Jeremiah 8:15 kjv
We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
Jeremiah 8:15 nkjv
"We looked for peace, but no good came; And for a time of health, and there was trouble!
Jeremiah 8:15 niv
We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror.
Jeremiah 8:15 esv
We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
Jeremiah 8:15 nlt
We hoped for peace, but no peace came.
We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.'
Jeremiah 8 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 26:14, 16, 25 | "But if you will not obey me... I will appoint over you terror..." | Consequence of disobedience |
| Deut 28:15, 20 | "But if you will not obey... the Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke..." | Judgment for not listening to God |
| Ps 73:18-19 | "Surely you set them in slippery places; you cast them down to destruction. How they are destroyed in a moment!" | Sudden ruin of the wicked |
| Prov 1:27 | "when terror strikes you like a storm... when trouble and anguish come upon you..." | Unheeded wisdom leads to disaster |
| Isa 1:6 | "From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and putrefying wounds." | Lack of spiritual health/sickness of Judah |
| Isa 5:6-7 | "I will lay it waste... For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel... And he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed..." | Seeking justice/good but finding evil |
| Isa 17:10-11 | "...though you plant pleasant plants and set out foreign vines, in the day that you plant it you make it grow... but the harvest will be a heap of ruins..." | Futility of human effort apart from God |
| Isa 48:22 | "'There is no peace,' says the LORD, 'for the wicked.'" | No peace for the wicked |
| Isa 59:8-9 | "The way of peace they do not know... therefore justice is far from us..." | Lack of peace due to unrighteousness |
| Jer 4:20 | "Disaster follows hard on disaster; the whole land is laid waste..." | Impending terror and devastation |
| Jer 6:14 | "They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace." | False assurances of peace |
| Jer 14:19 | "Have you utterly rejected Judah? Has your soul loathed Zion? Why have you struck us, so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, but behold, terror!" | Echo of the same sentiment and judgment |
| Lam 1:12 | "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow..." | Profound national suffering |
| Eze 7:25 | "Catastrophe comes upon catastrophe; rumor follows rumor." | Cumulative disasters |
| Amos 5:18 | "Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light..." | Expecting good but facing judgment |
| Mic 3:5-7 | "Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray... I will make it dark for you, without vision." | False prophets leading to darkness |
| Zeph 1:14-16 | "The great day of the LORD is near... a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom..." | Description of the day of judgment |
| Mt 24:7 | "...and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places." | Signs of distress preceding end |
| 1 Thess 5:3 | "While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them..." | Sudden destruction despite false peace |
| 2 Pet 3:3-4 | "...scoffers will come in the last days... saying, 'Where is the promise of his coming?'" | Skepticism about judgment leads to unpreparedness |
| Rom 5:1-2 | "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God..." | True peace comes through Christ |
| Heb 10:31 | "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." | Terror of God's judgment |
Jeremiah 8 verses
Jeremiah 8 15 Meaning
Jeremiah 8:15 expresses the profound disappointment and futility experienced by the people of Judah, who desperately longed for prosperity and restoration but instead encountered overwhelming destruction and fear. It starkly contrasts their deeply cherished hopes for peace and healing, born out of a misconception of their spiritual standing, with the grim reality of God's impending judgment, manifested as terror and devastation due to their persistent sin and rejection of His word.
Jeremiah 8 15 Context
Jeremiah chapter 8 continues the prophet's laments and pronouncements of judgment against Judah and Jerusalem. The people, especially their leaders (prophets and priests), are depicted as stubbornly rebellious and unrepentant. Despite numerous warnings, they persist in idolatry, moral decay, and a false sense of security, believing that God would not allow Jerusalem to fall. Jeremiah highlights their delusion by comparing their ignorance of God's ways to migratory birds that instinctively know their seasons (Jer 8:7). They claim wisdom and knowledge of God's law (Jer 8:8), but have distorted it. Therefore, God declares He will bring calamity upon them, destroying their land and leaders. Verse 15 is a direct lament, reflecting the future despair of the people as their hopes for peace and recovery from sickness (their spiritual and national wounds) are utterly shattered by the brutal reality of the Babylonian invasion, fulfilling Jeremiah's dire prophecies of impending terror and destruction.
Jeremiah 8 15 Word analysis
- We looked for (Hebrew: נִקָּוֶה, niqqāweh, from קָוָה, qavah) – This verb signifies an eager and often prolonged expectation or waiting with hope. Here, it denotes a profound, albeit misguided, hope for national well-being and restoration. It carries a sense of earnest longing.
- peace (Hebrew: לְשָׁלוֹם, lĕšālōm, from שָׁלוֹם, shalōm) – A rich Hebrew term encompassing wholeness, well-being, prosperity, health, security, and harmony, beyond just the absence of war. The people desired national security and flourishing.
- but no good came (Hebrew: וְאֵין טוֹב, wĕʾēn ṭōv) – "And there is no good." This direct negation powerfully counters their hope. ṭōv (good) here signifies prosperity, blessing, positive outcome, the very opposite of what they experienced. It emphasizes the complete failure of their expectation.
- and for a time of health (Hebrew: לְעֵת מַרְפֵּא, lĕʿēt marpēʾ) – "For a time of healing" or "recovery." marpēʾ (healing) implies remedy, cure, restoration, often applied to national or spiritual ailments in prophetic literature. It points to a desire for relief and recovery from the afflictions (like disease or war) already upon them or looming.
- and behold, terror! (Hebrew: וְהִנֵּה בְעָתָה, wĕhinnēh bĕʿātâ) – The particle hinnēh ("behold," "look!") dramatically introduces the sudden and unexpected reversal of fortunes. bĕʿātâ (terror) describes profound fear, consternation, and sudden dread, capturing the overwhelming psychological and physical impact of the invasion. It's the stark, brutal reality confronting their false hopes.
- "We looked for peace, but no good came": This phrase illustrates dashed hopes and tragic disillusionment. It points to the people's misplaced confidence in either false prophecies of peace or in their own efforts to appease God without true repentance. Their pursuit of "shalom" led only to "no tov."
- "and for a time of health, and behold, terror!": This is a classic example of prophetic antithesis, powerfully contrasting the people's longing for healing and restoration with the immediate and terrifying reality of God's judgment. The suddenness introduced by "behold" (hinnēh) emphasizes the abrupt, catastrophic end to their hopes, plunging them from expected recovery into utter panic and dismay.
Jeremiah 8 15 Bonus section
The verse serves as a polemic against the false prophets who repeatedly assured the people of "peace, peace, when there is no peace" (Jer 6:14; 8:11). The actual outcome—terror instead of health—exposed the utter deceitfulness of such messages and the folly of those who heeded them. It vividly portrays the boomerang effect of sin: what the people sowed (disobedience, idolatry, rejection of God's word), they reaped in its devastating antithesis. This illustrates a universal spiritual principle where persistent rebellion ultimately reverses every expectation of blessing, yielding curses and distress as forewarned in the covenant (e.g., Deuteronomy 28). The abrupt shift from anticipation to dread underscores the finality and inescapability of divine judgment when long-suffering mercy is ultimately spurned.
Jeremiah 8 15 Commentary
Jeremiah 8:15 encapsulates the tragic climax of Judah's spiritual rebellion: the bitter irony of hopes shattered by divine judgment. Despite fervent longings for national peace, security, and restoration from their compounding ills, the people were confronted not with relief, but with utter terror. This stark contrast serves as a powerful reminder that genuine well-being cannot be separated from genuine repentance and obedience to God. Their yearning for "shalom" and "marpēʾ" was founded on a false presumption of God's unwavering favor, divorced from His moral requirements. The prophet underscores that the expected "good" (ṭōv) gives way to "terror" (bĕʿātâ), an inescapable consequence for those who deliberately turn their backs on divine wisdom, mistaking superficial religious observance or false assurances for true communion with the Holy One. It is a divine answer of judgment, a devastating mirror image of their unholy deeds and an explicit refutation of their mistaken hope.