Jeremiah 20:13-18 KJV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 20:7-13

Pashur's doom was to be a terror to himself; Jeremiah, even now, in this hour of temptation, is far from being so; and yet it cannot be denied but that he is here, through the infirmity of the flesh, strangely agitated within himself. Good men are but men at the best. God is not extreme to mark what they say and do amiss, and therefore we must not be so, but make the best of it. In these verses it appears that, upon occasion of the great indignation and injury that Pashur did to Jeremiah,... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 20:14-18

What is the meaning of this? Does there proceed out of the same mouth blessing and cursing? Could he that said so cheerfully (Jer. 20:13), Sing unto the Lord, praise you the Lord, say so passionately (Jer. 20:14), Cursed be the day wherein I was born? How shall we reconcile these? What we have in these verses the prophet records, I suppose, to his own shame, as he had recorded that in the foregoing verses to God's glory. It seems to be a relation of the ferment he had been in while he was in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:13

Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord ,.... The prophet, from prayer, proceeds to praise; and from expressions of faith and confidence in the Lord, having committed his cause to him, being assured of success, rises up to a holy triumph and joy; and calls upon his soul, and upon others, to join with him in praising, and singing praises to the Lord: this is said, as Kimchi observes, with respect to the saints in Jerusalem; for there were some good people doubtless there at this time, a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:14

Cursed be the day wherein I was born ,.... If this was said immediately upon the foregoing, it was a most strange and sudden change of frame indeed that the prophet came into, from praising God, to cursing the day of his birth; wherefore some have thought it was delivered at another time, when in great anguish of spirit; very likely when so ill used by Pashur, as before related; but here repeated, to show in what distress he had been, and what reason there was for praise and thanksgiving;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:15

Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father ,.... The word signifies commonly good tidings, as the news of a child born, and especially a man child, is to its parent. The Septuagint use the same word the angel did, when he brought the tidings of the birth of Christ, Luke 2:10 . This was still more foolish and sinful, to curse the man that carried the tidings of his birth to his father; who did a right thing, and what was acceptable, and perhaps might be a good man. Kimchi... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:16

And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew ,.... In his fury, as the Targum and Septuagint add. Meaning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, who were utterly destroyed, and were never recovered: and repented not ; whose sentence God never repented of, nor revoked: this was very severe and uncharitable, to wish for so sore a destruction upon an innocent person; and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide ; as soon as he is up in the morning, the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:17

Because he slew me not from the womb ,.... As soon as he came out of it; that is, as soon as he was born; either because God slew him not so soon, as Kimchi; or the angel of death, as Jarchi: or rather the man that carried the tidings of his birth to his father, who is all along spoken of in the two former verses; he curses him for not doing that, which, had he done, would have been exceeding criminal in him indeed; for not committing murder, even for not murdering an innocent babe; or... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:18

Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow ,.... "Labour" in performing his work and office as a prophet; and "sorrow" in suffering reproach, contempt, and persecution for it; which to avoid, he wishes he had never been born: a sign of a very fretful and impatient spirit, and of a carnal frame. Jarchi thinks this refers to the destruction of the temple; that my days should be consumed with shame ? through the bad usage of him, the reproach that was cast upon him, and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 20:13

Sing unto the Lord - He was so completely delivered from all fear, that although he remained in the same circumstances, yet he exults in the Divine protection, and does not fear the face of any adversary. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 20:14

Cursed be the day wherein I was born - If we take these words literally, and suppose them to be in their proper place, they are utterly inconsistent with that state of confidence in which he exulted a few minutes before. If they are the language of Jeremiah, they must have been spoken on a prior occasion, when probably he had given way to a passionate hastiness. They might well comport with the state he was in Jeremiah 20:9 . I really believe these verses have got out of their proper... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 20:7-13

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 20:14-18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:13

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:14

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:16

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:17

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:18

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 20:13

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 20:14

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