We waited for peace, but no good came; For a time of healing, but behold, terror!
Parallel translations
- WEB We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold, dismay!
- KJV We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
- BSB We hoped for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but there was only terror.
- NKJV “We looked for peace, but no good came; And for a time of health, and there was trouble!
- NLT We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.’
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
They hoped for peace and healing but met only dismay. Misplaced expectations collapse when judgment arrives.
Overview
Echoing the false prophets' empty promises, the people looked for good times and recovery that never came. Their disappointment exposes the bankruptcy of the 'peace, peace' message. The verse underscores that genuine peace cannot be wished into existence but comes only from being reconciled to God, a peace finally and fully given through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Jer 14:19Have you utterly rejected Judah? Has your soul loathed Zion? Why have you struck us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold, dismay!
- 1 Th 5:3For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape.
- Mic 1:12For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously for good, because evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem.
- Jer 8:11They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.
- Jer 4:10Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You shall have peace;’ whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 8:15 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.