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Jeremiah Denounces His Persecutors

O Lord, you have enticed me,
    and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
    and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
    everyone mocks me.(A)
For whenever I speak, I must cry out;
    I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
    a reproach and derision all day long.(B)
If I say, “I will not mention him
    or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire
    shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
    and I cannot.(C)
10 For I hear many whispering:
    “Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
    All my close friends
    are watching for me to stumble.
“Perhaps he can be enticed,
    and we can prevail against him
    and take our revenge on him.”(D)

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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”