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

16But may that man be like the cities Which the Lord overthrew without relenting, And may he hear an outcry in the morning And an alarm for war at noon; 17Because he did not kill me before birth, So that my mother would have been my grave, And her womb forever pregnant. Why did I ever come out of the womb To look at trouble and sorrow, So that my days have been spent 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
• did I everזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• comeיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: produceH3318
• outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: produceH3318
• of the wombרֶ֫חֶםrechem · wombH7358
• lookרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• at troubleעָמָל‛âmâl · troubleH5999
• and sorrowיָגוֹןyâgôn · sorrowH3015
• daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• have been spentכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: expendH3615
• shameבֹּ֫שֶׁתbôsheth · shameH1322

Cross-references for Jeremiah 20:18

• Job 3:20“Why is light given to one burdened with grief, And life to the bitter of soul,
• Job 14:1“Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil.
• Lamentations 3:1I am the man who has seen misery Because of the rod of His wrath.
• Jeremiah 8:18My sorrow is beyond healing, My heart is faint within me!
• Genesis 3:16To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
• Psalms 90:10As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is only trouble and tragedy; For it quickly passes, and we disappear.
• Lamentations 1:12“Is it nothing to all you who pass this way? Look and see if there is any pain like my pain Which was inflicted on me, With which the Lord tormented me on the day of His fierce anger.
• John 16:20Truly, truly I say to you that you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy!
• Hebrews 10:36For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
• Psalms 69:19You know my disgrace, my shame, and my dishonor; All my enemies are known to You.
• Isaiah 1:6From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing healthy in it, Only bruises, slashes, and raw wounds; Not pressed out nor bandaged, Nor softened with oil.
• Isaiah 61:7Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, Everlasting joy will be theirs.
• Acts 5:41So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.
• 1 Corinthians 4:9For I think, God has exhibited us, the apostles, last of all as men condemned to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to mankind.
• 2 Timothy 1:12For this reason I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to protect what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
• Hebrews 11:36and others experienced mocking and flogging, and further, 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