Behold, they keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come now!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, they tell me, “Where is Yahweh’s word? Let it be fulfilled now.”
- KJV Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.
- NKJV Indeed they say to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now!”
- NASB Look, they keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now!”
- NLT People scoff at me and say, “What is this ‘message from the Lord’ you talk about? Why don’t your predictions come true?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jeremiah's mockers demand that his prophesied judgment come to pass immediately. Their scorn reveals unbelief in God's word.
Overview
The people taunt the prophet, challenging him to produce the fulfillment of the doom he has announced. Their sarcasm masks hardened unbelief, treating delayed judgment as proof the word is false. Scripture warns that scoffers mistake God's patience for absence, a pattern Peter says will mark the last days as well (2 Peter 3:3-4).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Isa 5:19to those who say, “Let Him hurry and hasten His work so that we may see it! Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come so that we may know it!”
- Ezek 12:22“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel: ‘The days go by, and every vision fails’?
- Ezek 12:27–28“Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’
- Jer 20:7–8You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
- 2 Pet 3:3–4Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
- Amos 5:18Woe to you who long for the Day of the LORD! What will the Day of the LORD be for you? It will be darkness and not light.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 17:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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