ירמיהו, פרק י״ז, פסוק ט״ז

A prophet burdened with delivering messages of destruction often faces the bitter resentment of his audience. Jeremiah stands before God to defend his mission and his deep care for the nation. While the masses suspect he invents harsh decrees out of spite, he bares his true emotions, clarifying that he never sought the heavy yoke of leadership and draws no pleasure from the doom he must foretell.

The primary approach among commentators is that Jeremiah testifies he never rushed or pressured his way into becoming a prophet or a shepherd over the nation [מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם]. He reminds God of his initial reluctance, when he resisted the call by claiming he was merely a youth [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, מלבי״ם, שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective suggests that he never rushed God to bring about the foretold disasters. Instead, acting as a good shepherd who walks in God's ways, he sought to be merciful and patient [רש״י, מלבי״ם]. Conversely, a different interpretation understands his statement to mean that he never delayed or held back from delivering God's message, always hoping the people would hear it and repent [רש״י, רד״ק].

Even after he was compelled to accept his role, he never wished for the arrival of a painful, agonizing day of ruin [רש״י, מצודת ציון]. Paradoxically, he did not want his own warnings of wrath to materialize just to prove his legitimacy as a prophet [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם, שטיינזלץ]. A slightly different view proposes that the agonizing day he refers to is the very day he received his prophetic calling—a heavy, difficult moment that he never desired, but which was forced upon him by God [רד״ק].

Finally, Jeremiah declares that everything he has spoken is fully open and known before God [מצודת ציון]. Most commentators explain that his private words before God were actually prayers and desperate pleas for mercy, begging Him to turn His anger away from the people. This stands in stark contrast to the nation's belief that he harbored hatred toward them [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. Others suggest this means his public words were perfectly aligned with God's will, delivered exactly as commanded without any personal additions or distortions [שטיינזלץ]. Alternatively, this serves as a final reminder of his earliest words before God, when he initially refused the prophetic mission because he felt he did not know how to speak [רד״ק].