Jeremiah 20:7-10
New American Standard Bible
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 20:8 Lit become
- Jeremiah 20:10 Lit Every man of my peace
Jeremiah 20:7-10
New Living Translation
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 O Lord, you misled me,
and I allowed myself to be misled.
You are stronger than I am,
and you overpowered me.
Now I am mocked every day;
everyone laughs at me.
8 When I speak, the words burst out.
“Violence and destruction!” I shout.
So these messages from the Lord
have made me a household joke.
9 But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord
or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
I can’t do it!
10 I have heard the many rumors about me.
They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.”
They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.”
Even my old friends are watching me,
waiting for a fatal slip.
“He will trap himself,” they say,
“and then we will get our revenge on him.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.