And I will pursue them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will give them over to be driven hither and thither into 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 will drive them:
Jeremiah 29:16 yea, 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 against them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like the vile figs, that cannot be eaten for badness.
Jeremiah 29:18 And I will pursue them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will give them over to be driven hither and thither into 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 will drive them:
Jeremiah 29:19 because they have not hearkened to my words, saith Jehovah, wherewith I sent unto them my servants the prophets, rising early and sending; but ye have not hearkened, saith Jehovah.
Jeremiah 29:20 But ye, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon, hear the word of Jehovah.
The verse centers on "pursue", "sword", "famine", "pestilence", "give", "over", "driven", and "hither". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "pursue" and "sword", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 17's "thus saith Jehovah of hosts Behold I..." into verse 19's "because they have not hearkened to my...", so "pursue" and "sword" 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 "pursue" and "sword" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.