Jeremiah 20:18

Jeremiah 20:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
• New International Version (NIV)Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, That my days should be consumed with shame?

Context of Jeremiah 20:18

16May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon, 17because he did not kill me in the womb so that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb forever enlarged. Why did I come out of the womb to see only trouble and sorrow, and to end my days in shame?

Jeremiah 20:18 word by word

לָ֤מָּה זֶּה֙ מֵרֶ֣חֶם יָצָ֔אתִי לִרְא֥וֹת עָמָ֖ל וְיָג֑וֹן וַיִּכְל֥וּ בְּבֹ֖שֶׁת יָמָֽי׃ פRead the interlinear

• Whyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• Whyזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• did I come outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: produceH3318
• of the wombרֶ֫חֶםrechem · wombH7358
• to seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• only troubleעָמָל‛âmâl · troubleH5999
• and sorrowיָגוֹןyâgôn · sorrowH3015
• and to endכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: expendH3615
• my daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• in shameבֹּ֫שֶׁתbôsheth · shameH1322

Cross-references for Jeremiah 20:18

• Job 3:20Why is light given to the miserable, and life to the bitter of soul,
• Job 14:1“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.
• Lamentations 3:1I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath.
• Jeremiah 8:18My sorrow is beyond healing; my heart is faint within me.
• Genesis 3:16To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
• Psalms 90:10The length of our days is seventy years— or eighty if we are strong— yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
• Lamentations 1:12Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day of His fierce anger?
• John 16:20Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
• Hebrews 10:36You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
• Psalms 69:19You know my reproach, my shame and disgrace. All my adversaries are before You.
• Isaiah 1:6From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness— only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.
• Isaiah 61:7Instead of shame, My people will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
• Acts 5:41The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
• 1 Corinthians 4:9For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.
• 2 Timothy 1:12For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.
• Hebrews 11:36Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 20:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Wherefore came I forth - It would have been well had I never been born, as I have neither comfort in my life, nor comfort in my work.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7-18Verses 7-18 In the rest of the chapter we have an outbreak of deep emotion, of which the first part ends in a cry of hope Jeremiah 20:13, followed nevertheless by curses upon the day of his birth. Was this the result of feelings wounded by the indignities of a public scourging and a night spent in the stocks? Or was it not the mental agony of knowing that his ministry had (as it seemed) failed? He stands indeed before the multitudes with unbending…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-18Verses 14-18 When grace has the victory, it is good to be ashamed of our folly, to admire the goodness of God, and be warned to guard our spirits another time. See how strong the temptation was, over which the prophet got the victory by Divine assistance! He is angry that his first breath was not his last. While we remember that these wishes are not recorded for us to utter the like, we may learn good lessons from them. See how much those who think they…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-18Jeremiah felt his life had no purpose.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1814-18. The contrast between the spirit of this passage and the preceding thanksgiving is to be explained thus: to show how great was the deliverance (Jr 20:13), he subjoins a picture of what his wounded spirit had been previous to his deliverance; I had said in the time of my imprisonment, "Cursed be the day"; my feeling was that of Job (Job 3:3, 10, 11, whose words Jeremiah therefore copies). Though Jeremiah's zeal had been stirred up, not so much for…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 20:18

• Birthday
• Jeremiah
• Life
• Murmuring

In the dictionaries

• Derision
• Familiar
• Genesis
• Jeremiah (2)
• Job, Book of
• Shame
• Uriah; Uruah

Commentaries on Jeremiah 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings