Jeremiah 17:14
Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
The phrase "for you are my praise" reveals the deepest reason for Jeremiah's plea: God isn't just a fixer of problems, but the very source and object of his ultimate joy and worship. His healing and salvation are desired not just for relief, but because they allow him to continue praising the God who is worthy of all his adoration.
In this moment, Jeremiah is pouring out his heart to God amidst immense hardship and opposition. Just before this prayer, he's described the deep corruption of Judah, contrasting their utter reliance on fleeting human strength with God as their true source of life. Now, feeling the weight of his prophetic calling and the hostility he faces, he turns to the Lord, seeking both healing from distress and salvation from his enemies, ultimately placing his trust and his reason for praise solely in God.
Jeremiah cries out for healing and salvation, but not just any healing. It's a deep, complete restoration that only the Lord can provide. What does this tell us about our own deepest needs?
A Plea for Total Restoration
Jeremiah isn't asking for a quick fix. The repetition of "Heal me, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved" emphasizes a desire for thorough and effectual healing and salvation. It’s a recognition that true wholeness, both spiritually and perhaps even physically in the context of his prophetic calling, comes only from God.
This isn't about minor ailments; it speaks to the profound wounds caused by sin, despair, and the weight of his prophetic burden. He understands his own inability to bring about this level of restoration and places his complete trust in God's power.
Why does Jeremiah link his plea for healing and salvation to God being his 'praise'? This connection reveals a powerful truth about where true worship and confidence should be placed.
The Source and Object of Our Praise
When Jeremiah declares, 'for you are my praise,' he's making a profound statement of faith. It means God is not just worthy of his praise, but God is the reason and source of all the praise Jeremiah could ever offer.
This isn't just about thanking God for past blessings (though that's part of it). It's an acknowledgment that God Himself, in His nature and His actions, is the ultimate object of his devotion and the only One to whom all glory is due. In his deepest need, Jeremiah's ultimate focus remains on God's glorious character and redemptive power, which is the very reason he praises Him.
Understand the original words
rapha · Hebrew Verb
To make sound, restore, or deliver from spiritual or physical brokenness. God is the ultimate healer who restores the soul to a right relationship with Himself.
yasha · Hebrew Verb
To rescue, deliver, or grant victory. In a theological sense, it refers to God’s intervention to bring His people out of danger, sin, or judgment.
tehillah · Hebrew Noun
The act of glorifying, honoring, or acknowledging God for who He is and what He has done. He is the sole object of His people's worship.
This prayer comes at the height of Judah's national crisis, with Jerusalem likely destroyed and its people in exile. Jeremiah's personal plea reflects the deep pain and spiritual desolation of the era.
c. 626 BC
Jeremiah's Call to Prophesy
Jeremiah receives his call from God to prophesy to Judah, a time marked by spiritual decline and impending judgment.
c. 609-597 BC
Assyrian and Babylonian Influence Grows
Judah is caught between the declining Assyrian Empire and the rising Babylonian Empire, leading to political instability and shifting alliances.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deports some of Judah's elite, including Daniel, to Babylon, signaling the beginning of the exile.
597 BC
Second Deportation and Jehoiachin's Exile
Following a rebellion, more Judeans, including King Jehoiachin and Ezekiel, are deported to Babylon.
586 BC
This Psalm shares Jeremiah's cry for healing and mercy, showing that the prophet's prayer is deeply rooted in the tradition of God's people appealing to Him in times of distress.
Psalm 30:2Like Jeremiah, the Psalmist recounts being healed by God and acknowledges that God is the source of deliverance, reinforcing the idea that ultimate healing and salvation come from God alone.
Psalm 71:6This passage echoes Jeremiah's sentiment of God being the object of praise and reliance from his earliest days, highlighting a consistent theme of trusting in God's long-standing faithfulness.
Luke 5:31Jesus states that it is the sick who need a physician, a concept that resonates with Jeremiah's plea for healing, framing his prayer as an admission of spiritual sickness and a recognition of Jesus as the ultimate healer.
Philippians 3:9Paul speaks of having righteousness not from himself but from God through faith, mirroring Jeremiah's reliance on God for salvation and healing rather than on his own efforts, aligning with the idea that God is our true praise.
clarkeJeremiah 17:14: "Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise."
Heal me - and I shall be healed - That is, I shall be thoroughly healed, and effectually saved, if thou undertake for me. Thou art my praise - The whole glory of the work of salvation belongs to thee alone.
pooleJeremiah 17:14: "Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise."
Most interpreters here understand the prophet speaking in these words to God for himself; he represents himself to God as a person wounded or sick, either with his sense of God’s dishonour by the sins of the people, or with their reproaches or threatenings, and beggeth of God to heal him, he being he in whose hand or power it was to heal him, and who could certainly do it. The argume…
The phrase "for you are my praise" reveals the deepest reason for Jeremiah's plea: God isn't just a fixer of problems, but the very source and object of his ultimate joy and worship. His healing and salvation are desired not just for relief, but because they allow him to continue praising the God who is worthy of all his adoration.
In this moment, Jeremiah is pouring out his heart to God amidst immense hardship and opposition. Just before this prayer, he's described the deep corruption of Judah, contrasting their utter reliance on fleeting human strength with God as their true source of life. Now, feeling the weight of his prophetic calling and the hostility he faces, he turns to the Lord, seeking both healing from distress and salvation from his enemies, ultimately placing his trust and his reason for praise solely in God.
In this moment, Jeremiah is pouring out his heart to God amidst immense hardship and opposition. Just before this prayer, he's described the deep corruption of Judah, contrasting their utter reliance on fleeting human strength with God as their true source of life. Now, feeling the weight of his prophetic calling and the hostility he faces, he turns to the Lord, seeking both healing from distress and salvation from his enemies, ultimately placing his trust and his reason for praise solely in God.
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Jeremiah 17:14 is available in the Sola app.
Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, further devastating the land and exiling the majority of the remaining population.
c. 580 BC— this verse
Jeremiah's Prayer for Healing and Salvation
Jeremiah, deeply distressed by the suffering and exile of his people, cries out to God for personal healing and salvation, acknowledging God as the sole source of praise.
"Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise." — The phrase "for you are my praise" reveals the deepest reason for Jeremiah's plea: God isn't just a fixer of problems, but the very source and object of his ultimate joy and worship. His healing and…
