Jeremiah 15:18 - Exposition

Why is my pain perpetual ? One who could honestly speak of himself in terms such as those of Jeremiah 15:16 , Jeremiah 15:17 , seemed to have a special claim on the Divine protection. But Jeremiah's hopes have been disappointed. His vexation is perpetual, and his wounded spirit finds no comfort. As a liar ; rather, as a deceitful stream . The word "stream" has to be understood as in Micah 1:14 . Many of the water courses of Palestine are filled with a rushing torrent in the winter, but dry in summer. Hence the pathetic complaint of Job ( Job 6:15 ). The opposite phrase to that used by Jeremiah is "a perennial stream" ( Amos 5:24 ). The force of the passage is increased if we read it in the light of Dr. Gratz's hypothesis.