Jeremiah 17:17 (DRB)

Passage

Be not thou a terror unto me, thou art my hope in the day of affliction.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 17:15 Behold they say to me: Where is the word of the Lord? let it come.

Jeremiah 17:16 And I am not troubled, following thee for my pastor, and I have not desired the day of man, thou knowest. That which went out of my lips, hath been right in thy sight.

Jeremiah 17:17 Be not thou a terror unto me, thou art my hope in the day of affliction.

Jeremiah 17:18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, and let not me be confounded: let them be afraid, and let not me be afraid: bring upon them the day of affliction, and with a double destruction, destroy them.

Jeremiah 17:19 Thus saith the Lord to me: Go, and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Juda come in, and go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thou", "terror", "hope", and "affliction". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thou" and "terror", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And I am not troubled following thee..." into verse 18's "Let them be confounded that persecute me...", so "thou" and "terror" 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 "thou" and "terror" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.