diff --git a/triedb/pathdb/journal.go b/triedb/pathdb/journal.go
index 657fbbff27..ad0111e6c7 100644
--- a/triedb/pathdb/journal.go
+++ b/triedb/pathdb/journal.go
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ func (db *Database) loadJournal(diskRoot common.Hash) (layer, error) {
 	// The journal is not matched with persistent state, discard them.
 	// It can happen that geth crashes without persisting the journal.
 	if !bytes.Equal(root.Bytes(), diskRoot.Bytes()) {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w want %x got %x", errUnmatchedJournal, root, diskRoot)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w want %x got %x", errUnmatchedJournal, diskRoot, root)
 	}
 	// Load the disk layer from the journal
 	base, err := db.loadDiskLayer(r)