New Living Translation
Jeremiah 20:9
9But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!
Jeremiah 20:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
- New International Version (NIV)But 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)If 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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.
Context of Jeremiah 20:9
7O Lord, you misled me, and I allowed myself to be misled. You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me. Now I am mocked every day; everyone laughs at me. 8When I speak, the words burst out. “Violence and destruction!” I shout. So these messages from the Lord have made me a household joke. But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it! 10I have heard the many rumors about me. They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.” They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.” Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. “He will trap himself,” they say, “and then we will get our revenge on him.” 11But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten.
Read all of Jeremiah 20Jeremiah 20:9 word by word
וְאָמַרְתִּ֣י לֹֽא־אֶזְכְּרֶ֗נּוּ וְלֹֽא־אֲדַבֵּ֥ר עוֹד֙ בִּשְׁמ֔וֹ וְהָיָ֤ה בְלִבִּי֙ כְּאֵ֣שׁ בֹּעֶ֔רֶת עָצֻ֖ר בְּעַצְמֹתָ֑י וְנִלְאֵ֥יתִי כַּֽלְכֵ֖ל וְלֹ֥א אוּכָֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then I saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- I will not make mentionזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
- of him, nor speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- any more in his nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- was in mine heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
- as a burningבָּעַרbâ‛ar · to burn: burnH1197
- fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- shut upעָצַר‛âtsar · to restrainH6113
- in my bonesעֶ֫צֶם‛etsem · boneH6106
- and I was wearyלָאָהlâ'âh · be wearyH3811
- with forbearingכּוּלkûl · to sustainH3557
- and I couldיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
Cross-references for Jeremiah 20:9
- 1 Kings 19:3Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.
- John 1:2He existed in the beginning with God.
- John 4:2(though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did).
- Luke 9:62But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
- Acts 15:37Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark.
- Jeremiah 6:11So now I am filled with the Lord’s fury. Yes, I am tired of holding it in! “I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets and on gatherings of young men, on husbands and wives and on those who are old and gray.
- Job 32:18For I am full of pent-up words, and the spirit within me urges me on.
- Psalms 39:3The more I thought about it, the hotter I got, igniting a fire of words:
- Ezekiel 3:14The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went in bitterness and turmoil, but the Lord’s hold on me was strong.
- Acts 4:20We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
- Acts 17:16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.
- Acts 18:5And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.
- 1 Corinthians 9:16Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!
- 2 Corinthians 5:13If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 20:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9I wilt not make mention of him - I will renounce the prophetic office, and return to my house. As a burning fire shut up in my bones - He felt stings of conscience for the hasty and disobedient resolution he had formed; he felt ashamed of his own weakness, that did not confide in the promise and strength of God; and God's word was in him as a strongly raging fire, and he was obliged to deliver it, in order to get rid of the tortures which he felt from…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. 99. his word was--or literally, "there was in my heart, as it were, a burning fire," that is, the divine afflatus or impulse to speak was as ... (Job 32:18, 19; Psa 39:3). weary with forbearing, and I could not--"I labored to contain myself, but I could not" (Ac 18:5; compare Jr 23:9; 1Co 9:16, 17).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 20:9
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
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