New International Version
Jeremiah 20:8
8Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach 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.
- 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.
- 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 live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’ ” 7You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. 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. 9But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. 10I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over 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 4:19Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry.
- Jeremiah 5:1“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.
- Jeremiah 6:6This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Cut down the trees and build siege ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression.
- Jeremiah 7:9“ ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known,
- Jeremiah 13:13then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 15:1Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go!
- Jeremiah 17:27But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’ ”
- Jeremiah 18:16Their land will be an object of horror and of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads.
- Jeremiah 19:7“ ‘In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals.
- Jeremiah 28:8From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms.
- Jeremiah 20:7You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.
- Jeremiah 6:10To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.
- 2 Chronicles 36:16But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.
- Lamentations 3:61Lord, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me—
- Luke 11:45One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”
- Hebrews 11:26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries