HIS WORD A FIRE IN MY HEART
Key verse: 9
NIV
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 You deceived[a](A) me, Lord, and I was deceived[b];
you overpowered(B) me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed(C) all day long;
everyone mocks(D) me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out
proclaiming violence and destruction.(E)
So the word of the Lord has brought me
insult and reproach(F) all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word
or speak anymore in his name,”(G)
his word is in my heart like a fire,(H)
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;(I)
indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
“Terror(J) on every side!
Denounce(K) him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends(L)
are waiting for me to slip,(M) saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail(N) over him
and take our revenge(O) on him.”
11 But the Lord(P) is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors(Q) will stumble and not prevail.(R)
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;(S)
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,(T)
let me see your vengeance(U) on them,
for to you I have committed(V) my cause.
13 Sing(W) to the Lord!
Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues(X) the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.(Y)
14 Cursed be the day I was born!(Z)
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 towns(AA)
the Lord overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing(AB) in the morning,
a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,(AC)
with my mother as my grave,
her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb(AD)
to see trouble(AE) and sorrow
and to end my days in shame?(AF)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
Cross references
- Jeremiah 20:7 : S Ex 5:23; 22:16
- Jeremiah 20:7 : Isa 8:11; Am 3:8; 1Co 9:16
- Jeremiah 20:7 : Job 12:4
- Jeremiah 20:7 : S Job 17:2; S Ps 119:21
- Jeremiah 20:8 : Jer 6:7; 28:8
- Jeremiah 20:8 : S 2Ch 36:16; S Jer 6:10
- Jeremiah 20:9 : Jer 44:16
- Jeremiah 20:9 : S Ps 39:3; S Jer 4:19
- Jeremiah 20:9 : S Job 4:2; S Jer 6:11; Am 3:8; Ac 4:20
- Jeremiah 20:10 : Jer 6:25
- Jeremiah 20:10 : Ne 6:6-13; Isa 29:21
- Jeremiah 20:10 : S Job 19:14; S Jer 13:21
- Jeremiah 20:10 : S Ps 57:4; S Jer 18:22; Lk 11:53-54
- Jeremiah 20:10 : S 1Ki 19:2
- Jeremiah 20:10 : S 1Sa 18:25; S Jer 11:19
- Jeremiah 20:11 : Jer 1:8; Ro 8:31
- Jeremiah 20:11 : Jer 15:15; 17:18
- Jeremiah 20:11 : S Ps 129:2
- Jeremiah 20:11 : S Jer 7:19; 23:40
- Jeremiah 20:12 : S Ps 7:9; S Jer 17:10
- Jeremiah 20:12 : Dt 32:35; S Ro 12:19
- Jeremiah 20:12 : Ps 62:8; Jer 11:20
- Jeremiah 20:13 : S Isa 12:6
- Jeremiah 20:13 : Ps 34:6; 35:10
- Jeremiah 20:13 : S Ps 97:10
- Jeremiah 20:14 : S Job 3:8, 16; Jer 15:10
- Jeremiah 20:16 : S Ge 19:25
- Jeremiah 20:16 : S Jer 6:26
- Jeremiah 20:17 : S Job 3:16; S 10:18-19
- Jeremiah 20:18 : S Job 3:10-11; S Ecc 4:2
- Jeremiah 20:18 : S Ge 3:17; S Job 5:7
- Jeremiah 20:18 : S 1Ki 19:4; Ps 90:9; 102:3
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
7 O Lord, (A)you have deceived me,
and I was deceived;
(B)you are stronger than I,
and you have prevailed.
(C)I have become a laughingstock all the day;
everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, (D)“Violence and destruction!”
For (E)the word of the Lord has become for me
(F)a reproach and (G)derision all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
(H)there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and (I)I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
10 (J)For I hear many whispering.
(K)Terror is on every side!
“Denounce him! (L)Let us denounce him!”
say all my (M)close friends,
(N)watching for (O)my fall.
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then (P)we can overcome him
and take our revenge on him.”
11 But (Q)the Lord is with me as a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble;
(R)they will not overcome me.
(S)They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their (T)eternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.
12 O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous,
(U)who sees the heart and the mind,[a]
let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.
13 (V)Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hand of evildoers.
14 (W)Cursed be the day
on which I was born!
The day when my mother bore me,
let it not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,
“A son is born to you,”
(X)making him very glad.
16 Let that man be like (Y)the cities
that the Lord overthrew without pity;
(Z)let him hear a cry in the morning
and an alarm at noon,
17 (AA)because he did not kill me in the womb;
so my mother would have been my grave,
and her womb forever great.
18 (AB)Why did I come out from the womb
(AC)to see toil and sorrow,
and spend my days in shame?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 20:12 Hebrew kidneys
Cross references
- Jeremiah 20:7 : [Ezek. 14:9]
- Jeremiah 20:7 : [2 Pet. 1:21]
- Jeremiah 20:7 : Ps. 119:51; Lam. 3:14
- Jeremiah 20:8 : ch. 6:7
- Jeremiah 20:8 : ch. 6:10
- Jeremiah 20:8 : Ps. 44:13; 79:4
- Jeremiah 20:8 : Ps. 44:13; 79:4
- Jeremiah 20:9 : Job 32:18, 19; Ps. 39:3
- Jeremiah 20:9 : ch. 6:11
- Jeremiah 20:10 : Ps. 31:13
- Jeremiah 20:10 : See ch. 6:25
- Jeremiah 20:10 : [ch. 36:16, 20]
- Jeremiah 20:10 : Ps. 41:9; 55:13; [ch. 9:4; 38:22]
- Jeremiah 20:10 : [Ps. 56:6]
- Jeremiah 20:10 : Ps. 35:15
- Jeremiah 20:10 : ch. 1:19; 5:22
- Jeremiah 20:11 : See ch. 1:8
- Jeremiah 20:11 : See ch. 1:8
- Jeremiah 20:11 : ch. 17:18; 23:40
- Jeremiah 20:11 : ch. 23:40
- Jeremiah 20:12 : See ch. 11:20
- Jeremiah 20:13 : [Ps. 35:9, 10; 109:30, 31]
- Jeremiah 20:14 : ch. 15:10; Job 3:3
- Jeremiah 20:15 : [John 16:21]
- Jeremiah 20:16 : Gen. 19:25; Isa. 13:19
- Jeremiah 20:16 : ch. 18:22
- Jeremiah 20:17 : [Job 3:10, 11]
- Jeremiah 20:18 : [Job 3:20]
- Jeremiah 20:18 : [Lam. 3:1, 2]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. The word has brought me insult (7-1
)
Jeremiah complained to God. He had spoken God's word clearly, without compromise; because of this, he was insulted and beaten. People did not want to hear the truth. But he could not be silent because God's word was like a burning fire in his heart.
2. To you I committed my cause (11-13)
When even his friends turned against him, he turned to the Lord. He proclaimed, 'The Lord is with me like a mighty warrior.' He praised God who rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. He did not seek revenge on his enemies; he committed his cause to God.
3. Why was I born? (14-18)
When he thought about the words of warning which he must continue to proclaim, he could not but be sorrowful. But Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, spoke God's word to the people of his time and to us.
Prayer: Lord, let your word be a burning fire in me. Help me to teach it truthfully.
One Word: God's word is a burning fire