Jehovah, thou hast enticed me, and I was enticed; thou hast laid hold of me, and hast prevailed; I am become a derision the whole day every one mocketh me.
Here Jeremiah charges God with misleading him, then admits that God was too strong for him. Two questions follow: what does the word translated "deceived" mean, and how did such a man keep preaching?
The outburst has a cause. It follows time in the stocks. Even under that treatment, Jeremiah answered his persecutor with more judgment, not less.
This chapter (Jeremiah 20) draws out the persecution of Pashur, the son of Immer the priest and chief officer in the house of the Lord. He struck Jeremiah and put his feet in the stocks. But the next day the prophet gave his enemy a name from the Lord: Magor-missabib, that is, terror on every side. With it came a still more exact threat of swift judgment on all Judah. It would fall on the strength of the city and on the treasures of the kings, which would go to Babylon.
Commentators differ over how strong the charge is. One writer weighs Jeremiah's love for the city he had to condemn, and holds that the English wording misstates the Hebrew:
He felt it all deeply, and the more so because he knew how much this people and city mattered to the Lord and to the whole world. He loved them, and he knew how the Lord loved them; but he also knew the judgment must come. It is a wrong translation in verse 7 which makes Jeremiah accuse the Lord of deceiving him. It should read, "Lord, You have enticed me," being the same word as in verse 10.
Others keep the older wording. They read it as the cry of a crushed heart, not a settled charge against God. It is what happens to any believer who looks at the hard road and forgets where it ends:
Jeremiah found the Lord's word the joy and rejoicing of his heart (Jeremiah 15:16). Yet afterwards he was so discouraged that he says, "O LORD, You have deceived me, and I was deceived." Of course this is only a strong expression of sorrow… When the saint finds what the road is, he is apt to forget the end, where there will be fullness of joy and blessing. The Lord wants to purge out whatever would hinder our blessing and keep us from setting our hearts and hopes on the end. He also wants to humble us.
"You are stronger than I" describes defeat by God, not by enemies. Jeremiah wanted to stop speaking and could not. The reason was not courage.
He was compelled, as it were, by the Lord to bear this testimony. He does not have the willing spirit that rejoices in tribulation by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mockery followed him without a break. They watched for him to stumble, so he would gladly have been silent. But the word of the Lord was like fire in his bones. We understand all this. We know the deep wickedness of men who are called the people of God. We know how the feeble heart shrinks back before wickedness that has neither heart nor conscience. And we know how at such times the word is too strong in us to be shut up in our heart.
The mockery was not about the man. It came with the message, and it came every day.
It was "because of the word of the Lord" that he could say it was made "a reproach to me, and a derision daily"; "Everyone mocks me."
One writer quotes the whole outburst, down to Jeremiah cursing the day of his birth. He still refuses to condemn him:
Such was the language of the weeping prophet. No doubt sharp rebuffs and painful disappointments in his prophetic work drew it out of him. But it was still the language of Jeremiah. Before we condemn him, let us see whether we could acquit ourselves any better under the same pressure.
The chapter does not end here. A few verses later the same man says something entirely different. That pattern held for a lifetime.
He might curse the day of his birth. He might tell the Lord that He had enticed him (Jeremiah 20:7), and that he was mocked all day long. But his faith becomes strong again, and he says, "The Lord is with me" (Jeremiah 20:11)! Tossed and tried, opposed and persecuted, he still laboured on to the end of his long, tiring journey.
- Struck — Pashur beat Jeremiah and put him in the stocks. The prophet answered by naming him "terror on every side."
- Enticed — Some hold the Hebrew means "enticed," not "deceived." Others keep the older wording and call it a strong expression of sorrow, not a verdict on God.
- Overpowered — He wanted silence. But the word was like fire in his bones, and he could not hold it in.
- Mocked — The scorn came because of the word of the Lord, not because of the man.
- Continuing — Four verses later he says, "The Lord is with me." He laboured on to the end. Weigh your own strength before condemning his.
For as oft as I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and spoil; for the word of Jehovah is become unto me a reproach and a derision all the day.
Jeremiah has just been beaten and locked in the stocks by the priest Pashhur. This verse is part of his answer — not to his persecutor, but to God. His complaint is strange. The message God gave him to speak is what turned his life into a joke.
The words he cried were not his own opinion about the nation. They were an announcement of coming ruin, and that announcement was the whole of his public life.
Jeremiah reminds God that it was not his desire to be a prophet, but that Jehovah had "enticed" him and had prevailed. What had he gained from it? Nothing but derision and mockery. "For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, 'Violence and destruction!' For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach." He had said to himself, "I will not make mention of Him." But the Word had been in his heart as a burning fire. He grew weary with holding it in, and he could not.
Earlier Jeremiah had said God's words were the joy of his heart. That did not shield him from what those same words would cost.
The word was joy and rejoicing to the heart of Jeremiah, but it brought suffering and reproach. That is always the way it works! Jeremiah thought he would keep silent. But the word was in his heart, like a fire burning in his bones, so he had to speak.
One writer puts this alongside Israel leaving Egypt with a song and arriving in a desert. The pattern is the same: joy first, then a road nobody expected.
And so it often is with the saints of God. When they have had joy, and have sung the song of triumph in being delivered from the power of Satan, they are afterwards astonished to find themselves not in Canaan but in the wilderness… When the saint finds out what the road is, he is apt to forget the end, where there will be fullness of joy and blessing.
Commentators differ over the cry that opens verse 7, and it sets the tone for verse 8. Some hold that the familiar wording is wrong.
It is a wrong translation in verse 7 which makes Jeremiah accuse the Lord of deceiving him. It should read, "Lord, You have enticed me," being the same word as in verse 10. The word of the Lord became a reproach to him and a derision daily.
Others keep the harsher word, but hear grief in it rather than accusation. One writer calls it "only a strong expression of sorrow." A third reading treats it as a real inner struggle:
What follows now is a most passionate outburst. It reveals a feeling in the soul too deep for words, perhaps unmatched anywhere else in the prophetic Scriptures… He admits he was deceived, or enticed. He is troubled with doubt. He speaks of his great trials. He is a laughing stock — he is a reproach and a derision all the day.
The ESV keeps "deceived."
Daily mockery produces one temptation above all: stop speaking. Jeremiah felt it, and could not carry it out.
He was compelled, as it were, by the Lord to bear this testimony… He was the subject of constant mockery. They watched for him to stumble, so he would have been glad to keep silent. But the word of Jehovah was like fire in his bones. We understand all this. There is deep wickedness in the men who are called the people of God. The weak heart shrinks back before that wickedness, which has neither heart nor conscience. And at such times the word is too strong in us to be shut up in our heart.
The same pull reaches anyone whose hearers stop listening. The answer is not a bigger audience.
When his ministry is no longer received, he is tempted to retire. He may fall into silence. He may resolve with Jeremiah not to speak any more in the Lord's name to the people… The servant must learn to draw his strength and courage not from the faces of the people, but from steady, secret communion with the Lord.
It is easy to condemn Jeremiah for speaking like this. One writer asks a fairer question first.
This was the language of the weeping prophet. No doubt sharp rebuffs and painful disappointments in his ministry drew it out of him. But it was still the language of Jeremiah. Before we condemn him, let us see whether we could do any better under the same pressure.
And the reproach he carried points beyond him to One who carried it perfectly.
He could say it was "because of the word of the Lord" that it became "for me a reproach and derision all day long"; "Everyone mocks me." The Gospel of John shows us in a very special way the precious reality behind this. There we see the Prophet raised up by God, who perfectly fulfills what was foretold and foreshadowed about Himself.
- The word given. God sent Jeremiah to shout ruin over his own people, and he got "nothing but derision and mockery" in return.
- The word tasted. The word was "joy and rejoicing" to his heart, and that same word brought him suffering. Sweetness first, cost after.
- The word disputed. Writers differ on verse 7. Some read "enticed" and deny any charge of deceit. Others keep "deceived" as the cry of a man troubled with doubt.
- The word contained. He resolved to stop speaking and failed, because "the word of Jehovah was like fire in his bones."
- The word fulfilled. Before condemning him, ask whether you would do better. Then look past him to the Prophet who bore the reproach perfectly.
And I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name but it was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I became wearied with holding in, and I could not.
Pashhur the priest had just attacked Jeremiah. This verse is Jeremiah's account of what happened inside him afterwards. He decided to stop preaching, and found he could not. The words show a man torn between the pain his message costs him and the pressure of that message in his own heart.
The attack opens a window into the prophet that his public preaching never gave.
Pashur, the son of Immer the priest, was furious, and he attacked the prophet in person... This attack by Pashur opened up his deep inward feeling. His language is very beautiful to my mind. He did not steel his heart against the persecution. His mouth was like steel, no doubt, but his heart was very soft. He felt deep agony because of what he had to say against his enemy.
This resolve was not a passing mood. It came at the end of a ministry that had brought him nothing but ridicule.
Jeremiah reminds God that it was not his desire to be a prophet, but that Jehovah had "enticed" him and had prevailed. What had he benefited from it? Nothing but derision and mockery... From every side they were defaming him. His neighbours, the people of Anathoth, watched for him to stumble, so they could take revenge on him.
Commentators differ over the words of verse 7 that lead up to this — some read them as "deceived," others insist the sense is "enticed."
What broke his silence was not new courage. The message itself had more force in him than his fear.
The Lord compelled him, as it were, to bear this testimony. He does not have (and it is the same with the remnant) the willing spirit that rejoices in tribulation by the power of the Holy Spirit... Alas! we understand all this. We know the deep iniquity of the men who are called the people of God. We know how the weak heart shrinks back from that iniquity, which has neither heart nor conscience. And we know how at such times the word is too strong in us to be shut up in our heart.
The same compulsion appears in Elihu, one of the speakers in the book of Job.
So it is clear too that Elihu had a message from God and was not free to hold it back. He would find relief only by speaking.
Such discouragement has a purpose behind it.
Jeremiah found the Lord's word the joy and rejoicing of his heart. Yet afterwards he grew so discouraged that he says, "O Lord, You have deceived me, and I was deceived." Of course this is only a strong expression of sorrow... When the saint finds what the road is, he is apt to forget the end, where there will be fullness of joy and blessing. The Lord desires to purge out that which would hinder our blessing and keep us from having our hearts and hopes set upon the end, and to humble us.
The same temptation meets anyone serving God today. Paul wrote to Timothy about it.
When people no longer receive his ministry, the servant is tempted to withdraw, to fall silent, or to decide with Jeremiah not to speak any more in the Lord's name to the people. Paul knew Timothy's heart and his tendency, so he guards him against this trap. He urges him to rouse himself, and to stir up by constant use the gift he had received... The greater the confusion and departure from the truth, the greater the need for a real and living ministry. But to keep this ministry going, the servant must learn to draw his strength and courage not from the faces of the people, but from abiding and secret communion with the Lord.
The picture of fire also sorts real calling from short-lived zeal.
When we are truly called, faith may fail. Yes, but we are miserable if we abandon it — as Jeremiah said when he no longer wished to speak: "his word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones." If it is only a fire that crackles in the thorns, it will soon go out. But if you feel that the Lord has entrusted you with His word, and has put it into your heart not only for yourself but for others, then fear nothing. Faith tested is faith strengthened. You have learnt your weakness, but you have also learnt the faithfulness of God, and His tender care even in sending the difficulties.
- Pressure. Pashhur's violence and daily mockery pushed Jeremiah to his lowest point. His mouth was like steel, but his heart was very soft.
- Retreat. He decided to stop speaking in God's name. Paul guarded Timothy against the same trap.
- Fire. The word was too strong in him to be shut up; like Elihu, he could only find relief by speaking.
- Testing. A fire that only crackles in the thorns soon dies. A word entrusted by God outlasts the servant's fear.
- Purpose. Discouragement on the road is not the end of the story — God uses it to humble us and fix our hopes on the joy at the end.
For I have heard the defaming of many, terror on every side Report, and we will report it. All my familiars are watching for my stumbling Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him; and we shall take our revenge on him.
Jeremiah hears many whispering, and the friends closest to him now wait for him to fall. The name he had given Pashhur has come back on his own head.
Pashhur the priest had beaten Jeremiah and locked him in the stocks. Jeremiah gave him a new name that meant fear on every side. The same Hebrew words now turn up in Jeremiah's own complaint.
A symbolic name given by God through Jeremiah to Pashhur the priest, who had beaten him and put him in the stocks (Jer. 20:1-3). In the margin it is "fear round about." The same Hebrew is translated "fear on every side" in Jer. 20:10. God would make Pashhur a terror to himself and to all his friends. He had prophesied lies, and he would die in Babylon (Jer. 20:6).
The people set against him were not strangers. They were the people of Anathoth, his own neighbours, and they wanted revenge.
From every side they were defaming him. His neighbours, the people of Anathoth, watched for him to stumble, so they could take their revenge on him.
They chose slander on purpose. The plan was to shut his message down without ever answering it.
They decided to "strike him with the tongue," and to spread false rumours about him. Gossip and slander would in practice stop his preaching, and keep anyone from listening to a word he said.
The plotters hope to entice Jeremiah into a false step. One writer points out that the same Hebrew word lies behind the prophet's own protest in verse 7. That changes how his earlier cry should be read.
It is a wrong translation in verse 7 which makes Jeremiah accuse the Lord of deceiving him. It should read, "Lord, You have enticed me," being the same word as in verse 10.
Commentators differ here. Another reads the verse as an admission of real inward doubt.
"LORD," he cries, "You have deceived me, and I was deceived." The Revised Version translates it, "You have persuaded me." That is not correct. He acknowledges himself deceived, or enticed. He is troubled with doubt.
The watching wore him down. He would have preferred to say nothing at all. One thing alone kept him speaking.
The Lord compelled him, as it were, to bear this testimony… He was the subject of constant mockery. They watched for him to stumble, so he would gladly have kept silent. But the word of Jehovah was like fire in his bones. Alas! we understand all this. We see the deep wickedness of the men who are called the people of God. We see how the weak heart shrinks back from that wickedness, which has neither heart nor conscience.
A smear campaign aims at more than a reputation. One writer shows how the enemy uses it to shake our confidence in God, and how Jeremiah came through.
The enemy would seek by every trick (through our sins or otherwise) to persuade us that God is not for us. If he succeeds, our confidence is gone. In conflict we have no energy left. In service our hands hang down and our knees grow weak. See the case of Jeremiah… The spring of service was gone. It was not so later. Then he could go on through all opposition, because he knew himself "strong in the Lord."
The complaint is not the end. The next verse turns to fresh confidence, and the prophet's weakness makes clear where the power comes from.
The rest of this section is of deep interest. Here the prophet laments his sad testimony. He shows how truly the treasure was in an earthen vessel, so that the excellence of the power might be of God and not of men. After all his inward conflicts, the result is his own fresh confidence in Jehovah. "But the Lord is with me as a mighty and terrifying one; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail."
Jeremiah's language here is not original to him. He takes up what David had already written under the same kind of attack.
Reproach, slander, lying lips — all this he experienced. Were such trials confined to David? No. Jeremiah entered into what verse 13 of this Psalm describes, and he quotes its words, confident of the power and the presence of Jehovah with him (Jer. 20:10-11). Others, then, may meet similar treatment, and later deliverance too at the hands of God.
- Terror named. Jeremiah had just called Pashhur "terror on every side." Now the same words describe his own life.
- Terror spread. The weapon was the tongue. His own neighbours spread rumours, to stop people listening to him.
- Terror felt. He would gladly have kept quiet, but the word was fire in his bones. The strain shows the treasure sitting in an earthen vessel.
- Terror answered. The whisper aims at our confidence in God. Jeremiah lost the spring of his service, then went on, sure the Lord was with him.
- Terror shared. He borrows David's words. Others who meet the same treatment may look for the same deliverance.
But Jehovah is with me as a mighty terrible one; therefore my persecutors shall stumble and shall not prevail; they shall be greatly ashamed, for they have not prospered it shall be an everlasting confusion that shall not be forgotten.
Jeremiah's complaint in this chapter is raw: he tells the Lord that He enticed him, and that people mock him all day. This verse is the turn — the man who wanted to stop speaking now says his attackers are the ones who will fall.
Jeremiah collapses, then recovers, again and again. This verse is one of the recoveries:
He might curse the day he was born, and tell the Lord that He had 'enticed' him (Jer. 20:7), and that people mocked him every day; but his faith becomes strong again, and he says, "The Lord is with me" (Jer. 20:11)! Tossed and tried, opposed and persecuted, he still laboured on to the end of his long, exhausting journey.
Older translations say "a mighty terrible One" where the ESV has "a dread warrior." The point is sharp: what his enemies waited to see happen to him happens to them instead.
The word of the Lord became a reproach to him and something people mocked daily. He said he would speak no more in His name; but he could not keep quiet, for it was like a burning fire within him. His persecutors slandered him and watched for him to stumble. But the Lord was with him as a mighty and terrible One. They would stumble and be ashamed. Their confusion would last forever, and no one would ever forget it (vv. 8-11).
His confidence rested on a word spoken to him when he was first called:
But suddenly faith is victorious. He must have remembered the words of the Lord about his commission, "For I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you" (chapter 1). And so he cries out, "The LORD is with me."
What happened to Jeremiah has a practical edge for anyone whose service has dried up under attack:
He would try every trick — through our sins or otherwise — to persuade us that God is not for us. If he succeeds, our confidence is gone. In conflict we have no energy left. In service, our hands hang down and our knees grow weak. Look at the case of Jeremiah… The spring of service was gone. Not so afterwards. Then he could go on through all opposition, because he knew he was "strong in the Lord." "The LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me."
Two verses later Jeremiah asks God to let him see vengeance on his enemies. One writer explains what that request really is:
Still, with all this fear he also knew that Jehovah was with him. So he again asks for vengeance. That vengeance is, in fact, deliverance — the only deliverance for those who hold the testimony of Christ in such a position. Verse 13 celebrates this deliverance. But verses 14-18 show how far personal grief can drive those who go through a trial like this.
Wanting his own vindication is where Jeremiah differs from the Lord:
Jeremiah stands in remarkable contrast with the blessed Lord. When the Lord was most rejected, He was in a certain sense most happy. The reason was that He did not seek His own interests… He was here simply to magnify God. If the greatest suffering would magnify God most, He was ready to receive it.
The chapter does not end on this high note:
The rest of this section is of deep interest. Here the prophet laments his sad testimony. He shows how the treasure was in a clay jar, so that the greatness of the power might come from God and not from men. After all his inward conflicts, the result is his own fresh confidence in Jehovah… Even then, the chapter closes with him cursing the day of his birth (vv. 14-18).
- Pressure. Slander and mockery drained Jeremiah's energy for service. The enemy's aim was to persuade him that God was not for him.
- Memory. Faith revived when he recalled the promise given at his calling — "I am with you to deliver you."
- Presence. "The LORD is with me" was his whole answer. Knowing he was strong in the Lord, he could go on through all opposition.
- Reversal. The men who watched for him to stumble are the ones who will stumble, be ashamed, and never live it down.
- Deliverance. Verse 13 celebrates his deliverance, yet the chapter still ends in despair. The treasure sat in a clay jar, so the power was plainly God's.
And thou, Jehovah of hosts, who triest the righteous, who seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
A priest has just beaten Jeremiah and locked him in the stocks. In this verse the prophet stops arguing with his pain and hands his whole case to the God who sees inside people.
The verse closes a long inward struggle. One writer reads the passage as proof that God's power works through weak people.
The rest of this section is of deep interest. In it the prophet mourns his sad testimony. He shows how truly the treasure was in an earthen jar. That was so the excellence of the power might be from God and not from men. After all his inward conflicts, the result is his own fresh confidence in Jehovah.
Jeremiah addresses God as the One who tests the righteous — and the testing is not a sign of God's displeasure.
But He also tests the righteous. He tests the very people He loves, and He tests them because He loves them. He does it for the sake of what the trial produces — in them, and through them for His glory. The wicked are the instruments of this trial. This may make them forget or ignore that God "hates the wicked and the one who loves violence." The day when the whole truth comes out has not arrived yet. But anyone who is willing may know this now. Conscience alone, if we really listen to it, is able to declare it.
The ESV says "the heart and the mind." Older translations read "the reins and the heart." That older word points to the hidden self:
The kidneys, used symbolically for the inward thoughts and feelings.
To be known that far could feel terrifying. One writer says the opposite, once you know the One who is looking.
This searching of the heart is very solemn... Has it ever been a comfort to you that Christ searches the heart and the inward parts? that there is not a single thing that God does not see? "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick. Who can understand it? I the LORD," and so on. The inward parts are the seat of intelligence. If I have been looking into my own heart, I have found it beyond my understanding... But whatever comes out, it is the greatest comfort to know that He knew what was inside beforehand. What comes out must have been inside first. You cannot bear God's searchings until you know that He is love. You cannot bear them until you know that His love is eternal and complete.
"To you have I committed my cause" is a courtroom picture. Jeremiah files his case with God instead of settling it himself. One writer traces the same step in the Lord Jesus and makes it the pattern for anyone insulted or wronged.
If we keep silent when insults come, it does not mean there is no answer to evil and malice. It means we leave the answer with God. We must never try to take vengeance on the wrongdoer. God keeps all vengeance in His own hands. He has said, "Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people" (Hebrews 10:30). Our part is to follow in the steps of the Lord Jesus. When insults come, we commit ourselves to Him who judges righteously.
The cry to see God's vengeance troubles many readers. One writer explains that for a man in Jeremiah's place, judgment on his persecutors was his own rescue.
Still, with all this fear, he also knew that Jehovah was with him. So he again asks for vengeance. Asking for vengeance is, in fact, asking for deliverance — the only deliverance for people who hold the testimony of Christ in such a position.
The next verse breaks into praise. One writer ties that outburst straight to the prayer of verse 12.
Jeremiah knew he was right before God, who tests the righteous and sees the very inward parts and the heart. So he casts his cause into the Lord's hands. He asks to see His vengeance on his enemies (v. 12). Then, as if prayer had freed his soul from a crushing burden, he bursts out: SING TO THE LORD!
- Tested — God tests the very people He loves. The trial does its work in them, and through them for His glory.
- Seen — He sees your inward thoughts and feelings. Nothing escapes Him. Once you know He is love, His searching becomes a comfort, not a threat.
- Surrendered — "To you have I committed my cause." Leave the answer to malice with God. Vengeance is His, and He keeps it in His own hands.
- Sustained — His cry for vengeance was, for him, a cry for rescue. The treasure stayed in an earthen jar, so the power on show was God's.
- Singing — Prayer lifted the burden, and the man in the stocks broke into praise.
Sing ye unto Jehovah, praise Jehovah, for he hath delivered the soul of the needy from the hand of evildoers.
Pashur, a priest and chief officer of the temple, has just had Jeremiah beaten and left overnight in the stocks. Out of that place comes a call to sing. One verse earlier he begs God to take vengeance on his enemies. One verse later he curses the day of his birth. How can praise and despair stand so close together?
The call to sing is not a new subject. It is what prayer released. Jeremiah hands his case to God, and the song follows at once.
Jeremiah knew he was right before God. God tests the righteous and sees the very heart and mind. So he puts his cause into the Lord's hands. He asks to see His vengeance on his enemies (v. 12), and then, as if prayer had freed his soul from a crushing weight, he bursts out: SING TO THE LORD!
What produces such a cry is not information about God but dealings with Him.
This is always the way with someone who has real, conscious dealings with the blessed God. Mere theology never produces this. The prophet continues his glad strain: HALLELUJAH! he cries; and he gives a very good reason for such glad praise. "He has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers"!
The turn from complaint to singing has a cause behind it.
But suddenly faith is victorious. He must have remembered the Lord's words when He commissioned him: "I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD" (chapter 1). And so he cries out, "The LORD is with me." He prays to see His vengeance on his enemies, for he had opened his cause to Him. And then the singing!
The prayer of verse 12 and the praise of verse 13 are not two different moods.
Still, with all this fear, he also knew that the Lord was with him. So again he asks for vengeance. That vengeance is in fact deliverance. It is the only deliverance for those who carry the testimony of Christ in such a position. Verse 13 celebrates this deliverance. But in verses 14-18 we see how far personal grief can drive those who go through such a trial.
Gaebelein reads the same experience forward. He sees in it the pattern of a godly remnant of Israel, "troubled on all sides, fleeing to the LORD, till the singing times come, when He appears for their deliverance and the hallelujahs will sweep the earth and the heavens."
The verse does not end the chapter. What comes next shows that the man who sang was still a weak vessel.
The rest of this section is full of interest. The prophet grieves over his sad testimony. He shows how truly the treasure was in an earthen vessel, so that the surpassing power might belong to God and not to men. After all his inward conflicts, the outcome is his own fresh confidence in the Lord… Even so, the chapter closes (vv. 14-18) with him cursing the day of his birth. He curses the messenger too, the one who congratulated his father on such a child — the prophet of woe for Israel.
Jeremiah is not the only man tried this way, and one Man met such trial perfectly.
See the same thing in Job — a picture of the same condition: a soul tried by all the malice of Satan… Christ is the model of perfection in circumstances of trial like these. He fully experienced and felt how real they were, when He had yet to undergo for others what laid the foundation of grace for them.
For the believer, deliverance is now settled and eternal. So the singing here points to something steadier than one burst of joy.
Today it should not be simply an outburst. The sacrifice of praise should be "continually" upon the lips of the believer now (Heb. 13:15). The knowledge of deliverance and eternal redemption should produce this. True, the note may be sweeter at one time than another, and the song may be louder. But praise and thanksgiving to God through our Lord Jesus Christ should rise from the believer with steady constancy. He makes melody in his heart to the One who loves him with an unchanging love.
- Prayer first. Jeremiah hands his cause to God, and the weight lifts — the song is what prayer released, not what replaced it.
- Promise underneath. The praise rests on God's word at his call: "I am with you to deliver you." A remembered promise makes faith victorious.
- Vengeance is rescue. For a servant in the hands of evildoers, God's judgment on the oppressor is the deliverance. That is what the song celebrates.
- Earthen vessel. The same mouth curses the day of his birth a verse later. The treasure is real, the vessel is frail, and the power belongs to God. Only Christ met such a trial perfectly.
- Continual song. In Jeremiah it was a burst. In the believer it should be steady, because the deliverance now known is eternal redemption.
Cursed be the day wherein I was born; let not the day wherein my mother bore me be blessed!
Jeremiah has just praised the Lord, and in the next breath he wishes he had never existed. How can praise and despair come out of the same mouth?
One writer sets the two moods side by side, and then contrasts them with what marks the New Testament.
Jeremiah's praise had barely left his lips when, like Job, he curses the day he was born (v. 14). He curses the man too who brought his father the news of his birth, because he did not kill him. … This deep depression is often seen with the godly souls of the Old Testament. It stands in complete contrast with what marks the New Testament, where God is fully revealed in the Son and the believer is eternally blessed in Him. Many devout people, though, go back to the experiences of the Psalms and live there. They only rob themselves of the fullness of joy that is properly ours now in knowing the Father and the Son.
The priest Pashur had attacked Jeremiah. The curse in verse 14 is what that attack pulled out of a man who never hardened his heart.
This attack by Pashur leads Jeremiah to an unfolding of his deep inward feeling. His language is very beautiful to my mind. There was no kind of steeling his heart against the persecution. His mouth was like one of steel, no doubt. But his heart was very soft indeed, and it felt deep agony because of what he had to say against his adversary. So the very man who seemed as if nothing could bend him was in truth bound in the greatest grief before God. At last he pours it out to the Lord.
Another writer explains why he could not simply keep quiet.
The Lord compelled him, as it were, to bear this testimony. He does not have the willing spirit that rejoices in tribulation by the power of the Holy Spirit. They mocked him constantly. They watched for his stumbling, so he would have been glad to stay silent. But the word of the Lord was like fire in his bones… Verse 13 celebrates this deliverance. But in verses 14-18, we see how far personal grief may drive those who go through such a trial as this.
One writer finds something under the bitterness that lifts it above self-pity.
There is this to be said about Jeremiah's outburst. It was not only because of his own sufferings as a man who had to bring a message the people refused, so that they hated the messenger. Is there not also a measure of grief over the people's stubbornness and certain doom? Like Moses before him and Paul afterwards, he longed above everything for the people's blessing. Unable to see it, he would rather not have been born. We justify none of these expressions in God's beloved servants. But they seem to stand on a higher moral level than Job does here.
Scripture records these words without approving them. Still, one writer asks us to test ourselves first.
Such was the language of the weeping prophet. It was drawn out, no doubt, by sharp rebuffs and painful disappointments in his ministry as a prophet. Still, it was the language of Jeremiah. Before we condemn him, let us see whether we could acquit ourselves any better under the same pressure.
Jeremiah wished himself unborn. The Lord Jesus was rejected far more, and yet He was at rest.
Jeremiah, however, stands in wonderful contrast with the blessed Lord. When most rejected, the Lord was in a certain sense most happy. The reason was that He did not seek His own things… He was here simply to magnify God. If the greatest suffering would magnify God the most, He was ready to receive it.
That spotless One passed through deeper sorrows, and more of them, than all His servants put together; but not one complaining word ever escaped His lips. He patiently submitted to it all, and met the darkest hour with words like these: "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"
- Pressure. Pashur's attack and constant mockery lie behind the curse. The word burned in him like fire, so he could not stay silent either.
- Softness. The man whose mouth was like steel had a very soft heart — his firmness in public came with real agony in private.
- Direction. He pours the bitterness out to the Lord, not away from Him. That is how praise in verse 13 and despair in verse 14 stand side by side.
- Motive. Under the pain there is grief for a people heading for ruin. He wanted their blessing more than his own comfort.
- Contrast. Christ bore deeper sorrow and never complained. Jeremiah's cry shows what we are, and points to the One who never spoke this way.
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad!
Pashhur the priest has just attacked Jeremiah, and the pain drives him to curse the very start of his life — even the man who carried the happy news to his father. How does a faithful prophet come to curse a moment of innocent joy, and how should we read his words?
The curse does not come out of nowhere. It follows an attack by a priest, and that attack shows what the prophet was like inside.
This attack by Pashhur leads Jeremiah to an unfolding of his deep inward feeling. His language is very beautiful to my mind. There was no steeling of his heart against the persecution. His mouth was like steel, no doubt. But his heart was very soft indeed, and it went through deep agony because of what he had to say against his adversary. So the very man who seemed as if nothing could bend him was in truth bound in the greatest grief before God. At last he pours it out to the Lord.
A verse earlier, Jeremiah was praising God. The change from praise to cursing came fast.
Jeremiah's praise had hardly left his lips when, like Job, he curses the day he was born (v. 14). He curses the man too who brought his father the news of his birth, because that man did not kill him. He asks, "Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?" (v. 18). This deep depression is often seen in godly souls of the Old Testament.
There may be more in these words than a man nursing his own wounds.
There is this to be said about Jeremiah's outburst. It was not only because of his own suffering as a man who had to bring a message the people refused, so that they hated the messenger. Is there not also a measure of grief over the people's stubbornness and certain doom? Like Moses before him and Paul after him, he longed above all for the people's blessing. Failing to see this, he would rather not have been born. We justify none of these expressions in God's beloved servants.
Grief drove the prophet this far for a reason, and Job went the same way.
Verse 13 celebrates this deliverance. But in verses 14-18 we see how far personal grief can drive those who go through such a trial. See the same thing in Job. It pictures the same condition: a soul tried by all the malice of Satan, without the full knowledge of grace, in the sense of its own nothingness, and in forgetfulness of self.
The chapter records both his collapse and his confidence.
The rest of this section is of deep interest. Here the prophet laments his sad testimony. He shows how truly the treasure was in an earthen vessel, so that the excellence of the power might be of God and not of men. After all his inward conflicts, the result is his own fresh confidence in the Lord. Even then, the chapter (vv. 14-18) closes with cursing the day of his birth and the messenger who congratulated his father on such a child — the prophet of woe for Israel.
Both Jeremiah and Job broke into cursing. One life stands apart.
What language this is! Only think of cursing the man who brought news of his birth — cursing him because he had not killed him! All this, in both Jeremiah and Job, stands in sharp contrast with the meek and lowly Jesus of Nazareth. That spotless One passed through deeper sorrows, and more of them, than all His servants put together. Yet not one word of complaint ever escaped His lips. He submitted patiently to it all. He met the darkest hour with words like these: "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"
The honest response to these words is not condemnation from a comfortable distance.
Such was the language of the weeping prophet. Sharp rebuffs and painful disappointments in his prophetic ministry drew it out, no doubt, but it is still the language of Jeremiah. Before we condemn him, let us see whether we could do any better under the same pressure.
- Pressure: Pashhur attacked him. His mouth was like steel, but his heart was soft, and the grief came out as a curse on his birth and on the messenger.
- Gap: Praise stands in verse 13, cursing in verse 15. Grief can drive a soul that far when it lacks the full knowledge of grace.
- Love: His misery was not only about himself. Like Moses and Paul, he longed above all for the people's blessing — though no one defends the words.
- Vessel: The chapter hides nothing. The treasure sat in an earthen vessel, so the excellence of the power belongs to God and not to men.
- Christ: He bore deeper sorrow and never complained once. Before we condemn Jeremiah, let us ask whether we would do any better.
And let that man be as the cities which Jehovah overthrew, and repented not; and let him hear a cry in the morning, and a shouting at noonday,
A priest of the temple where Jeremiah preached has just beaten him and locked him in the stocks. Out of that night comes his curse on the man who announced his birth. How can a faithful prophet sink this low? And why did God keep the words for us to read?
The outburst is not abstract poetry. It follows one act of violence and one night of pain.
Jeremiah had broken the vessel in the Valley of Hinnom, in front of the elders and priests. On his return he stands again in the court of the Temple and warns the people of coming judgment. Pashur, a priest and chief officer in the house of God, hears him prophesy these things. He strikes him and puts him in the stocks at the upper gate of Benjamin. The stocks were instruments of torture. Jeremiah on this occasion has to endure them for the rest of the day and the following night. These were hours of physical and mental suffering.
One writer names the picture behind the curse, then asks what lies underneath it.
He curses not only the day of his birth, but the man who brought his father the news instead of slaying the child, and wishes he were overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah. This much must be said about his outburst. It was not only his own sufferings, as a man who had to bring a message the people refused — so they hated the messenger. Was there not also grief over the people's stubbornness and certain doom? Like Moses before him and Paul after him, he longed above all for the people's blessing. Failing to see this, he would rather not have been born. We justify none of these expressions in God's beloved servants.
The same chapter shows a steel mouth and a soft heart.
There was no steeling of his heart against the persecution. His mouth was like steel, no doubt. But his heart was very soft indeed, and he felt deep agony over what he had to say against his adversary. So the very man who seemed as if nothing could bend him was in truth held in the greatest grief before God. At last he pours it out to the Lord.
Another writer measures how far such a trial can push a person.
Verse 13 celebrates this deliverance. But in verses 14-18 we see how far personal grief may drive those who go through such a trial as this. See the same thing in Job — a picture of the same condition: a soul tried by all the malice of Satan, without the full knowledge of grace.
Verse 13 is praise. Verse 16 is a curse. Almost nothing sits between them.
Jeremiah's praise had scarcely left his lips when, like Job, he curses the day he was born… This deep depression is often seen with the godly souls of the Old Testament. It stands in complete contrast to what marks the New Testament. There we have the blessed God fully revealed in the Son, and the believer eternally blessed in Him. Many devout people, however, go back to the experiences of the Psalms and live there, only to rob themselves of the fullness of joy that is properly ours now in knowing the Father and the Son.
One writer sets Jeremiah beside the Lord Jesus.
Jeremiah, however, is in wonderful contrast with the blessed Lord, who, when most rejected, was most happy in a certain sense. The reason was that He did not seek His own things. Instead, as He said in Spirit, "The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on Me." He was here only to magnify God. If the greatest suffering would magnify God the most, He was ready to receive it. He could not pray for what was worst of all. He could not wish that God would forsake Him. Such a plea was impossible.
The verse is not recorded so that readers can stand over the prophet.
Such was the language of the weeping prophet. Sharp rebuffs and painful disappointments in his ministry drew it out of him, no doubt. But it was still the language of Jeremiah. Before we condemn him, let us see whether we could do better under the same pressure.
- Pressure: The words follow a beating and a night in the stocks ordered by a priest — real torture, not a passing mood.
- Depth: The curse reaches for cities God overthrew. It shows how far personal grief can drive a faithful servant.
- Love underneath: Part of the anguish was grief over a people heading for certain judgment. No one excuses the words, but the pain behind them was not only his own.
- Contrast: The Lord Jesus, when most rejected, was most happy. He was here to magnify God, not to seek His own things.
- Ourselves: Before we condemn him, we should ask if we would do better. And we can live now in a fullness of joy Jeremiah never knew.
because he slew me not from the womb. Or would that my mother had been my grave, and her womb always great [with me]!
Jeremiah's curse on his own birth closes a chapter where a priest beat him, locked him in the stocks overnight, and left him to the mockery of everyone who passed. It comes a few lines after he called others to sing to the Lord — so what do we make of a servant of God who wishes the womb had been his grave?
These words follow an attack on Jeremiah by a priest named Pashur. One writer sees that attack open a window into what the prophet felt.
This attack by Pashur leads Jeremiah to an unfolding of his deep inward feeling. His language is very beautiful to my mind. There was no kind of steeling his heart against the persecution. His mouth was like one of steel, no doubt. But his heart was very soft indeed, and it went through deep agony because of what he had to say against his adversary. So the very man who seemed as if nothing could bend him was in truth bound in the greatest grief before God. At last he pours it out to the Lord.
Verses 13 and 14 sit side by side, praise and cursing. One writer traces the swing to what now filled the prophet's mind.
But his grief overwhelms him. Perhaps he thought again of all the sneers and mockeries, of all the harsh words, the unfaithful friends and the physical pain he endured. He is occupied with himself. The soul struggle begins again and ends in a near collapse. He curses, as Job did, the day in which he was born.
The wish is extreme. Yet one commentator finds more in it than personal misery.
There is this to be said of Jeremiah's outburst. It was not only about his own sufferings, as a man who had to bring a message the people refused, so that they hated the messenger who brought it. But is there not also some measure of grief over the people's stubbornness and certain doom? Like Moses before him and Paul after him, he longed above all for the people's blessing. Failing to see this, he would rather not have been born. We justify none of these expressions in God's beloved servants, but they seem to stand on a higher moral ground than Job does here.
One writer names what Jeremiah did not have. He reads these closing verses as a measure of how far grief can carry a servant without it.
He was compelled, as it were, by the Lord to bear this testimony. He has not (and it is the same with the remnant) the willing spirit that rejoices in tribulation by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was the subject of constant mockery... Still, with all this fear, he also knew that Jehovah was with him... in verses 14-18 we see how far personal grief may drive people who go through a trial like this.
Another writer sees a purpose in that weakness — it showed whose power was really at work.
The rest of this section is of deep interest. There the prophet mourns over his sad testimony and shows how truly the treasure was in a clay jar, so that the greatness of the power might belong to God and not to men.
Jeremiah wished himself unborn under rejection. Kelly sets him beside One who met far worse rejection.
Jeremiah, however, is in wonderful contrast with the blessed Lord, who, when most rejected, was most happy in a certain sense. The reason was that He did not seek His own things. Instead, as He said in Spirit, "The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me." He was here only to magnify God. If the greatest suffering would magnify God the most, He was ready to receive it.
One writer ends by turning the question back on the reader.
Such was the language of the weeping prophet. Sharp rebuffs and painful disappointments in his ministry drew it out, no doubt, but it is still the language of Jeremiah. Before we condemn him, let us see whether we could acquit ourselves any better under the same pressure.
- Pressure. Pashur's violence did not harden Jeremiah; it opened him — a mouth like steel over a heart that felt every blow.
- Turn. The collapse came right after a song of praise, once he turned to look at himself instead of the Lord.
- Depth. His wish to have died in the womb was not only about his own pain. It was about a people whose blessing he longed for and whose doom he could not stop.
- Limit. He lacked the willing spirit that rejoices in trouble. These verses show how far grief can drive a servant left to himself.
- Contrast. Jeremiah wished himself unborn; the One most rejected stayed happy in a certain sense, because He came to magnify God and welcomed the suffering that would do it most.
Wherefore came I forth from the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed in shame?
Chapter 20 ends with the prophet's lowest words. He has just praised the Lord for rescuing the needy. Now he wishes he had never been born — so how does a faithful servant of God end up here?
Pashhur the priest had attacked Jeremiah. The prophet's answer was not defiance. He poured out what he felt inside.
This attack by Pashhur leads Jeremiah to unfold his deep inward feeling. His language is very beautiful to my mind. He did not steel his heart against the persecution. His mouth was like steel, no doubt, but his heart was very soft indeed. He went through deep agony because of what he had to say against his adversary. So the very man who seemed as if nothing could bend him was in truth bound in the greatest grief before God. At last he pours it out to the Lord.
Two things stand side by side here. God's word burned in him, so he could not keep silent. Yet obeying it crushed him.
He was compelled, as it were, by the Lord to bear this testimony. He did not have the willing spirit that rejoices in tribulation by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was the target of constant mockery. They watched for him to stumble, so that he would gladly have been silent. But the word of the Lord was like fire in his bones… Verse 13 celebrates this deliverance. Yet verses 14–18 show how far personal grief may drive those who go through such a trial.
The people refused his message, and toil and sorrow filled his days. But his grief reached wider than his own pain.
There is this to be said for Jeremiah's outburst. It was not merely because of his own sufferings as a man forced to bring a message the people refused, so that they hated the messenger. But is there not a measure of grief over the people's stubbornness and certain doom? Like Moses before him and Paul afterwards, he longed above all for the people's blessing. Failing to see this, he would rather not have been born.
It is easy to condemn words like these from a comfortable distance.
Such was the language of the weeping prophet. Sharp rebuffs and painful disappointments in his prophetic ministry drew it out, no doubt. But it was still the language of Jeremiah. Before we condemn him, let us see whether we could acquit ourselves any better under similar pressure.
One commentator sets Jeremiah beside a greater sufferer.
Jeremiah, however, stands in wonderful contrast with the blessed Lord, who, when most rejected, was in a certain sense most happy. The reason was that He did not seek His own things. As He said in the Spirit, "The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me." He was here only to magnify God. If the greatest suffering would magnify God most, He was ready to receive it.
This collapse did not finish Jeremiah's ministry.
We often find this honoured servant faltering afterwards, but he still pursued the path to the end… He might curse the day he was born. He might tell the Lord that He had enticed him, and that he was mocked all day long. But his faith becomes strong again, and he says, "The Lord is with me"! Tossed and tried, opposed and persecuted, he still laboured on to the end of his long, tiring journey.
One writer draws a line between the prophet's darkness and what is available to a believer today.
This deep depression is often seen in godly souls of the Old Testament. It stands in complete contrast to what marks the New Testament. There we have the blessed God fully revealed in the Son, and the believer eternally blessed in Him. Many devout people, however, go back to the experiences of the Psalms and live there. They only rob themselves of the fullness of joy that is properly ours now.
- Pressure. Pashhur's attack fell on a man with a mouth like steel and a very soft heart. The grief inside him poured out.
- Limit. Verses 14–18 show how far personal grief can drive a servant. God's word compelled him, and constant mockery wore him down.
- Motive. His wish never to be born was not pure self-pity. Like Moses and Paul, he longed above all for the people's blessing, and he could not bear their coming doom.
- Measure. Christ, most rejected, was in a certain sense most happy, because He was here only to magnify God. Jeremiah's words fall short of that standard. Before we condemn him, we should test ourselves by it too.
- Recovery. Faltering was not the end. His faith rallied to say "the Lord is with me," and he laboured on. And a fullness of joy is properly ours now, in complete contrast to that darkness.