9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word

or speak anymore in his name,”

his word is in my heart like a fire,

a fire shut up in my bones.

I am weary of holding it in;

indeed, I cannot.

10 I hear many whispering,

“Terror on every side!

Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”

All my friends

are waiting for me to slip, saying,

“Perhaps he will be deceived;

then we will prevail over him

and take our revenge on him.”

11 But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior;

so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.

They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;

their dishonor will never be forgotten.

12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous

and probe the heart and mind,

let me see your vengeance on them,

for to you I have committed my cause.

9 If I say, “I will not mention him,

or speak any more in his name,”

there is in my heart as it were a burning fire

shut up in my bones,

and I am weary with holding it in,

and I cannot.

10 For I hear many whispering.

Terror is on every side!

“Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”

say all my close friends,

watching for my fall.

“Perhaps he will be deceived;

then we can overcome him

and take our revenge on him.”

11 But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior;

therefore my persecutors will stumble;

they will not overcome me.

They will be greatly shamed,

for they will not succeed.

Their eternal dishonor

will never be forgotten.

12 O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous,

who sees the heart and the mind,

let me see your vengeance upon them,

for to you have I committed my cause.

9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him,

Nor speak any more in his name.

But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones,

And I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

10 For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side.

Report, say they, and we will report it.

All my familiars watched for my halting, saying,

Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him,

And we shall take our revenge on him.

11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one:

Therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail:

They shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper:

Their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.

12 But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous,

And seest the reins and the heart,

Let me see thy vengeance on them:

For unto thee have I opened my cause.

9 But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord

or speak in his name,

his word burns in my heart like a fire.

It’s like a fire in my bones!

I am worn out trying to hold it in!

I can’t do it!

10 I have heard the many rumors about me.

They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.”

They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.”

Even my old friends are watching me,

waiting for a fatal slip.

“He will trap himself,” they say,

“and then we will get our revenge on him.”

11 But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior.

Before him my persecutors will stumble.

They cannot defeat me.

They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated.

Their dishonor will never be forgotten.

12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,

you test those who are righteous,

and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets.

Let me see your vengeance against them,

for I have committed my cause to you.

9 Sometimes I say to myself,

“I will forget about the Lord.

I will not speak anymore in his name.”

But then his message becomes like a burning fire inside me,

deep within my bones.

I get tired of trying to hold it inside of me,

and finally, I cannot hold it in.

10 I hear many people whispering about me:

“Terror on every side!

Tell on him! Let’s tell the rulers about him.”

My friends are all just waiting for me to make some mistake.

They are saying,

“Maybe we can trick him

so we can defeat him

and pay him back.”

11 But the Lord is with me like a strong warrior,

so those who are chasing me will trip and fall;

they will not defeat me.

They will be ashamed because they have failed,

and their shame will never be forgotten.

12 Lord All-Powerful, you test good people;

you look deeply into the heart and mind of a person.

I have told you my arguments against these people,

so let me see you give them the punishment they deserve.

9 And if I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I cannot contain. 10 For I have heard the defaming of many, terror on every side. Denounce, and we will denounce him, say all my familiar friends, they that watch for my fall; peradventure he will be persuaded, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him. 11 But Jehovah is with me as a mighty one and a terrible: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail; they shall be utterly put to shame, because they have not dealt wisely, even with an everlasting dishonor which shall never be forgotten. 12 But, O Jehovah of hosts, that triest the righteous, that seest the heart and the mind, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I revealed my cause.

9 And I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name: but it was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I became wearied with holding in, and I could not. 10 For I have heard the defaming of many, terror on every side: Report, and we will report it. All my familiars are watching for my stumbling: Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him; and we shall take our revenge on him. 11 But Jehovah is with me as a mighty terrible one; therefore my persecutors shall stumble and shall not prevail; they shall be greatly ashamed, for they have not prospered: it shall be an everlasting confusion that shall not be forgotten. 12 And thou, Jehovah of hosts, who triest the righteous, who seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I revealed my cause.

9 I 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. 

10 I 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.” 

11 But 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. 

12 But 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. 

9 If I say, “I won’t mention Him

or speak any longer in His name,”

His message becomes a fire burning in my heart,

shut up in my bones.

I become tired of holding it in,

and I cannot prevail.

10 For I have heard the gossip of many people,

“Terror is on every side!

Report him; let’s report him!”

Everyone I trusted watches for my fall.

“Perhaps he will be deceived

so that we might prevail against him

and take our vengeance on him.”

11 But the Lord is with me like a violent warrior.

Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.

Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed,

an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten.

12 Lord of Hosts, testing the righteous

and seeing the heart and mind,

let me see Your vengeance on them,

for I have presented my case to You.

9 If I say, “I will not mention him,

or speak any more in his name,”

then within me there is something like a burning fire

shut up in my bones;

I am weary with holding it in,

and I cannot.

10 For I hear many whispering:

“Terror is all around!

Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”

All my close friends

are watching for me to stumble.

“Perhaps he can be enticed,

and we can prevail against him,

and take our revenge on him.”

11 But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior;

therefore my persecutors will stumble,

and they will not prevail.

They will be greatly shamed,

for they will not succeed.

Their eternal dishonor

will never be forgotten.

12 O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous,

you see the heart and the mind;

let me see your retribution upon them,

for to you I have committed my cause.

9 But if I say, “I will not mention him

and I will no longer speak in his name,”

then it becomes in my heart like a fire burning,

locked up in my bones,

and I struggle to contain it,

and I am not able.

10 For I hear the rumor of many,

“Terror is from all around, denounce him,

yes, let us denounce him!”

All my close friends are watchers of my stumbling,

saying, “perhaps he can be persuaded,

and we can prevail over him,

and we can take our revenge on him.”

11 But Yahweh is with me like a powerful warrior.

Therefore my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail.

They will be very ashamed, for they will not achieve success.

Their everlasting insult will not be forgotten.

12 Yet, O Yahweh of hosts, who tests the righteous,

who sees the heart and the mind,

let me see your retribution upon them,

for to you I have revealed my legal case.

9 Sometimes I think, “I won’t talk about him anymore.

I’ll never speak in his name again.”

But then your message burns in my heart.

It’s like a fire inside my very bones.

I’m tired of holding it in.

In fact, I can’t.

10 I hear many people whispering,

“There is terror on every side!

Report Jeremiah! Let’s report him to the authorities!”

All of my friends

are waiting for me to slip.

They are saying, “Perhaps he will be tricked

into making a mistake.

Then we’ll win out over him.

We’ll get even with him.”

11 But you are with me like a mighty warrior.

So those who are trying to harm me will trip and fall.

They won’t win out over me.

They will fail. They’ll be totally put to shame.

Their dishonor will never be forgotten.

12 Lord, you rule over all.

You test those who do what is right.

You see what is in people’s hearts and minds.

So pay them back for what they’ve done.

I’ve committed my cause to you.

9 But if I say, “I will not remember Him

Or speak anymore in His name,”

Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire

Shut up in my bones;

And I am weary of holding it in,

And I cannot endure it.

10 For I have heard the whispering of many,

“Terror on every side!

Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!”

All my trusted friends,

Watching for my fall, say:

“Perhaps he will be deceived, so that we may prevail against him

And take our revenge on him.”

11 But the Lord is with me like a dread champion;

Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.

They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed,

With an everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.

12 Yet, O Lord of hosts, You who test the righteous,

Who see the mind and the heart;

Let me see Your vengeance on them;

For to You I have set forth my cause.