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?
• 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?
• New Living Translation (NLT)Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.

Context of Jeremiah 20:18

16Let that man be like the cities that the Lord overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon, 17because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great. Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?

Jeremiah 20:18 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• Wherefore came I forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: produceH3318
• out of the wombרֶ֫חֶםrechem · wombH7358
• to seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• labourעָמָל‛âmâl · troubleH5999
• and sorrowיָגוֹןyâgôn · sorrowH3015
• that my daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• should be consumedכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: expendH3615
• with shameבֹּ֫שֶׁתbôsheth · shameH1322

Cross-references for Jeremiah 20:18

• Job 3:20"Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,
• Job 14:1"Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.
• Lamentations 3:1I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath;
• Jeremiah 8:18My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me.
• Genesis 3:16To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you."
• Psalms 90:10The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
• Lamentations 1:12"Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.
• John 16:20Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.
• Hebrews 10:36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
• Psalms 69:19You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you.
• Isaiah 1:6From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.
• Isaiah 61:7Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.
• Acts 5:41Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
• 1 Corinthians 4:9For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.
• 2 Timothy 1:12which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.
• Hebrews 11:36Others suffered 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