Bible Strands
Jeremiah 17:15
Behold, they keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come now!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah reports that his contemporaries are demanding immediate proof of divine promise while he prays for personal deliverance. This confrontation occurs during a period of intense prophetic opposition and personal distress.
The words — The Hebrew אַיֵּה ('ai.Yeh) literally means "where?" and frames the people's challenge to God's timing. Paired with יָ֥בוֹא (Ya.Vo'), "let it come," it captures their impatient demand for immediate fulfillment.
The thread — This demand for accelerated divine action echoes the skepticism in Isaiah 5:19 and the dismissed prophecies noted in Ezekiel 12:22. Jeremiah himself later echoes the pressure of public ridicule in Jeremiah 20:7.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to confront the tension between divine timing and human impatience. It demands a commitment to trust prophetic witness even when immediate results are withheld.
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
King James Version
Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 5:19 to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!”
- Ezekiel 12:22 “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by, and every vision fails’?
- Jeremiah 20:7 You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
- Ezekiel 12:27 “Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’
- Amos 5:18 Woe to you who long for the Day of the LORD! What will the Day of the LORD be for you? It will be darkness and not light.
- 2 Peter 3:3 Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.