Jeremiah's Lament and Resolve
Jeremiah 20:7-18
Jer.20.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פתיתני: VERB,piel,perf,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואפת: VERB,piel,perf,2,m,sg
- חזקתני: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ותוכל: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- הייתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- לשחוק: VERB,qal,inf
- כל: DET
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כלה: ADV
- לעג: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 20:8 (structural): Immediate literary continuation — the prophet explains that God's word has become a continual reproach and derision, echoing the complaint of being mocked and overwhelmed by the Lord’s action in v.7.
- Ezekiel 14:9 (verbal): Uses the rare formulation that the LORD 'has deceived' or allowed deception of a prophet — language closely paralleling Jeremiah’s charge 'You deceived me'.
- 1 Kings 22:22-23 (thematic): Narrates God’s sending of a 'lying spirit' into the mouths of prophets so Ahab is misled — a theological parallel concerning God’s role in causing deception.
- Psalm 22:7 (verbal): Expresses the same experience of public mockery: 'All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me,' paralleling Jeremiah’s 'I am ridiculed all day; everyone mocks me.'
- Psalm 31:11 (verbal): Speaks of being mocked and the subject of taunting ('I am the talk of many; everyone who sees me makes mouths at me'), echoing Jeremiah’s lament of constant derision.
Alternative generated candidates
- You enticed me, O LORD, and I was enticed; you overpowered me and prevailed. I have become a byword all day—everyone mocks me.
- O LORD, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day; everyone mocks me.
Jer.20.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- מדי: PREP
- אדבר: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- אזעק: VERB,qal,impf,1,-,sg
- חמס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אקרא: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- כי: CONJ
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לחרפה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולקלס: CONJ+PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- כל: DET
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Jeremiah 20:9 (structural): Immediate continuation of the prophet's lament: although Jeremiah's words bring him reproach, he cannot hold his tongue—shows the tension between speaking God's word and suffering for it.
- Jeremiah 15:10 (verbal): Another Jeremiah complaint about being mocked and cursed by listeners; shares vocabulary and theme of the prophet's message becoming a cause of derision.
- Ezekiel 3:7-9 (thematic): Ezekiel is sent to a stubborn, mocking people and warned of opposition; both passages portray the prophetic word provoking resistance and contempt.
- Psalm 69:9 (thematic): The psalmist says zeal for God's house has brought reproach on him—parallel theme of suffering and disgrace that falls on one who speaks or acts for Yahweh.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23 (thematic): Paul states the message of Christ is 'a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles'—a New Testament reflection on how God's revealed word can be experienced as reproach or ridicule.
Alternative generated candidates
- For whenever I speak I cry, “Violence!”—I shout, “Destruction!”—for the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all the day.
- For whenever I speak I cry, “Violence! Destruction!” For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day.
Jer.20.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אזכרנו: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- אדבר: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- עוד: ADV
- בשמו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- בלבי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- כאש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בערת: VERB,qal,ptc,3,f,sg
- עצר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בעצמתי: PREP
- ונלאיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- כלכל: VERB,qal,inf,0,c,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- אוכל: VERB,qal,part,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 1:9 (verbal): God 'put my words in thy mouth'—closely parallels Jeremiah's experience of God's word being placed within him and the prophetic commission that compels speech.
- Jeremiah 23:29 (verbal): God's word compared to fire and a hammer—echoes the image of the word as a burning force in the prophet's heart/bones.
- Psalm 39:2-3 (thematic): The psalmist attempts silence but feels inner burning ('while I was musing the fire burned')—parallels Jeremiah's vow to be silent and the inward burning that prevents it.
- Amos 3:8 (thematic): ‘The lion hath roared; who will not fear?’—expresses the idea that once God speaks or acts, the prophet is compelled to proclaim, similar to Jeremiah's inability to refrain.
- Acts 4:20 (verbal): 'For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard'—a New Testament statement of prophetic/evangelistic compulsion analogous to Jeremiah's compelled speech.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I said, “I will not remember him, I will not speak any more in his name.” But then it was in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones; I grew weary of holding it in, and I could not.
- Then I said, I will not remember him, I will not speak any more in his name. But it was like a burning fire in my heart, shut up in my bones; I grew weary holding it in, and I could not.
Jer.20.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- שמעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- דבת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- רבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- מגור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מסביב: ADV,loc
- הגידו: VERB,hiph,impv,2,m,pl
- ונגידנו: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,pl
- כל: DET
- אנוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלומי: NOUN,m,sg,suff1s
- שמרי: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,pl
- צלעי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1s
- אולי: ADV
- יפתה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ונוכלה: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,pl
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- ונקחה: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,pl
- נקמתנו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1p
- ממנו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 31:13 (verbal): Shares near-identical language of 'whispering'/'slander' and 'terror on every side' as well as conspiratorial plotting against the speaker.
- Psalm 41:9 (thematic): Expresses the theme of betrayal by a close companion — 'even my close friend, in whom I trusted…' — echoing Jeremiah's complaint about intimates watching for his fall.
- Psalm 55:12-14 (thematic): Describes collusion and treachery by a near companion ('a man my equal, my companion, my familiar friend'), paralleling the pain of betrayal and plotting in Jeremiah 20:10.
- Jeremiah 18:18 (structural): Within the same prophetic context, this verse depicts people conspiring against Jeremiah ('Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah'), a close narrative parallel to the plotting described in 20:10.
Alternative generated candidates
- For I hear the whispering of many: “Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends watch for me—those who seek my life say, “Perhaps he will be enticed, and we shall prevail over him; we will take our revenge on him.”
- For I hear many whispering: terror on every side! “Deny him, let us deny him.” All my close friends are watching for me; those who seek my hurt counsel together, saying,
Jer.20.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אותי: PRON,1,sg,acc
- כגבור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עריץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- רדפי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- יכשלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- יכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מאד: ADV
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- השכילו: VERB,hiphil,imp,2,pl
- כלמת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- תשכח: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 1:19 (verbal): Same prophet and similar language: enemies will fight but not prevail because the LORD is with the prophet (divine presence guaranteeing deliverance).
- Psalm 118:6 (thematic): Expresses the same confidence—'The LORD is on my side; I will not fear'—linking God's presence with the failure of foes.
- Isaiah 41:10 (verbal): God's promise 'I am with you; do not fear' parallels Jeremiah's claim that the LORD is with him, producing the defeat or stumbling of adversaries.
- Psalm 46:7 (structural): Declares 'The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress,' similarly grounding security in God's presence and strength against enemies.
- Romans 8:31 (thematic): New Testament echo of the motif: 'If God is for us, who can be against us?'—theological parallel that God's presence ensures opponents will not prevail.
Alternative generated candidates
- But the LORD is with me as a dread, mighty one; therefore my persecutors shall stumble—they shall not prevail. They will be greatly shamed; their everlasting disgrace will not be forgotten.
- “Let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.” But the LORD is with me as a mighty, fearsome warrior; therefore my persecutors shall stumble; they shall not prevail. Their eternal shame shall never be forgotten.
Jer.20.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בחן: ADJ,ptc,pass,f,sg
- צדיק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- כליות: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- ולב: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,const
- אראה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- נקמתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- גליתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ריבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUFF,1,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 11:20 (verbal): Almost identical language and formulaic appeal—'O LORD of hosts... who tests the heart and the mind/see the reins' and the petition to see God's vengeance/plead the cause appears earlier in Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 17:10 (verbal): Uses the same theological assertion: 'I the LORD search the heart, I test the reins, to give to each according to his ways'—shares vocabulary about God testing hearts and recompensing deeds.
- Psalm 26:2 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel in the petitioner’s request: 'Prove/try me, O LORD; test my heart and mind' (Hebrew: testing the heart and kidneys/reins), echoing the diagnostic language in Jer 20:12.
- Psalm 139:23–24 (verbal): 'Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts'—similar petition and language about God’s intimate knowledge/searching of the heart and inward parts.
- 1 Samuel 16:7 (thematic): Thematic parallel emphasizing that God judges by the heart rather than outward appearance—'the LORD sees not as man sees... the LORD looks on the heart' complements Jer 20:12’s claim that God sees heart and reins.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD of hosts, you who test the righteous and see the mind and the heart, let me see your vengeance on them; for to you I have entrusted my cause.
- O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous and sees the heart and the mind,—let me see your vengeance upon them; for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Jer.20.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שירו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- הללו: VERB,piel,impv,2,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- הציל: VERB,hif,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אביון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מיד: PREP
- מרעים: VERB,qal,ptc,,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 72:12 (verbal): Speaks of God delivering the needy and the poor—close verbal and thematic parallel to deliverance of the 'needy' from evil hands.
- Psalm 35:27 (thematic): A call to shout and praise the LORD for vindication and the welfare of his servant—parallels Jeremiah's exhortation to sing praise for deliverance.
- Psalm 18:49-50 (2 Sam 22:50) (structural): Personal thanksgiving and singing to the LORD for rescue from enemies; parallels Jeremiah's praise language and deliverance motif.
- Psalm 34:6 (thematic): 'The poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him'—directly parallels the theme of God rescuing the needy.
- Psalm 107:6 (thematic): Communities cry to the LORD in distress and he delivers them; follows with thanksgiving/singing, echoing Jeremiah's link of deliverance and praise.
Alternative generated candidates
- Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD—he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.
- Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.
Jer.20.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ילדתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ילדתני: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אמי: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- יהי: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- ברוך: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Job 3:1-10 (verbal): Job opens his lament by cursing the day of his birth—'Let the day perish'/'Let it not be blessed'—a direct verbal and thematic parallel to Jeremiah's 'Cursed be the day I was born.'
- Job 3:11 (verbal): Job explicitly wishes he had died at birth ('Why did I not die at birth?'), echoing Jeremiah's desire that the day of his birth not be blessed.
- Job 10:18-19 (thematic): Job asks why God brought him forth from the womb and longs that he had died at birth—closely related thematic material expressing regret over having been born.
- Jeremiah 20:18 (structural): Later line in the same Jeremiah lament ('Why did I ever come forth from the womb...?') continuations the same speech-act of cursing or regretting birth, showing the verse is part of a larger lament motif.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed be the day I was born! Let not the day my mother bore me be blessed.
- Cursed be the day on which I was born; let that day not be blessed!
Jer.20.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ארור: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- האיש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- אבי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- ילד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמח: ADJ,m,sg
- שמחהו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Jer.20.14 (structural): Immediate context and continuation of the same imprecatory lament—both verses form Jeremiah’s curse on his own birth and on the bearer of tidings that brought his father joy.
- Job 3:3 (verbal): Job’s curse on the day of his birth echoes Jeremiah’s lamenting language and theme of wishing one’s birth undone.
- Isa.52:7 (thematic): Celebrates the messenger who brings good news (‘how beautiful are the feet…of him that bringeth good tidings’), providing an ironic counterpoint to Jeremiah’s curse on the man who brought news of a son.
- Deut.27:14–26 (verbal): Example of the covenantal imprecation formula (“Cursed be…”) in Israelite law-ritual, showing the standardized form and tradition behind Jeremiah’s pronouncement.
Alternative generated candidates
- Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying, “A son is born to you,” making him very glad.
- Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying, “A son is born to you,” making him glad.
Jer.20.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- האיש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- כערים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הפך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- נחם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ושמע: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- זעקה: NOUN,f,sg,const
- בבקר: PREP
- ותרועה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- צהרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Deut.29:23 (verbal): Speaks of cities that the LORD has overthrown and left desolate—verbal and thematic echo of 'cities which the LORD overturned' in Jer 20:16.
- Nahum 3:7-10 (thematic): Describes a once‑proud city laid waste with scenes of flight, shame and mourning—parallels Jeremiah's image of a city overturned and the cries that follow.
- Lam.2:11-12 (thematic): Vivid lamentation language (tears, cries, public mourning) over Jerusalem's ruin; corresponds to the 'cry in the morning' and 'shouting at noon' motif in Jer 20:16.
- Ezek.26:21 (allusion): God's judgment makes a city a ruin and silences its populace—an analogous divine overthrow and resultant desolation to the situation pictured in Jer 20:16.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let that man be like the towns that the LORD overthrew and did not relent; let him hear the cry in the morning and the alarm-breath at noon.
- Let that man be like the towns that the LORD overthrew without pity; may he hear the cry in the morning and the alarm at noon,
Jer.20.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- מותתני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מרחם: VERB,piel,ptc,3,m,sg
- ותהי: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אמי: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- קברי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- ורחמה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- הרת: VERB,qal,ptc,3,f,sg
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 3:3-4 (thematic): Both curse the day of the speaker's birth (wish the day perish or not be blessed) and express a desire that their birth had not occurred.
- Job 10:18-19 (verbal): Job asks why he was brought forth from the womb to suffer, echoing the complaint about birth/mother and the wish that the womb or grave had been otherwise.
- Lamentations 3:1-3 (thematic): A prophetic lament of personal suffering and desolation—like Jeremiah's complaint, it foregrounds abandonment, affliction, and the prophet's grievous condition.
- Psalm 139:13-15 (thematic): Uses womb/mother imagery (God forming the speaker in the womb); parallels Jeremiah's focus on birth and maternal imagery though with contrasting theological emphasis (careful formation vs. wished non-existence).
Alternative generated candidates
- Why was I not slain at birth, taken away when I came from the womb—so that my mother would have been my grave and her womb my tomb?
- because he did not slay me from the womb, so that my mother would have been my grave and her womb forever barren.
Jer.20.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למה: ADV
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- מרחם: VERB,piel,ptc,3,m,sg
- יצאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- לראות: VERB,qal,inf
- עמל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויגון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויכלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- בבשת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
Parallels
- Job 3:20-26 (thematic): A bitter lament asking why life was given to those in misery—questions the value of birth and complains of ongoing trouble, paralleling Jeremiah’s protest at coming into a life of labor and sorrow.
- Job 10:20-22 (verbal): Job’s plea that his few days be ended and his expression of despair at continued suffering echoes Jeremiah’s question about coming out to see toil and shame.
- Psalm 31:10 (verbal): “My life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing” (LXX/MT parallels) — language and theme of days consumed by grief and shame closely mirror Jeremiah’s line.
- Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 (thematic): “For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief” — the preacher’s reflection that human life is defined by labor and sorrow parallels Jeremiah’s complaint about his allotted days.
- Lamentations 3:19-20 (thematic): The prophet’s recollection of affliction and bitterness and the sense of a life marked by suffering and shame resonates with Jeremiah’s lament over coming into toil and disgrace.
Alternative generated candidates
- Why did I ever come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, to end my days in shame?
- Why did I come forth out of the womb to see toil and sorrow, to spend my days in shame?
You enticed me, O LORD, and I let myself be enticed; you were too strong for me, you prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day; everyone mocks me.
For whenever I speak I must cry, “Violence!” and “Plunder!” I shout, for the word of the LORD has become to me a reproach and derision all day.
I said, I will not remember him, I will not speak any more in his name. But it was like a burning fire within my heart, shut up in my bones; I grew weary holding it in, and I could not.
For I hear the whispering of many: terror on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends are watching for me—those who seek my life plot together, saying, “Perhaps he will be enticed, and we shall prevail over him; then we will take our vengeance on him.” But the LORD is with me like a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they shall not prevail. They will be greatly shamed, for they have not prospered—enduring disgrace will not be forgotten.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the righteous and see the heart and the kidneys, let me witness your vengeance on them; for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of the wicked.
Accursed be the day on which I was born; let the day my mother bore me not be blessed.
Accursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, “A son is born to you,” making him very glad.
Let that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew and did not relent; let there be heard in the morning the cry of alarm and the shout at midday.
Why was I not killed at birth—taken away then, that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb forever bereaved?
Why did I come forth from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and to end my days in shame?