Jeremiah 17:16 (WEB)

Passage

As for me, I have not hurried from being a shepherd after you. I haven’t desired the woeful day. You know. That which came out of my lips was before your face.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved; for you are my praise.

Jeremiah 17:15 Behold, they tell me, “Where is Yahweh’s word? Let it be fulfilled now.”

Jeremiah 17:16 As for me, I have not hurried from being a shepherd after you. I haven’t desired the woeful day. You know. That which came out of my lips was before your face.

Jeremiah 17:17 Don’t be a terror to me. You are my refuge in the day of evil.

Jeremiah 17:18 Let them be disappointed who persecute me, but let not me be disappointed. Let them be dismayed, but don’t let me be dismayed. Bring on them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hurried", "shepherd", "after", "haven", "desired", "woeful", "came", and "lips". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hurried" and "shepherd", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Behold they tell me Where is Yahweh..." into verse 17's "Don t be a terror to me...", so "hurried" and "shepherd" 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 "hurried" and "shepherd" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.