Jeremiah 20:14-18
New American Standard Bible
14 Cursed be the (A)day when I was born;
May the day when my mother gave birth to me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the news
To my father, saying,
“A [a](B)boy has been born to you!”
And made him very happy.
16 But may that man be like the cities
Which the Lord (C)overthrew without [b]relenting,
And may he hear an (D)outcry in the morning
And [c]an alarm for war at noon;
17 Because he did not (E)kill me [d]before birth,
So that my mother would have been my grave,
And her womb forever pregnant.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb
To (F)look at trouble and sorrow,
So that my (G)days have been spent in (H)shame?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 20:15 Lit male child
- Jeremiah 20:16 Lit being sorry
- Jeremiah 20:16 Or a trumpet blast
- Jeremiah 20:17 Lit from the womb
Jeremiah 20:14-18
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah’s Lament
14 May the day I was born
be cursed.(A)
May the day my mother bore me
never be blessed.
15 May the man be cursed
who brought the news to my father, saying,
“A male child is born to you,”
bringing him great joy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
the Lord demolished without compassion.(B)
Let him hear an outcry in the morning(C)
and a war cry at noontime
17 because he didn’t kill me in the womb(D)
so that my mother might have been my grave,
her womb eternally pregnant.
18 Why did I come out of the womb
to see only struggle and sorrow,(E)
to end my life in shame?
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