Jeremiah 20:7–18

Jeremiah Prays to the Lord

⁷O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived. 

You overpowered me and won. 

I’ve been made fun of all day long. 

Everyone mocks me. 

⁸Each time I speak, I have to cry out and shout, 

“Violence and destruction!” 

The Lord’s word has made me the object of insults 

and contempt all day long. 

⁹I think to myself, “I can forget the Lord 

and no longer speak his name.” 

But ⸤his word⸥ is inside me like a burning fire shut up in my bones. 

I wear myself out holding it in, but I can’t do it any longer. 

¹⁰I have heard many ⸤people⸥ whispering, 

“Terror is everywhere! 

Report him! Let’s report him!” 

All my closest friends are waiting to see me stumble. 

They say, “Maybe he will be tricked. 

Then we can overpower him and take revenge on him.” 

¹¹But the Lord is on my side like a terrifying warrior. 

That is why those who persecute me will stumble. They can’t win. 

They will be very ashamed that they can’t succeed. 

Their eternal shame will not be forgotten. 

¹²But the Lord of Armies examines the righteous. 

He sees their motives and thoughts. 

I want to see you take revenge on them, 

because I’ve brought my case to you. 

¹³Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! 

He has rescued the lives of needy people 

from the power of wicked people. 

¹⁴Cursed is the day that I was born, 

the day that my mother gave birth to me. 

May it not be blessed. 

¹⁵Cursed is the man who made my father very happy with the news 

that he had just become the father of a baby boy. 

¹⁶May that man be like the cities 

that the Lord destroyed without pity. 

May he hear a cry of alarm in the morning 

and a battle cry at noon. 

¹⁷If only he had killed me while I was in the womb. 

Then my mother would have been my grave, 

and she would have always been pregnant. 

¹⁸Why did I come out of the womb? 

All I’ve seen is trouble and grief. 

I will finish my days in shame.