Jeremiah 17:16

But I have not run away from being Your shepherd; I have not desired the day of despair. You know that the utterance of my lips was spoken in Your presence.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jeremiah speaks directly to God, defending his prophetic ministry against contemporaries who mock his delayed messages (Jeremiah 17:15). He stands at a moment of intense pressure, asserting his faithfulness before God alone knows his heart (Jeremiah 17:17).

The words — The Hebrew verb אַצְתִּי ('Atz.ti) literally means "I have hastened," paired with לֹא (lo') "not," forming the denial "I have not hastened away from a shepherd after you." The term אָנוּשׁ ('a.Nush) denotes an "incurable" or desperate condition, defining the "day of despair" he refused to seek.

The thread — This posture of refusing to flee divine commission echoes the apostolic resolve to declare the full will of God without shrinking back (Acts 20:20, 27). The tension between prophetic anguish and steadfast obedience also parallels the visceral distress recorded in Jeremiah 4:19.

Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that prophetic obedience requires enduring pressure without seeking escape or premature resolution. A reader must confront their own tendency to abandon divine calling when facing delay or opposition.

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

וַאֲנִ֞יva./'a.Niand/ I לֹא־lo'-not אַ֣צְתִּי׀'Atz.tiI have hastened מֵרֹעֶ֣הme./ro.'Ehfrom/ a shepherd אַחֲרֶ֗יךָ'a.cha.Rei./khaafter/ you וְי֥וֹםve./Yomand/ a day אָנ֛וּשׁ'a.Nushincurable לֹ֥אlo'not הִתְאַוֵּ֖יתִיhit.'a.Vei.tiI have desired אַתָּ֣ה'a.Tahyou יָדָ֑עְתָּya.Da.'e.tayou know מוֹצָ֣אmo.Tza'[the] utterance of שְׂפָתַ֔יse.fa.Ta/ilips/ my נֹ֥כַחNo.khachbefore פָּנֶ֖יךָpa.Nei./khaface/ your הָיָֽה׃ha.Yahit was

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 4:19 My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.
Acts 20:20 I did not shrink back from declaring anything that was helpful to you as I taught you publicly and from house to house,
Acts 20:27 For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.
Jeremiah 1:4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Jeremiah 9:1 Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
Jeremiah 13:17 But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Jeremiah 14:17 You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound.
Jeremiah 18:20 Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
Jeremiah 20:9 If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
Ezekiel 3:14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.