Jeremiah 20:7 kjv
O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
Jeremiah 20:7 nkjv
O LORD, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; Everyone mocks me.
Jeremiah 20:7 niv
You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.
Jeremiah 20:7 esv
O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.
Jeremiah 20:7 nlt
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.
Jeremiah 20 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 3:13 | Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me..." | Eve's claim of deception. |
| Exod 4:10-12 | But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent... " Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth?... " | Moses' reluctance to prophetic call. |
| 1 Kings 22:20-23 | And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab... ' | Divine allowing or commissioning of deception. |
| Ps 22:6-7 | But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me... | Lament over being scorned and mocked. |
| Ps 38:12 | Those who seek my life lay snares for me... | Plots and opposition against the righteous. |
| Ps 42:3 | My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" | Scorn and questioning of faith. |
| Ps 44:13 | You have made us an object of reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those around us. | Israel's suffering and derision. |
| Jer 1:4-10 | Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you... " | Jeremiah's initial call and commission. |
| Jer 6:10 | Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, they cannot listen... | Jeremiah's difficulty finding receptive hearers. |
| Jer 11:18-20 | The LORD made it known to me and I knew... | Jeremiah facing plots against his life. |
| Jer 12:1-6 | Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you... | Jeremiah's earlier laments to God. |
| Jer 15:10 | Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! | Jeremiah's personal suffering and isolation. |
| Jer 15:16-18 | Your words were found, and I ate them; your words became to me a joy... | Joy of God's word, mixed with pain. |
| Jer 17:15 | Behold, they say to me, "Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come!" | Mockery for unfulfilled prophecy. |
| Jer 20:8-9 | For whenever I speak, I cry out... For the word of the LORD has become... | Irresistible compulsion to speak God's word. |
| Amos 7:10-13 | Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam... flee to the land of Judah, and eat bread there and prophesy there... | Prophet Amos facing opposition and expulsion. |
| Isa 53:3 | He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces... | Foreshadowing Christ's suffering and rejection. |
| Lam 3:14 | I have become a derision to all my people, a byword to them all day long. | Lament of Israel/Judah mirroring Jeremiah's plight. |
| Matt 5:10-12 | "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake... " | Blessings for those persecuted for Christ. |
| John 15:18-20 | "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you." | Disciples warned of opposition. |
| 1 Cor 9:16 | For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting, for necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! | Paul's compulsion to preach the gospel. |
| 2 Cor 12:10 | For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults... | Apostle Paul enduring hardships. |
| 2 Tim 3:12 | Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. | Universal truth of persecution for believers. |
Jeremiah 20 verses
Jeremiah 20 7 Meaning
Jeremiah 20:7 expresses the prophet's profound lament and wrestling with God after suffering public humiliation and abuse for delivering God's message. He feels that God has "enticed" or "overwhelmed" him, compelling him into a prophetic ministry that brings only scorn and derision from others. Jeremiah acknowledges God's superior strength and irresistible power in calling him to this painful path, leaving him no option but to yield, despite the unbearable cost. His complaint reveals the raw agony and internal conflict of a prophet chosen by God for a message of judgment, experiencing intense personal suffering as a direct result of his obedience.
Jeremiah 20 7 Context
Jeremiah chapter 20 begins immediately after a particularly traumatic experience for the prophet. Pashhur, a chief priest and overseer in the temple, had Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks overnight because of the disturbing prophecies of judgment he delivered (Jer 20:1-6). This verse (20:7) marks a deeply personal lament—one of Jeremiah's "Confessions"—offered after this public humiliation and physical suffering. The prophet's distress is immense, revealing the human struggle beneath his divine calling. He feels isolated and perpetually ridiculed, a direct consequence of his prophetic ministry. This follows earlier complaints in his book (e.g., chapters 12 and 15), but here, the feeling of being coerced by God, enduring relentless scorn, is at its peak after the physical abuse. The historical context is the final decades of the Kingdom of Judah, a period marked by political instability, idolatry, moral decay, and the looming threat of Babylonian invasion—a threat Jeremiah alone faithfully proclaimed, earning him the scorn of the people who preferred comforting lies.
Jeremiah 20 7 Word analysis
- You deceived me, O LORD (פתיתני יהוה - pititani YHWH):
- פתיתני (pititani): Derived from the Hebrew root פתה (patah), which can mean "to entice," "to persuade," "to deceive," "to trick," or "to allure." In this context, it is not an accusation that God maliciously misled Jeremiah with falsehoods. Instead, it signifies that God overwhelmed or compelled Jeremiah, irresistibly drawing him into a ministry whose difficulties and consequences Jeremiah could not foresee or escape. It speaks of a powerful divine persuasion so potent that it left Jeremiah with no choice, feeling 'taken advantage of' by God's sheer power and allure, leading him into a position of vulnerability and suffering.
- יהוה (YHWH): The personal covenant name of God, indicating Jeremiah's direct and intimate (albeit agonized) address to his divine Caller.
- and I was deceived / and I allowed myself to be deceived: This reflects Jeremiah's experience of being overcome by God's irresistible call, making him vulnerable to the hardships that followed. He succumbed to the divine persuasion, though not willingly anticipating the severity of the consequences.
- You are stronger than I (חזקת ממני - khazaqta mimmenni):
- חזקת (khazaqta): "You were strong" or "you are stronger." Root means to be strong, mighty, firm. This clearly acknowledges God's absolute power and sovereignty over Jeremiah's human will and resistance. Jeremiah recognizes that he is utterly outmatched.
- ממני (mimmenni): "than I" or "from me."
- and you prevailed (ותכל - vatukal):
- ותכל (vatukal): "and you overcame," "and you prevailed," "and you mastered." From the root יכל (yakol), "to be able," "to overcome," "to prevail." This emphasizes the triumph of God's will over Jeremiah's own inclination for an easier, less painful life. God's purpose was accomplished through Jeremiah despite his objections.
- I am a laughingstock all the day (לשחוק הייתי כל היום - leskhoq hayiti kol haYom):
- לשחוק (leskhoq): "for laughter," "an object of ridicule/scorn." Root suggests joyful or derisive laughter. For Jeremiah, it's the latter—constant mocking.
- כל היום (kol haYom): "all the day," "continually." Signifies the constant, unending nature of his suffering and humiliation.
- everyone mocks me (כלו קלסני - kullo qilesani):
- קלסני (qilesani): "mocks me," "scorns me," "treats me with contempt." The root קלס (qalas) indicates strong derision, ridicule, and contempt, perhaps even with physical gestures. It highlights the pervasive and severe nature of the social rejection he faced.
Jeremiah 20 7 Bonus section
- This "confession" (or lament) of Jeremiah is one of several such personal passages, offering a unique window into the inner struggles of a prophet. These laments emphasize the humanity of the prophet while affirming the divinity and power of God's call.
- The tension in the Hebrew root patah (פתה) is crucial. While it can be used for negative deception (e.g., by a seducer, or by false gods), when directed towards God in such a personal lament, scholars largely interpret it as God's powerful, irresistible persuasion or overwhelming allure rather than malicious trickery. Jeremiah felt himself drawn into something he couldn't escape, like one utterly captivated.
- Jeremiah's experience here deeply resonates with other figures throughout the Bible who found God's call burdensome but ultimately irresistible, even to their own detriment, such as Paul's "necessity is laid upon me" (1 Cor 9:16). The strength of the calling overpowers personal comfort or fear.
Jeremiah 20 7 Commentary
Jeremiah 20:7 encapsulates the raw, agonizing cry of a prophet pushed to his limits by his divine calling and the severe consequences of his obedience. Jeremiah's declaration "You deceived me" is not an accusation of malicious trickery by God, but rather an expression of how completely God's compelling power overwhelmed his initial reluctance (cf. Jer 1:6-8) and drew him into a ministry far more arduous than he could have imagined. He experienced God's "enticement" as an irresistible force, leading him down a path of rejection and suffering for which he was not prepared.
The subsequent "You are stronger than I and you prevailed" acknowledges God's sovereign and irresistible will. Jeremiah realizes he was no match for the divine imperative; his own desire for a normal life or freedom from ridicule was entirely superseded by God's purpose. This triumph of God’s will results in Jeremiah becoming "a laughingstock all the day," mocked and derided by everyone for faithfully proclaiming the unpopular truth. His honesty with God here models authentic lament—venting profound pain and anger directly to the source of his calling, without abandoning his faith. It reveals the personal cost of prophetic ministry and the often-painful intersection of divine commission and human suffering. This lament leads to the paradox of his irresistible calling even because of the mockery in Jer 20:9.