Jeremiah 17:16 - Exposition

I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee ; i.e. I have not eagerly withdrawn from following thee as a shepherd (or prophet). The prophet does not follow his own vague inclinations; he is but an under-shepherd, and waits on the will of his superior. He is, as Hosea calls him ( Hosea 9:7 , Hebrew), "the man of the Spirit." If God leads any one, whether people or individuals, it is through the agency of the Spirit ( Isaiah 63:11 , Isaiah 63:12 ); and it is the characteristic of the typical prophet that his ear is "wakened morning by morning" to receive his daily lesson. Only by thus "following" the Divine Leader, can a prophet act as pastor to his people. [The construction is, however, rather simplified by the rendering—a perfectly legitimate one … from following thee as a companion .] The woeful day . The word for "woeful" is the same rendered "desperately wicked" (verse 9); the "day" of Judah's calamity is metaphorically "sick," like the heart of man. So , other words being used, Isaiah 17:11 (end). Was right before thee ; rather (since some adjective must be supplied), was manifest before thee . He appeals to the all-seeing Eye as a witness to his fidelity to his mission.