Jeremiah 20:18

18 ¹Why did I come out from the womb ²to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?

Jeremiah 20:18 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 20:18

Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and
sorrow
"Labour" in performing his work and office as a prophet; and "sorrow" in suffering reproach, contempt, and persecution for it; which to avoid, he wishes he had never been born: a sign of a very fretful and impatient spirit, and of a carnal frame. Jarchi thinks this refers to the destruction of the temple; that my days should be consumed with shame?
through the bad usage of him, the reproach that was cast upon him, and the contempt he was had in for prophesying in the name of the Lord. All this shows that there is sin in the best of men, and what they are when left to themselves; how weak, foolish, and sinful they appear. And Jeremiah recording these his sins and failings, is an argument of the uprightness and sincerity of the man, and of the truth of Scripture.

Jeremiah 20:18 In-Context

16 Let that man be like the cities that the Lord overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon,

17 because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great.

18 Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?

Cross References

• 1. 20:18 [Job 3:20]
• 2. 20:18 [Lam. 3:1, 2]