Jeremiah 20:7-10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jeremiah Denounces His Persecutors
7 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)
8 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)
9 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)
Jeremiah 20:7-10
Evangelical Heritage Version
Jeremiah’s Confession
7 You persuaded me, Lord, and I agreed to it.[a]
You are stronger than I am, and you won out.
I have become a laughingstock all day long,
and everyone is mocking me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out.
I cry out, “Violence and destruction!”
But the word of the Lord has brought scorn on me.
I am mocked all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him
or speak in his name anymore,”
then there is a burning fire in my heart,
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary of holding it in.
I cannot!
10 I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!”
All my close friends,
those who are watching for my fall, say,
“Denounce him! Let’s denounce him.
Perhaps he can be pressured into making a mistake.
Then we will have the upper hand against him,
and we will take our revenge on him.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or, more literally, you pressured me, and I was pressured. The Hebrew verb (patah) is the same in both halves of the line, but it has different connotations when applied to God and to Jeremiah. You deceived me and I was deceived is probably too strong a word to express Jeremiah’s accusation against the Lord, but Jeremiah is claiming that the Lord had led him to believe that being a prophet was going to be a great thing. It is hard to find any evidence to justify Jeremiah’s accusation if you read Jeremiah 1–3. The same Hebrew verb occurs again in verse 10.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.