Jeremiah 20:15 kjv
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.
Jeremiah 20:15 nkjv
Let the man be cursed Who brought news to my father, saying, "A male child has been born to you!" Making him very glad.
Jeremiah 20:15 niv
Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, "A child is born to you?a son!"
Jeremiah 20:15 esv
Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, "A son is born to you," making him very glad.
Jeremiah 20:15 nlt
I curse the messenger who told my father,
"Good news ? you have a son!"
Jeremiah 20 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah 15:10 | "Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to all the land! I have not lent..." | Jeremiah 15:10 (Echoes suffering) |
| Job 3:3 | "Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a son of man born." | Job 3:3 (Similar lament) |
| Job 10:18 | "Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? did not I die, from the womb? was it not to me... | Job 10:18 (Questioning existence) |
| Psalm 22:1-3 | "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?" | Psalm 22:1-3 (Cries of distress) |
| Isaiah 49:1 | "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; the LORD hath called me from the womb;..." | Isaiah 49:1 (Divine calling) |
| Romans 9:20-21 | "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" | Romans 9:20-21 (Sovereignty and potter) |
| Galatians 1:15 | "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace," | Galatians 1:15 (Divine predestination) |
| Ecclesiastes 5:17 | "Also he shall eat thereof, all his days of the shadow of his flesh, and he shall have great misery also..." | Ecclesiastes 5:17 (Life's toil) |
| Acts 9:15 | "But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles,..." | Acts 9:15 (Chosen for suffering) |
| Jeremiah 1:4-10 | "Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;..." | Jeremiah 1:4-10 (Jeremiah's calling) |
| Jeremiah 1:8 | "Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD." | Jeremiah 1:8 (God's promise) |
| Jeremiah 1:17-19 | "Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee:..." | Jeremiah 1:17-19 (Prophet's burden) |
| Psalm 55:4-5 | "My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling..." | Psalm 55:4-5 (Inner turmoil) |
| Jeremiah 38:4-6 | "Then the princes said unto the king, This Jeremiah ought to be put to death; for thus he doth..." | Jeremiah 38:4-6 (Persecution of Jeremiah) |
| 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 | "Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool, I am more; in labours more abundant, in..." | 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (Apostle's suffering) |
| Revelation 6:10 | "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge..." | Revelation 6:10 (Cry for justice) |
| 2 Timothy 3:12 | "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." | 2 Timothy 3:12 (Suffering of believers) |
| Hebrews 12:1-3 | "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside..." | Hebrews 12:1-3 (Jesus' example) |
| Matthew 5:10 | "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven." | Matthew 5:10 (Blessedness of persecution) |
| John 15:18-20 | "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world..." | John 15:18-20 (Hated because of Christ) |
Jeremiah 20 verses
Jeremiah 20 15 Meaning
This verse expresses the deep anguish and questioning of the prophet Jeremiah regarding his birth and prophetic calling. He curses the day he was born, not out of rebellion against God, but from immense suffering and disillusionment with the people's response to God's message and the resulting persecution he endures. It's a raw outpouring of human frailty mixed with divine appointment.
Jeremiah 20 15 Context
Jeremiah 20 occurs amidst intense opposition to Jeremiah's prophecies concerning Jerusalem's impending destruction due to its sinfulness. In the preceding verses, Jeremiah directly confronts Pashur, the chief officer in the temple, who had him beaten and imprisoned. Pashur's action reveals the active hostility from the religious and political leadership against God's messenger. This chapter captures Jeremiah's personal anguish and his struggle with his calling in the face of such persecution and the apparent ineffectiveness of his message to sway the people or their leaders.
Jeremiah 20 15 Word Analysis
- "Cursed" (אָרוּר, arur): Means accursed, cursed, execrable. It signifies a state of being under a malediction, set apart for condemnation.
- "be the day": This phrase intensifies the curse, not just on his existence, but on the very moment of his arrival into the world.
- "wherein": Refers to the time of his birth.
- "I was born": My coming into existence.
- "the night": Another way to refer to the time of his birth, often associated with darkness and vulnerability.
- "in which": The specific period.
- "it was said": Publicly announced or declared.
- "There was conceived a son": Reference to the procreative act leading to his conception.
- "of a man": Indicates his human parentage.
- "a son": Refers to Jeremiah himself.
- "male": Specifying his sex, adding to the personal nature of the lament.
- "May it be": An expression of a wish or desire.
- "as the cities": Drawing a parallel to catastrophic destruction.
- "Sodom": A city famously destroyed for its wickedness (Gen 19).
- "and Gomorrah": Partnered with Sodom in its destruction.
- "which": Referring to the cities.
- "the LORD": YHWH, God's covenant name.
- "overthrew": Destroyed, ruined, brought down.
- "Yah": A shortened form of Yahweh (God's name), used here in a powerful exclamatory or rhetorical way.
- "I should have": Expresses a deep regret or unfulfilled desire.
- "been buried": Placed in a tomb, implying an immediate death at birth, a way to avoid suffering.
- "the womb": His mother's womb, a place of nurturing.
- "that begat me": That brought him forth into life.
- "his wombs": Referring to the womb of his mother.
- "and": Conjunction.
- "its great cavity": The vastness within, emphasizing the prolonged process of gestation or perhaps the sorrow he feels for his mother.
Jeremiah 20 15 Bonus Section
Jeremiah's lament in this chapter is remarkably similar to Job's extensive cursing of his birth day in Job chapters 3. Both men experienced immense suffering and questioned their existence, but their responses within their respective contexts and their overall trust in God differed in nuance. Jeremiah, despite this profound expression of despair, continues to be God's faithful voice. His utterances are rooted in his unique covenant relationship and his understanding of God's judgment and sovereignty, not in a general existential despair. The phrase "his womb" also can imply God's involvement in and awareness of his formation even from the beginning (Jeremiah 1:5), making the lament a complex expression of human pain within divine sovereignty.
Jeremiah 20 15 Commentary
Jeremiah's words here reveal a profound spiritual battle. He isn't rejecting God; rather, he is grappling with the immense personal cost of obedience. The suffering he details is directly tied to his God-given mandate to proclaim a message of judgment to an unrepentant people. He contrasts his birth with the catastrophic, divine judgments on Sodom and Gomorrah, wishing he had met a similar, immediate end to escape his present anguish and persecution. This verse serves as a stark reminder of the emotional and psychological toll prophetic ministry can take, especially when met with entrenched resistance and cruelty. It highlights the humanity of prophets, their moments of despair, and their raw communication with God, even in their deepest pain. This is not a surrender but a wrestling match with God over the burden of his calling.