Jeremiah 17:18 (WEB)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

Jeremiah 17:19 Yahweh said this to me: “Go, and stand in the gate of the children of the people, through which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 17:20 Tell them, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "disappointed", "persecute", "dismayed", "bring", "evil", and "destroy". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "disappointed" and "persecute", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Don t be a terror to me..." into verse 19's "Yahweh said this to me Go and...", so "disappointed" and "persecute" 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 "disappointed" and "persecute" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.