Jeremiah 30:17
in Jeremiah 30But I will restore your health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD, because they call you an outcast, Zion, for whom no one cares.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith Jehovah; because they have called thee an outcast, saying, It is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
KJV
For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
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This verse in Jeremiah 30
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Outcast--as a wife put away by her husband (Isa 62:4, contrasted with Jer 30:12). Zion--alluding to its Hebrew meaning, "dryness"; "sought after" by none, as would be the case with an arid region (Isa 62:12). The extremity of the people, so far from being an obstacle to, will be the chosen opportunity of, God's grace.
This site's exposition
For this is what the LORD
on Jeremiah 30:12-17
The diagnosis is stated plainly, “Your injury is incurable; your wound is grievous.” Verse 14 names the cause, “your great iniquity and your numerous sins.” Verse 17 answers the wound with the LORD's promise, “I will restore your health and heal your wounds,” reversing the word spoken against her.
This site's exposition
they call you an outcast, Zion
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read outcast as a wife sent away by her husband, comparing Isaiah 62:4. The scorn of others becomes the reason for the Lord's care. The wound called incurable in verse 12 is the one He heals.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 16, 17.) Therefore, all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your enemies shall be carried into captivity; and those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all your plunderers I will give for prey. For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: 'It is Zion, for whom no one cares.'
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
7 ), they called them outcasts; these are those who belong to Zion, and are wont to talk much of it and weep at the remembrance of it, but no man seeks after them, or enquires concerning them. Note, It is often the lot of Zion to be deserted and despised by those about her. For all this God will work deliverance and salvation for them in due time.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
): I will restore health unto thee. Be the disease ever so dangerous, the patient is safe if God undertakes the cure. Upon the whole matter, they are cautioned against inordinate fear and grief, for in these precious promises there is enough to silence both.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
For I will restore health to thee,.... That is, bring thee into a comfortable and prosperous condition, both in church and state, with respect to things religions and civil: as the afflictions and distresses of the Jewish nation are expressed by sickness, wounds, and bruises; so their prosperity, both spiritual and temporal, is signified by health.
Though God correct them, and justly, for their sins, their manifold transgressions and mighty sins, yet he will return in mercy to them, and even their sin shall not prevent their deliverance when God's time shall come.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
THE promises of this verse will be exceedingly sweet to those who feel their personal need of them. But those who boast that they are neither sick nor wounded will take no interest in this comfortable promise. Those who are charmed with themselves will see no charm in the beloved Physician. I have heard of certain hungry travelers, lost in the wilderness, who came upon a bag which they longingly hoped might yield them a seasonable supply of food.
THE promises of this verse will be exceedingly sweet to those who feel their personal need of them. But those who boast that they are neither sick nor wounded will take no interest in this comfortable promise. Those who are charmed with themselves will see no charm in the beloved Physician. I have heard of certain hungry travelers, lost in the wilderness, who came upon a bag which they longingly hoped might yield them a seasonable supply of food. They were near to death's door by starvation and eagerly opened the bag, but, alas, it contained nothing but pearls—which they poured out contemptuously upon the desert sand as things of no use to them! Even so, when a man is hungry and thirsting after the things of this life and all his thoughts are taken up with carnal appetites, carnal sorrows and carnal joys, he will reject as worthless the priceless promises of God, for he considers that they are of no immediate use to him. Let his hunger be of another sort; let his heart hanker after unsearchable riches; let his soul pine for eternal love and then his are views of things entirely changed—and to buy the pearl of great price he would gladly sell all that he has! Oh, you that are sick at heart, here is a word for you from the God of all Grace! Jehovah Rophi, Himself, says, "I will restore health unto you." Oh, you that have felt the shafts of God pierce your inmost souls, here is a word from Him who heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds—"I will heal you of your wounds, says the Lord." Here is music for your ears, honey for your mouth, comfort for your heart! But if you feel you have no sickness and no wound, no weakness and no spiritual need, then the Words of sacred consolation will pass over your ears as a meaningless sound, having no voice for you.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Restore health - Or, “apply a bandage” (Jer 8:22 note). For they called read “they call.”
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי֩ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אַעֲלֶ֨ה | ʾaaleh | I will bring up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֲרֻכָ֥ה | ʾarukhah | healing | H724 → | 6 times |
| לָ֛ךְ | lakh | for <the> you | ||
| וּמִמַּכּוֹתַ֥יִךְ | umimakotayikh | and from wounds your | H4347 → | 48 times |
| אֶרְפָּאֵ֖ךְ | ʾerpaekh | I will heal you | H7495 → | 67 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִדָּחָה֙ | nidachah | an outcast | H5080 → | 55 times |
| קָ֣רְאוּ | kareu | people have called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לָ֔ךְ | lakh | <to> <the> you | ||
| צִיּ֣וֹן | tziyon | [is] Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| הִ֔יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| דֹּרֵ֖שׁ | doresh | [is one who] cares | H1875 → | 164 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| לָֽהּ׃ ס | lah | for <the> it |
כִּי֩for
kiH3588 →4482 times
אַעֲלֶ֨הI will bring up
ʾaalehH5927 →890 times
אֲרֻכָ֥הhealing
ʾarukhahH724 →6 times
לָ֛ךְfor <the> you
lakh
וּמִמַּכּוֹתַ֥יִךְand from wounds your
umimakotayikhH4347 →48 times
אֶרְפָּאֵ֖ךְI will heal you
ʾerpaekhH7495 →67 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
נִדָּחָה֙an outcast
nidachahH5080 →55 times
קָ֣רְאוּpeople have called
kareuH7121 →733 times
לָ֔ךְ<to> <the> you
lakh
צִיּ֣וֹן[is] Zion
tziyonH6726 →154 times
הִ֔יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
דֹּרֵ֖שׁ[is one who] cares
doreshH1875 →164 times
אֵ֥יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
לָֽהּ׃ סfor <the> it
lah
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
1 Peter 2:24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 53:4–6
Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted.
- Matthew 8:17
This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took on our infirmities and carried our diseases.”
- Isaiah 53:4–6
Through
Exodus 15:26saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then…
it leads to
- Psalms 41:3–4
The LORD will sustain him on his bed of illness and restore him from his bed of sickness.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 103:3
He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases,
- Psalms 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 7:15
And the LORD will remove from you all sickness. He will not lay upon you any of the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but He will inflict them on all who hate you.
- Psalms 41:3–4
Through
Psalms 103:3He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases,
it leads to
- Exodus 15:26
saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then…
- Isaiah 53:5
But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
- Exodus 15:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1753: “Blessed Promises For Dying Outcasts” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.