Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 15:17

"I sat not in the assembly of them that make merry, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation." — Jeremiah 15:17 (ASV)

In the assembly of the mockers. —Rather, of the mirthful. The word, which is the same as that found in Isaac (meaning laughter), does not necessarily imply an evil or cynical mirth, like that of the “scorner” of Psalms 1:1.

What is meant is that, from the time of his consecration to his office, the prophet’s life had not been like the life of other men. Instead, it had been marked by a strange loneliness, filled with the consuming wrath of Jehovah against the evils that surrounded him.

The “hand” of Jehovah is used here, as in Ezekiel 1:3, Ezekiel 3:22, and Ezekiel 8:1, for the special, overpowering consciousness of the fullness of inspiration.