Jeremiah 20:8

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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.

Context of Jeremiah 20:8

6You, Pashhur, and all your household will go into exile in Babylon. You will die there and you will be buried there. The same thing will happen to all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’” 7Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. Now I have become a constant laughingstock. Everyone ridicules me. For whenever I prophesy, I must cry out, “Violence and destruction are coming!” This message from the Lord has made me an object of continual insults and derision. 9Sometimes I think, “I will make no mention of his message. I will not speak as his messenger any more.” But then his message becomes like a fire locked up inside of me, burning in my heart and soul. I grow weary of trying to hold it in; I cannot contain it. 10I hear many whispering words of intrigue against me. Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” All my so-called friends are just watching for something that would lead to my downfall. They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up, so we can prevail over him and get our revenge on him.

Jeremiah 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 4:19I said, “Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet; the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!
• Jeremiah 5:1The Lord said, “Go up and down through the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and see for yourselves. Search through its public squares. See if any of you can find a single person who deals honestly and tries to be truthful. If you can, then I will not punish this city.
• Jeremiah 6:6All of this is because the Lord who rules over all has said: ‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem and build up a siege ramp against its walls. This is the city which is to be punished. Nothing but oppression happens in it.
• Jeremiah 7:9You steal. You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to other gods whom you have not previously known.
• Jeremiah 13:13Then tell them, ‘The Lord says, “I will soon fill all the people who live in this land with stupor. I will also fill the kings from David’s dynasty, the priests, the prophets, and the citizens of Jerusalem with stupor.
• Jeremiah 15:1Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I would not feel pity for them! Get them away from me! Tell them to go away!
• Jeremiah 17:27But you must obey me and set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not carry any loads in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If you disobey, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. It will burn down all the fortified dwellings in Jerusalem and no one will be able to put it out.’”
• Jeremiah 18:16So their land will become an object of horror. People will forever hiss out their scorn over it. All who pass that way will be filled with horror and will shake their heads in derision.
• Jeremiah 19:7In this place I will thwart the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I will deliver them over to the power of their enemies who are seeking to kill them. They will die by the sword at the hands of their enemies. I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild beasts to eat.
• Jeremiah 28:8From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably prophesied war, disaster, and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms.
• Jeremiah 20:7Lord, you coerced me into being a prophet, and I allowed you to do it. You overcame my resistance and prevailed over me. Now I have become a constant laughingstock. Everyone ridicules me.
• Jeremiah 6:10I answered, “Who would listen if I spoke to them and warned them? Their ears are so closed that they cannot hear! Indeed, what the Lord says is offensive to them. They do not like it at all.
• 2 Chronicles 36:16But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets. Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.
• Lamentations 3:61You have heard their taunts, O Lord, all their plots against me.
• Luke 11:45One of the experts in religious law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult us too.”
• Hebrews 11:26He regarded abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on 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

• Jeremiah
• Persecution

In the dictionaries

• Derision
• Familiar
• Jeremiah (2)
• 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