Jeremiah 29:17 (ASV)

Passage

thus saith Jehovah of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 29:15 Because ye have said, Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;

Jeremiah 29:16 thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;

Jeremiah 29:17 thus saith Jehovah of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.

Jeremiah 29:18 And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them;

Jeremiah 29:19 because they have not hearkened to my words, saith Jehovah, wherewith I sent unto them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thus", "saith", "jehovah", "hosts", "behold", "send", "upon", and "sword". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thus" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that..." into verse 18's "And I will pursue after them with...", so "thus" and "saith" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thus" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.