English Standard Version
Jeremiah 20:8
8For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.
Jeremiah 20:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
- New International Version (NIV)Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, “Violence and plunder!” Because the word of the Lord was made to me A reproach and a derision daily.
- New Living Translation (NLT)When I speak, the words burst out. “Violence and destruction!” I shout. So these messages from the Lord have made me a household joke.
Context of Jeremiah 20:8
6And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely." 7O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I 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," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. 10For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! "Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" say all my close friends, watching for my fall. "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him."
Read all of Jeremiah 20Jeremiah 20:8 word by word
כִּֽי־מִדֵּ֤י אֲדַבֵּר֙ אֶזְעָ֔ק חָמָ֥ס וָשֹׁ֖ד אֶקְרָ֑א כִּֽי־הָיָ֨ה דְבַר־יְהוָ֥ה לִ֛י לְחֶרְפָּ֥ה וּלְקֶ֖לֶס כָּל־הַיּֽוֹם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For sinceדַּיday · sufficiencyH1767
- I spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- I cried outזָעַקzâ‛aq · to cry outH2199
- I criedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call outH7121
- violenceחָמָסchâmâs · violenceH2555
- and spoilשֹׁדshôd shôd · violenceH7701
- because the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- was made a reproachחֶרְפָּהcherpâh · reproachH2781
- unto me, and a derisionקֶ֫לֶסqeles · derisionH7047
- dailyיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
Cross-references for Jeremiah 20:8
- Jeremiah 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh the walls of my heart! My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent, for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
- Jeremiah 5:1Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note! Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her.
- Jeremiah 6:6For thus says the Lord of hosts: "Cut down her trees; cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her.
- Jeremiah 7:9Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known,
- Jeremiah 13:13Then you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 15:1Then the Lord said to me, "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!
- Jeremiah 17:27But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.'"
- Jeremiah 18:16making their land a horror, a thing to be hissed at forever. Everyone who passes by it is horrified and shakes his head.
- Jeremiah 19:7And in this place I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth.
- Jeremiah 28:8The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms.
- Jeremiah 20:7O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.
- Jeremiah 6:10To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.
- 2 Chronicles 36:16But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.
- Lamentations 3:61"You have heard their taunts, O Lord, all their plots against me.
- Luke 11:45One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also."
- Hebrews 11:26He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 20:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8I cried violence and spoil - This was the burden of the message thou didst give me.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. 7-13Verses 7-13 The prophet complains of the insult and injury he experienced. But Jr 20:7 may be read, Thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded. Thou wast stronger than I; and didst overpower me by the influence of thy Spirit upon me. So long as we see ourselves in the way of God, and of duty, it is weakness and folly, when we meet with difficulties and discouragements, to wish we had never set out in it. The prophet found the grace of God mighty in him…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9Jeremiah could not stop speaking God's judgment, even though people mocked him for it (see also Job 32:18–20; Psalm 39:1–3; Acts 4:18–20).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Rather, "Whenever I speak, I cry out. Concerning violence and spoil, I (am compelled to) cry out," that is, complain [Maurer]. English Version in the last clause is more graphic, "I cried violence and spoil" (Jr 6:7)! I could not speak in a calm tone; their desperate wickedness compelled me to "cry out." because--rather, "therefore," the apodosis of the previous sentence; because in discharging my prophetic functions, I not merely spake, but cried; and…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 20:8
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries