Jeremiah 15:11
in Jeremiah 15The LORD said: “Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose; surely I will intercede with your enemy in your time of trouble, in your time of distress.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah said, Verily I will strengthen thee for good; verily I will cause the enemy to make supplication unto thee in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
KJV
The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
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This verse in Jeremiah 15
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Shall be well with thy remnant - Or, thy loosing shall be for good; in the sense of being set free, deliverance. To entreat thee well ... - Rather, “to supplicate thee in the time of evil etc.;” fulfilled in Jer 21:1-2; Jer 37:3; Jer 42:2.
This site's exposition
Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me
on Jeremiah 15:10-11
Jeremiah’s complaint breaks in without transition, “Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me”, a cry against his birth. He has “neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me”. The LORD’s answer brings no rebuke, only a promise, “Surely I will deliver you for a good purpose”.
This site's exposition
Surely I will deliver you
The LORD answers the complaint with an oath to deliver him for good, as Matthew Henry reads the Hebrew. Barnes reads the enemy as coming to him in a time of trouble and distress to ask for prayer, citing 21:1-2 and 37:3. Adam Clarke sees the promise kept by Nebuchadnezzar.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"So be it, Lord, when they set straight their way; did I not stand by you in the time of their evils?" What is "So be it, Lord"? Let the one who is able gather such a meaning for himself. [The "So be it"—] "Master, Lord, when they set straight their way"—may the strength that fails among those who curse come to be, when, having repented after speaking evil of me, they turn to the straight path and travel it. "So be it, Master, when they set straight their way; did I not stand by you?" Then he pleads his cause concerning those who speak evil of him, saying: "Did I not stand by you in the time of their evils?" He stood by the Father, ⟨being a propitiation for our sins,⟩ and interceded concerning them in that very time of our evils. For he did not stand by after the time of our evils, but "while we were yet sinners Christ died for us"—"Did I not stand by you in the time of their evils, in the time of their afflictions, for good against the enemy?" And in the time of their affliction, he says, of the affliction against the enemy, I stood by you on their behalf. And who is the enemy but "our adversary the devil," who afflicted us? And clearly in the time of that one's enmity against men, our Savior stood by the Father and made petition concerning our captivity, that we might be ransomed and rescued from the enemy. Let the Savior, or the prophet, have said these things; for the prophet too can have said such things and have prayed on behalf of the people in the "time of their evils."
(Verse 11) The Lord says: If your remnants are not for good, if I do not come to you in the time of affliction and in the time of tribulation and anguish against the enemy. These things can also be understood from the perspective of Jeremiah, who was compelled to prophesy in the worst of times, with captivity imminent, and enduring hardship from an unbelieving people. In response to what he had said before: Woe to me, mother! Why have you birthed me as a man who judges?
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It is in the original expressed in the form of an oath: " If I take not care of thee, let me never be counted faithful; verily it shall go well with thy remnant, with the remainder of thy life" (for so the word signifies); "the residue of thy days shall be more comfortable to thee than those hitherto have been." Thy end shall be good; so the Chaldee reads it.
The Lord said,....
He appeals to God concerning his sincerity in the discharge of his prophetic office and thinks it hard that he should not have more of the comfort of it,
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
I prefer this translation as according with the event (Jer 39:11, 12; GESENIUS, from Jer 7:16; Job 21:15, translates (not only will I relieve thee from the enemy's vexations, but) "I will make thine enemy (that now vexeth thee) apply to thee with prayers" (Jer 38:14;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil - This was literally fulfilled; see Jer 39:11, etc. Nebuchadnezzar had given strict charge to Nebuzaradan, commander in chief, to look well to Jeremiah, to do him no harm, and to grant him all the privileges he was pleased to ask.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
1 leave you over I leave you over, an expression of a remnant. In this manner, Menahem (Machbereth p. 181) interpreted it, but Dunash (Teshuvoth Dunash p. 36) interpreted it as an expression of release.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Woe is to me, my mother Jeremiah was complaining about himself, that his townsmen hated him because of his castigations.
Will iron break iron from the north I say that iron that comes from the north is harder than other iron, and this is its interpretation: They were compared to iron (above:28), “Going tale bearing like copper and iron.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שֵֽׁרִיתִ֖יךָ | sharotikha | I will set free you | H8281 → | |
| לְט֑וֹב | letov | for good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| ל֣וֹא׀ | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִפְגַּ֣עְתִּֽי | hifga'ti | I will cause to plead | H6293 → | 46 times |
| בְךָ֗ | vekha | with <the> you | ||
| בְּעֵ֥ת־ | beet- | in a time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| רָעָ֛ה | raah | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וּבְעֵ֥ת | uveet | and in a time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| צָרָ֖ה | tzarah | distress | H6869 → | 73 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאֹיֵֽב׃ | haoyev | the enemy | H341 → | 282 times |
אָמַ֣רhe said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
שֵֽׁרִיתִ֖יךָI will set free you
sharotikhaH8281 →
לְט֑וֹבfor good
letovH2896 →538 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
ל֣וֹא׀not
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הִפְגַּ֣עְתִּֽיI will cause to plead
hifga'tiH6293 →46 times
בְךָ֗with <the> you
vekha
בְּעֵ֥ת־in a time
beet-H6256 →296 times
רָעָ֛הevil
raahH7451 →662 times
וּבְעֵ֥תand in a time of
uveetH6256 →296 times
צָרָ֖הdistress
tzarahH6869 →73 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאֹיֵֽב׃the enemy
haoyevH341 →282 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 16:7When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.
it leads to
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- 1 John 3:22
and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight.
- 2 Chronicles 17:10
And the dread of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that surrounded Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.
- Colossians 1:10
so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
- Hebrews 13:21
equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
- Romans 8:31
Through
Jeremiah 37:3Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 21:1–2
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said,
- Jeremiah 21:1–2
Through
Psalms 106:46He made them objects of compassion to all who held them captive.
it leads to
- Ezra 9:9
Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but He has extended to us grace in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild…
- Jeremiah 42:12
And I will show you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own land.’
- Ezra 9:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 14.