Jeremiah 20:7–18
7 You deceiveda i me, Lord, and I was deceivedb;
you overpoweredj me and prevailed.
I am ridiculedk all day long;
everyone mocksl me.
proclaiming violence and destruction.m
So the word of the Lord has brought me
insult and reproachn all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word
or speak anymore in his name,”o
his word is in my heart like a fire,p
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;q
indeed, I cannot.
“Terrorr on every side!
Denounces him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friendst
are waiting for me to slip,u saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevailv over him
and take our revengew on him.”
11 But the Lordx is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutorsy will stumble and not prevail.z
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;a
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,b
let me see your vengeancec on them,
for to you I have committedd my cause.
13 Singe to the Lord!
Give praise to the Lord!
He rescuesf the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.g
14 Cursed be the day I was born!h
May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
who made him very glad, saying,
“A child is born to you—a son!”
16 May that man be like the townsi
the Lord overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailingj in the morning,
a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,k
with my mother as my grave,
her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I ever come out of the wombl
to see troublem and sorrow
and to end my days in shame?n