Jeremiah 20:7-18

7O Lord, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have 1overcome me and prevailed. I have become a 2laughingstock all day long; Everyone 3mocks me.8For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I 4proclaim violence and destruction, Because for me the 5word of the Lord has 6resulted In reproach and derision all day long.9But if I say, “I will not 7remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,” Then in 8my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And 9I cannot endure it.10For 10I have heard the whispering of many, “11Terror on every side! 12Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!” 13All my 14trusted friends, Watching for my fall, say: “Perhaps he will be 15deceived, so that we may 16prevail against him And take our revenge on him.”11But the 17Lord is with me like a dread champion; Therefore my 18persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed, because they have 19failed, With an 20everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.12Yet, O Lord of hosts, You who 21test the righteous, Who see the 22mind and the heart; Let me 23see Your vengeance on them; For 24to You I have set forth my cause.1325Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord! For He has 26delivered the soul of the needy one From the hand of evildoers.

14Cursed be the 27day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!15Cursed be the man who brought the news To my father, saying, “A 2829baby boy has been born to you!” And made him very happy.16But let that man be like the cities Which the Lord 30overthrew without 31relenting, And let him hear an 32outcry in the morning And a 33shout of alarm at noon;17Because he did not 34kill me 35before birth, So that my mother would have been my grave, And her womb ever pregnant.18Why did I ever come forth from the womb To 36look on trouble and sorrow, So that my 37days have been spent in 38shame?