Jeremiah 20:7–13

Jeremiah Denounces His Persecutors

⁷O Lord, you have enticed me,

and I was enticed;

you have overpowered me,

and you have prevailed.

I have become a laughingstock all day long;

everyone mocks me.^*

⁸For whenever I speak, I must cry out;

I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”

For the word of the Lord has become for me

a reproach and derision all day long.^*

⁹If 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.^*

¹⁰For 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.”^*

¹¹But the Lord is with me like a terrifying 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.^*

¹²O 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.^*

¹³Sing to the Lord;

praise the Lord!

For he has delivered the life of the needy

from the hands of evildoers.^*