Jeremiah’s Complaint

Lord, You persuaded me and I let myself be persuaded;
You have (A)overcome me and prevailed.
I have become a (B)laughingstock all day long;
Everyone (C)mocks me.
For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
I (D)proclaim violence and destruction,
Because for me the (E)word of the Lord has [a]resulted
In taunting and derision all day long.
But if I say, “I will not (F)remember Him
Nor speak anymore in His name,”
Then in (G)my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am tired of holding it in,
And (H)I cannot endure it.
10 For (I)I have heard the whispering of many,
(J)Terror on every side!
(K)Denounce him; let’s denounce him!”
[b]All my (L)trusted friends,
Watching for my fall, say:
“Perhaps he will be persuaded, so that we may (M)prevail against him
And take our revenge on him.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 20:8 Lit become
  2. Jeremiah 20:10 Lit Every man of my peace

Jeremiah’s Lament

You have persuaded me, O Yahweh, and I was persuaded.
    You have overpowered me, and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long.
    Everyone[a] is mocking me.
For as often as[b] I speak,
    I must cry out violence and destruction.
I must shout, for the word of Yahweh has become for me
    a disgrace and derision all day long.
But if I say, “I will not mention him
    and I will no longer speak in his name,”
then it becomes in my heart like a fire burning,
    locked up in my bones,
and I struggle to contain it,[c]
    and I am not able.
10 For I hear the rumor of many,
    “Terror is from all around, denounce him,[d]
    yes, let us denounce him!”
All my close friends[e] are watchers of my stumbling,
    saying, “perhaps he can be persuaded,
and we can prevail over him,
    and we can take our revenge on him.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 20:7 Literally “All of him”
  2. Jeremiah 20:8 Literally “from enough”
  3. Jeremiah 20:9 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  4. Jeremiah 20:10 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  5. Jeremiah 20:10 Literally “All the human being of my peace”