be much so. In his converse here with God and his own heart he takes the liberty which devout souls sometimes use in their soliloquies, to pass from one thing to another, without tying themselves too strictly to the laws of method and coherence.
I. He acknowledges the great favour of God to his people in setting up a revealed religion among them, and dignifying them with divine institutions (Jer 17:12): A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. The temple at Jerusalem, where God manifested his special presence, where the lively oracles were lodged, where the people paid their homage to their Sovereign, and whither they fled for refuge in distress, was the place of their sanctuary. That was a glorious high throne. It was a throne of holiness, which made it truly glorious; it was God's throne, which made it truly high. Jerusalem is called the city of the great King, not only Israel's King, but the King of the whole earth, so that it might justly be deemed the metropolis, or royal city, of the world. It was from the beginning, so, from the first projecting of it by David and building of it by Solomon, Ch2 2:9. It was the honour of Israel that God set up such a glorious throne among them. As the glorious and high throne (that is, heaven) is the place of our sanctuary; so some read it. Note, All good men have a high value and veneration for the ordinances of God, and reckon the place of the sanctuary a glorious high throne. Jeremiah here mentions this either as a plea with God for mercy to their land, in honour of the throne of his glory (Jer 14:21), or as an aggravation of the sin of his people in forsaking God though his throne was among them, and so profaning his crown and the place of his sanctuary.
II. He acknowledges the righteousness of God in abandoning those to ruin that forsook him and revolted from their allegiance to him, Jer 17:13. He speaks it to God, as subscribing both to the certainty and to the equity of it: O Lord! the hope of those in Israel that adhere to thee, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed. They must of necessity be so, for they forsake thee for lying vanities, which will deceive them and make them ashamed. They will be ashamed, for they shame themselves. They will justly be put to shame, for they have forsaken him who alone can keep them in countenance when troubles come. Let them be ashamed (so some read it); and so it is a pious imprecation of the wrath of God upon them, or a petition for his grace, to make them penitently ashamed. "Those that depart from me, from the word of God which I have preached, do in effect depart from God;" as those that return to God are said to return to the prophet, Jer 15:19. Those that depart from thee (so some read it) shall be written in the earth. They shall soon be blotted out, as that is which is written in the dust. They shall be trampled upon and exposed to contempt. They belong to the earth, and shall be numbered among earthly people, who lay up their treasure on earth and whose names are not written in heaven. And they deserve to be thus written with the fools in Israel, that their folly may be made manifest unto all, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters (that is, spring waters), and that for broken cisterns. Note, God is to all that are his a fountain of living waters. There is a fulness of comfort in him, an over-flowing ever-flowing fulness, like that of a fountain; it is always fresh, and clear, and clean, like spring water, while the pleasures of sin are puddle-waters. They are free to it; it is not a fountain sealed. They deserve therefore to be condemned, as Adam, to red earth, to which by the corruption of their nature they are allied, because they have forsaken the garden of the Lord, which is so well-watered. Those that depart from God are written in the earth.
III. He prays to God for healing saving mercy for himself. "If the case of those that depart from God be so miserable, let me always draw nigh to him (Psa 73:27, Psa 73:28), and, in order to do that, Lord, heal me, and save me, Jer 17:14. Heal my backslidings, my bent to backslide, and save me from being carried away by the strength of the stream to forsake thee." He was wounded in spirit with grief upon many accounts. "Lord, heal me with thy comforts, and make me easy." He was continually exposed to the malice of unreasonable men. "Lord, save me from them, and let me not fall into their wicked hands. Heal me, that is, sanctify me by thy grace; save me, that is, bring me to thy glory." All that shall be saved hereafter are sanctified now; unless the disease of sin be purged out the soul cannot live. To enforce this petition he pleads, 1. The firm belief he had of God's power: Heal thou me, and then I shall be healed; the cure will certainly be wrought if thou undertake it; it will be a thorough cure and not a palliative one. Those that come to God to be healed ought to be abundantly satisfied in the all-sufficiency of their physician. Save me, and then I shall certainly be saved, be my dangers and enemies ever so threatening. If God hold us up, we shall live; if he protect us, we shall be safe. 2. The sincere regard he had to God's glory: "For thou art my praise, and for that reason I desire to be healed and saved, that I may live and praise thee, Psa 119:175. Thou art he whom I praise, and the praise due to thee I never gave to another. Thou art he whom I glory in, and boast of, for on thee do I depend. Thou art he that furnishes me with continual matter for praise, and I have given thee the praise of the favours already bestowed upon me. Thou shalt be my praise" (so some read it); "heal me, and save me, and thou shalt have the glory of it. My praise shall be continually of thee," Psa 71:6; Psa 79:13.
IV. He complains of the infidelity and daring impiety of the people to whom he preached. It greatly troubled him, and he shows before God this trouble, as the servant that had slights put upon him by the guests he was sent to invite came and showed his Lord these things. He had faithfully delivered God's message to them; and what answer has he to return to him that sent him? Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now, Jer 17:15, Isa 5:19. They bantered the prophet, and made a jest of that which he delivered with the greatest seriousness. 1. They denied the truth of what he said: "If that be the word of the Lord which thou speakest to us, where is it? Why is it not fulfilled?" Thus the patience of God was impudently abused as a ground to question his veracity. 2. They defied the terror of what he said. "Let God Almighty do his worst; let all he has said come to pass; we shall do well enough; the lion is not so fierce as he is painted," Amo 5:18. "Lord, to what purpose is it to speak to men that will neither believe nor fear?"
V. He appeals to God concerning his faithful discharge of the duty to which he was called, Jer 17:16. The people did all they could to make him weary of his work, to exasperate him and make him uneasy, and to tempt him to prevaricate and alter his message for fear of displeasing them; but, "Lord," says he, "thou knowest I have not yielded to them." 1. He continued constant to his work. His office, instead of being his credit and protection, exposed him to reproach, contempt, and injury. "Yet," says he, "I have not hastened from being a pastor after thee; I have not left my work, nor sued for a discharge or a quietus." Prophets were pastors to the people, to feed them with the good word of God; but they were to be pastors after God, and all ministers must be so, according to his heart (Jer 3:15), to follow him and the directions and instructions he gives. Such a pastor Jeremiah was; and, though he met with as much difficulty and discouragement as ever any man did, yet he did not fly off as Jonah did, nor desire to be excused from going any more on God's errands. Note, Those that are employed for God, though their success answer nor their expectations, must not therefore throw up their commission. but continue to follow God, though the storm be in their faces. 2. He kept up his affection to the people. Though they were very abusive to him, he was compassionate to them: I have not desired the woeful day. The day of the accomplishment of his prophecies would be a woeful day indeed to Jerusalem, and therefore he deprecated it, and wished it might never come, though, as to himself, it would be the avenging of him upon his persecutors and the proving of him a true prophet (which they had questioned, Jer 17:15), and upon those accounts he might be tempted to desire it. Note, God does not, and therefore ministers must not, desire the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn and live. Though we warn of the woeful day, we must not wish for it, but rather weep because of it, as Jeremiah did. 3. He kept closely to his instructions. Though he might have curried favour with the people, or at least have avoided their displeasure, if he had not been so sharp in his reproofs and severe in his threatenings, yet he would deliver his message faithfully; and that he had done so was a comfort to him. "Lord, thou knowest that that which came out of my lips was right before thee; it exactly agreed with what I received from thee, and therefore thou art reflected upon in their quarrelling with me." Note, If what we say and do be right before God, we may easily despise the reproaches and censures of men. It is a small thing to be judged of their judgment.
VI. He humbly begs of God that he would own him, and protect him, and carry him on cheerfully in that work to which God had so plainly called him and to which he had so sincerely devoted himself. Two things he here desires: - 1. That he might have comfort in serving the God that sent him (Jer 17:17): Be not thou a terror to me. Surely more is implied than is expressed. "Be thou a comfort to me, and let thy favour rejoice my heart and encourage me, when my enemies do all they can to terrify me and either to drive me from my work or to make me drive on heavily in it." Note, The best have that in them which might justly make God a terror to them, as he was for some time to Job (Job 6:4), to Asaph (Psa 77:3), to Heman, Psa 88:15. And this is that which good men, knowing the terrors of the Lord, dread and deprecate more than any thing; nay, whatever frightful accidents may befal them, or how formidable soever their enemies may appear to them, they can do well enough so long as God is not a terror to them. He pleads, "Thou art my hope; and then nothing else is my fear, no, not in the day of evil, when it is most threatening, most pressing. My dependence is upon thee; and therefore be not a terror to me." Note, Those that by faith make God their confidence shall have him for their comfort in the worst of times, if it be not their own fault: if we make him our trust, we shall not find him our terror. 2. That he might have courage in dealing with the people to whom he was sent, Jer 17:18. Those persecuted him who should have entertained and encouraged him. "Lord," says he, "let them be confounded (let them be overpowered by the convictions of the word and made ashamed of their obstinacy, or else let the judgments threatened be at length executed upon them), but let not me confounded, let not me be terrified by their menaces, so as to betray my trust." Note, God's ministers have work to do which they need not be either ashamed or afraid to go on in, but they do need to be helped by the divine grace to go on in it without shame or fear. Jeremiah had not desired the woeful day upon his country in general; but as to his persecutors, in a just and holy indignation at their malice, he prays, Bring upon them the day of evil, in hope that the bringing of it upon them might prevent the bringing of it upon the country; if they were taken away, the people would be better; "therefore destroy them with a double destruction; let them be utterly destroyed, root and branch, and let the prospect of that destruction be their present confusion." This the prophet prays, not at all that he might be avenged, nor so much that he might be eased, but that the Lord may be known by the judgments which he executes.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 12–18. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Jeremiah
(Verse 15 onwards) Look, they say to me: Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come. But I am not troubled, following you as a shepherd (or not laboring, following you), and I have not desired the day of man: you know. What has come out of my lips has been right in your sight (or before your face). Do not be a source of fear to me, you are my hope in the day of affliction (or do not become a stranger to me, sparing me on the worst day). Those who do not believe in the future, speak to the Prophet: Where is the word of the Lord? Let us come: considering the dissimulation of judgment, thinking of delay. But to those, he says, speaking these things, I am not troubled, nor have I labored following you as a shepherd, either entering your footsteps. Nor was I satisfied with this end, but I did not desire the day of man, either a longer life, or the prosperous things of this age. And he calls himself a witness, whom he also calls a judge: You know. He continues: What has come forth from my lips, was right in your sight; that he has never lied, and never spoke against the will of the Lord. Be not to me, he says, a source of fear, my hope in the day of affliction. Which is clear according to the Hebrew. But according to what the Seventy translated, saying: Do not become a stranger to me, sparing me in the day of evil, the meaning is: Do not spare me in the present age, which is evil; but repay me according to my sins, so that I may have eternal rest. For I know it is written: Whom the Lord loves, he chastises; and he scourges every son whom he receives (Hebrews XII, 6). But this day is evil, either the entire age, or the day of judgment, for those who suffer because of their sins.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 17:15 vividly captures the profound spiritual resistance and outright mockery faced by the prophet Jeremiah. As he faithfully delivered the LORD's messages of impending judgment and exile, the people of Judah, deeply entrenched in their sin and a false sense of security, scoffed at his warnings. Their sarcastic and impatient demand, "Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now," reveals not only a deep-seated spiritual blindness and cynicism towards divine authority but also a dangerous presumption that the absence of immediate fulfillment invalidated God's prophetic declarations. This verse encapsulates the painful reality of a prophet's ministry to a rebellious nation.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 17:15 effectively employs several literary devices to convey its powerful message of human rebellion and divine patience. The most prominent is the Rhetorical Question, "Where [is] the word of the LORD?", which is posed not to elicit information but to express profound doubt, scorn, and a direct challenge to divine authority. This question is imbued with deep Irony, as the very "word of the LORD" they mock will indeed come to pass, bringing the judgment they deny, albeit in God's perfect and sovereign timing. There is a clear Antithesis between the people's demand for immediate gratification and God's patient, sovereign timing, which allows for repentance but also ensures ultimate justice. Furthermore, the verse serves as a subtle Foreshadowing of the eventual vindication of Jeremiah's prophecies through the devastating Babylonian exile, proving beyond doubt that God's word never returns void, even when doubted, delayed, or dismissed by human perception.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 17:15 serves as a profound theological statement on the nature of divine patience, human impatience, and the unwavering faithfulness of God's word. It highlights the inherent tension between God's sovereign timing, which often appears slow or delayed to human perception, and humanity's desire for immediate results or gratification. The people's taunt reveals a deep spiritual blindness and a failure to grasp that God's delays are often opportunities for repentance, a demonstration of His long-suffering, or part of a larger, perfect plan that transcends human understanding. This verse underscores the truth that God's word, unlike human promises, is always true, eternally reliable, and will ultimately accomplish its intended purpose, regardless of the skepticism, scorn, or impatience it faces. It reminds us that genuine faith often requires enduring patience, trusting in God's unchanging character and the certainty of His declarations even when circumstances seem to contradict His promises or when His timetable differs from our own.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 17:15 stands as a powerful challenge for us to critically examine our own hearts for any traces of skepticism, impatience, or cynicism when God's promises, warnings, or purposes seem delayed in their fulfillment. In a culture that increasingly demands instant gratification and immediate results, it is remarkably easy to grow weary of waiting for God's timing, whether for personal breakthroughs, the manifestation of prophetic words, or the ultimate return of Christ. This verse serves as a potent reminder that true, biblical faith is not contingent on immediate visible evidence but is firmly rooted in the unchanging character of God and the absolute certainty of His word. It calls us to cultivate a spirit of patient endurance, unwavering perseverance, and steadfast trust, even when faced with the taunts of a doubting world, the whispers of our own impatient hearts, or the apparent slowness of divine providence. Furthermore, it encourages believers to remain courageous and steadfast in proclaiming unpopular biblical truths, knowing that divine vindication, though it may be delayed in human perception, is always sure and will ultimately glorify God.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did the people mock Jeremiah and demand immediate fulfillment of his prophecies?
Answer: The people mocked Jeremiah primarily due to their profound spiritual blindness, hardened hearts, and deep-seated unwillingness to repent from their pervasive sins. They were heavily influenced by false prophets who delivered comforting, yet deceptive, messages of peace and prosperity, which directly contradicted Jeremiah's dire warnings of impending judgment and exile. When Jeremiah's prophecies of immediate doom did not instantly materialize, they seized upon this perceived delay as a convenient opportunity to discredit him and, by extension, the God he claimed to represent. Their demand "let it come now" was a cynical, audacious challenge, implying that if God's word were truly powerful and true, it would manifest instantly, thus proving Jeremiah a false prophet and allowing them to continue in their sinful ways without fear of consequence. They failed to grasp God's immense patience, which offered them precious time for repentance, and His sovereign timing, which operates beyond human comprehension and for His ultimate purposes, as seen throughout the Old Testament.
What does the phrase "Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now" signify about the people's spiritual condition?
Answer: This phrase reveals a profound spiritual decay and a state of active rebellion against God. The rhetorical question, "Where is the word of the LORD?", expresses deep skepticism, pervasive cynicism, and a blatant challenge to divine authority and faithfulness. It signifies a fundamental lack of faith in God's power, His integrity, and His commitment to His own declarations. The subsequent imperative, "let it come now," underscores their impatience, their desire to test God on their own terms, and perhaps even a defiant dare for God to bring the judgment, believing themselves immune or that His threats were empty. This attitude is indicative of a people who have decisively rejected divine counsel, preferring their own delusions of security and self-sufficiency over the uncomfortable, yet redemptive, truth of God's impending judgment. It highlights a spiritual arrogance that presumes to dictate terms to the Almighty, a dangerous posture that ultimately leads to destruction, as documented in Jeremiah's prophecies.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 17:15, though a cry of mockery leveled against God's prophet, finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is the very "Word of the LORD" made flesh (John 1:14). Just as Jeremiah faced scorn, skepticism, and demands for immediate proof of his prophetic words, Jesus, the ultimate Prophet and embodiment of divine truth, endured similar taunts and challenges throughout His earthly ministry. The religious leaders and crowds frequently demanded signs to validate His claims (Matthew 12:38-39), and most poignantly, during His crucifixion, they mocked His divine authority, daring Him to "come down from the cross" if He truly was the Son of God (Matthew 27:40). The apparent "delay" in the full establishment of His kingdom and His promised second coming is also met with similar skepticism by scoffers in every generation, who ask, "Where is the promise of his coming?" (2 Peter 3:3-4). Yet, just as Jeremiah's prophecies were ultimately and undeniably vindicated by the Babylonian exile, so too was Christ's word and identity supremely vindicated by His glorious resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4) and will be fully revealed at His triumphant return. Jesus perfectly embodies the "word of the LORD" that does not return void (Isaiah 55:11), for in Him, every promise of God finds its resounding "Yes" and "Amen" to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 1:20).