Jeremiah 20 13

Jeremiah 20:13 kjv

Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.

Jeremiah 20:13 nkjv

Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For He has delivered the life of the poor From the hand of evildoers.

Jeremiah 20:13 niv

Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.

Jeremiah 20:13 esv

Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.

Jeremiah 20:13 nlt

Sing to the LORD!
Praise the LORD!
For though I was poor and needy,
he rescued me from my oppressors.

Jeremiah 20 verses

Jeremiah 20 13 Meaning

Jeremiah 20:13 is an abrupt, powerful burst of praise from the prophet Jeremiah, commanding joyous singing to the Lord. It expresses absolute conviction in God's decisive act of deliverance. Amidst profound personal anguish and persecution, Jeremiah declares that the Lord has already rescued or will certainly rescue the life of the needy—identifying himself as that vulnerable one—from the malicious power of those who commit evil against them. It signifies a profound shift from bitter lament to confident doxology, affirming God's unfailing protective and just nature.

Jeremiah 20 13 Context

Jeremiah chapter 20 details one of Jeremiah's most intense personal laments, revealing his deep anguish and the spiritual conflict he endured as a prophet. Prior to verse 13, Jeremiah faced extreme persecution: Pashhur, the chief overseer in the Lord’s house, struck him and put him in the stocks for prophesying doom upon Jerusalem (Jer 20:1-6). In verses 7-12, Jeremiah cries out to God, feeling mocked, deceived, and betrayed by God Himself for giving him a message that led to such suffering. He describes God’s word as a burning fire within him that he cannot suppress. Yet, suddenly, amidst this bitter emotional outpouring, verse 13 erupts as a doxology, a radical shift from complaint to triumphant praise. This striking juxtaposition highlights the prophet’s profound and volatile emotional state, while simultaneously demonstrating his deep-seated, though often struggling, faith in God’s ultimate justice and protection. Following this sudden praise, Jeremiah tragically plummets back into despair, cursing the day he was born (vv. 14-18), illustrating the raw human struggle to maintain faith under immense duress.

Jeremiah 20 13 Word analysis

• Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! (שִׁירוּ לַיהוָה הַלְלוּ אֶת-יְהוָה - shiru l'YHWH hallelu et-YHWH)
  • Sing: shiru (Hebrew imperative plural verb). This is a direct command, calling for an active, outward expression of joy, usually related to God’s actions or character. It often implies a public proclamation of gratitude and delight.
  • Praise: hallelu (Hebrew imperative plural verb, from halal). From the root meaning "to praise, boast, shine." It is a fervent command to extol God, glorifying His nature and mighty deeds through jubilant acclamation.
  • Significance: Coming from a prophet who is experiencing profound personal suffering and intense isolation, these are not casual suggestions but urgent, almost desperate, commands of faith. They transform a moment of deep personal anguish into a universal call to acknowledge divine justice and power, bridging Jeremiah's despair with an unwavering core belief.
• For he has delivered (כִּי הִצִּיל - ki hittsil)
  • For: ki (Hebrew conjunction). Acts as an explanatory or causal link, introducing the reason or justification for the command to sing and praise.
  • He has delivered: hittsil (Hebrew Hiphil perfect tense of natsal). This verb means "to snatch away, rescue, deliver." The perfect tense denotes an accomplished action, something already done and definitively secured in God’s plan or perspective, even if not yet fully manifested in Jeremiah’s immediate external reality.
  • Significance: This is a statement of confident theological certainty. Jeremiah’s faith perceives God’s deliverance as an established fact, a decisive action God has already taken, thus providing a foundational reason for the praise, even amidst ongoing struggle. It underscores the prophet's radical and profound trust in God’s promise and character.
• the life of the needy (נֶפֶשׁ אֶבְיוֹן - nefesh 'evyon)
  • Life: nefesh (Hebrew noun). Beyond mere biological existence, nefesh often refers to the entire being, the self, soul, or vitality of a person. It highlights the vulnerability and essence of one's personhood.
  • Needy: 'evyon (Hebrew noun). Describes one who is poor, destitute, afflicted, weak, or dependent, often suffering from social injustice and lacking any recourse of their own. Jeremiah implicitly and deeply identifies himself as this 'evyon, having been unjustly treated and physically harmed by his persecutors.
  • Significance: This phrase identifies the recipient of God's saving act: those who are utterly dependent and without human help. It renders God’s act of deliverance highly personal, directed precisely towards the vulnerable and unjustly oppressed.
• from the hand of evildoers (מִיַּד מְרֵעִים - miy Yad mere'im)
  • From the hand of: miy yad (Hebrew preposition and noun). Yad (hand) is a common idiom representing power, authority, control, or destructive force. So, "from the hand of" means "from the power," "from the grasp," or "from the oppression of."
  • Evildoers: mere'im (Hebrew plural participle of ra'). Refers to those who commit evil, inflict harm, oppress others, or act wickedly. This specifically points to Jeremiah's tormentors like Pashhur and other ungodly adversaries, who opposed both God and His prophet.
  • Significance: This clearly defines the source of the oppression—human wickedness, which manifests through tangible power and coercive force. God’s deliverance is thus shown to be from specific, real-world human opposition and suffering, not an abstract evil.
• Words-group analysis:
  • "Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD!": This double imperative serves as a spiritual exhortation, a desperate but confident call to worship. It injects a beacon of hope and affirmation of divine majesty directly into Jeremiah’s profound dark night of the soul. It represents a pivot from his lament, expressing an internal spiritual triumph.
  • "For he has delivered the life of the needy": This clause provides the justification for the commanded praise. The conviction that God has delivered (perfect tense) indicates a faith that sees divine intervention as already accomplished or absolutely guaranteed, providing a bedrock for trust despite present trials. Jeremiah anchors his praise in God's assured faithfulness, regardless of immediate circumstances.
  • "the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers": This powerful pairing succinctly encapsulates the prophet's personal situation. It vividly portrays extreme vulnerability ("life of the needy") under dire threat ("hand of evildoers") and God’s potent, specific rescue. This highlights that God’s deliverance is not just abstract but precise and effective against specific, oppressive forces.

Jeremiah 20 13 Bonus section

• Jeremiah's Paradoxical Faith: This verse wonderfully illustrates the often paradoxical nature of biblical faith. It demonstrates that genuine worship and trust in God can not only persist during intense suffering but can sometimes even be born from and intensify within adversity, challenging a superficial understanding of faith tied solely to comfort or prosperity.
• Echoes of Lament Psalms: The sudden swing from deep complaint to triumphant praise mirrors the dynamic structure found in many psalms of lament (e.g., Psalm 13, Psalm 22). This literary and emotional oscillation shows that raw honesty and emotional venting before God, even in protest, is not antithetical to true faith, and can, in fact, lead to profound expressions of trust and hope.
• Prophetic Foretaste: Jeremiah’s experience as a "needy" and suffering prophet, unjustly treated by powerful "evildoers," yet assured of divine vindication, serves as a poignant foreshadowing. His sufferings and ultimate, albeit spiritually perceived, deliverance anticipate the ultimate "suffering servant," Jesus Christ, who was persecuted by human evil, laid in the tomb, and then delivered by God through resurrection, becoming the ultimate victor over evil and the bringer of salvation for all the needy.

Jeremiah 20 13 Commentary

Jeremiah 20:13 is a dramatic interjection, a profound declaration of unwavering faith amidst the most agonizing emotional and physical persecution described in Jeremiah's personal confessions. It's a striking pause in a relentless outpouring of lament, signaling that even in the deepest despair, the prophet's spirit can access a bedrock of truth concerning God's nature. This praise does not arise from an immediate change in Jeremiah’s circumstances, which remained dire; rather, it springs from an inner, theological certainty that God is fundamentally a Deliverer. He perceives God’s rescue not merely as a future hope, but as an already accomplished fact ("he has delivered"), underscoring His perfect foresight and power. Jeremiah, who is bruised and jailed, identifies himself fully with the "needy," and his persecutors with the "evildoers." This verse thus provides a timeless example of trusting in divine justice and protection even when human reality is most bleak, modeling how faith can call forth praise from the depths of a suffering heart, firmly convinced of God’s redemptive purpose and His unfailing care for the oppressed.