But I have not run away from being Your shepherd; I have not desired the day of despair. You know that the utterance of my lips was spoken in Your presence.
Parallel translations
- WEB As for me, I have not hurried from being a shepherd after you; neither have I desired the woeful day; you know. That which came out of my lips was before your face.
- KJV As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
- NKJV As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You, Nor have I desired the woeful day; You know what came out of my lips; It was right there before You.
- NASB But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd following after You, Nor have I longed for the disastrous day; You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips Was in Your presence.
- NLT Lord, I have not abandoned my job as a shepherd for your people. I have not urged you to send disaster. You have heard everything I’ve said.
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 protests that he never eagerly sought to announce disaster but faithfully spoke only what God gave him. God knows his sincerity.
Overview
Against the mockers' charge, the prophet defends his integrity: he did not rush to pronounce the woeful day nor relish Judah's ruin, but spoke openly before God's face. He took no pleasure in judgment, reflecting God's own heart, who does not delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). Faithful ministry speaks hard truths reluctantly, out of love, not appetite for condemnation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Jer 4:19–20My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.
- Acts 20:27For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God.
- Acts 20:20I did not shrink back from declaring anything that was helpful to you as I taught you publicly and from house to house,
- Rom 9:1–3I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.
- Ezek 33:7–9As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me.
- Jas 1:19My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- Ezek 3:14–19So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
- Jer 13:17But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
- 2 Cor 1:12And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.
- Jas 3:1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
- Jer 14:17–21You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound.
- Amos 7:14–15“I was not a prophet,” Amos replied, “nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees.
- Jer 18:20Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
- 2 Cor 2:17For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
- Jer 20:9If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
- Jer 9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
- Jer 1:4–10The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
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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 17:16 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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