Jeremiah 17:18

Let my persecutors be put to shame, but do not let me be put to shame. Let them be terrified, but do not let me be terrified. Bring upon them the day of disaster and shatter them with double destruction.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Jeremiah addresses God directly, continuing his prayer from the previous verse while preparing to stand at Jerusalem’s gates as commanded. He speaks as a prophet facing active opposition, grounding his appeal in God’s role as his refuge.

The words — The Hebrew יֵבֹשׁוּ (ye.Vo.shu) means “let them be put to shame,” contrasted with אֵבֹשָׁה ('e.Vo.shah) = “I be put to shame,” establishing a direct parallel between the speaker’s desired fate and that of his pursuers.

The thread — This petition for enemy disgrace and personal vindication runs through Psalms 35:4, 40:14, and 25:2, where identical structural requests for shame upon adversaries and protection from humiliation appear.

Why it lands — The text demands a clear distinction between divine protection and human opposition, asking readers to demand God’s intervention against their persecutors rather than rely on their own strength.

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

יֵבֹ֤שׁוּye.Vo.shulet them be put to shame רֹדְפַי֙ro.de.Fa/ipursuers/ my וְאַל־ve./'al-and/ may not אֵבֹ֣שָׁה'e.Vo.shahI be put to shame אָ֔נִי'A.niI יֵחַ֣תּוּye.Cha.tulet them be dismayed הֵ֔מָּהHe.mahthey וְאַל־ve./'al-and/ may not אֵחַ֖תָּה'e.Cha.tahI be dismayed אָ֑נִי'A.niI הָבִ֤יאha.Vi'bring עֲלֵיהֶם֙'a.lei./Hemon/ them י֣וֹםYoma day of רָעָ֔הra.'Ahcalamity וּמִשְׁנֶ֥הu./mish.Nehand/ double שִׁבָּר֖וֹןshi.ba.Rondestruction שָׁבְרֵֽם׃ סsha.ve.Re/mdestroy/ them

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Psalms 35:4 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded.
Psalms 40:14 May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.
Psalms 25:2 in You, my God, I trust. Do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
Psalms 83:17 May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.
Jeremiah 11:20 O LORD of Hosts, who judges righteously, who examines the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.
Jeremiah 20:11 But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly put to shame, with an everlasting disgrace that will never be forgotten.
Psalms 35:8 May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.
Psalms 70:2 May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.
Psalms 71:1 In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.
Jeremiah 16:18 And I will first repay them double their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and they have filled My inheritance with their abominations.”