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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Jeremiah 20:14 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/20-14.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/17/24_Jer_20_14.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Jeremiah 20:14 - Jeremiah's Complaint" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="Cursed be the day I was born! 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May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/jeremiah/20.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />Yet I curse the day I was born! May no one celebrate the day of my birth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/jeremiah/20.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/jeremiah/20.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/jeremiah/20.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />Cursed <i>be</i> the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/jeremiah/20.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />Cursed <i>be</i> the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/jeremiah/20.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />Cursed be the day when I was born; May the day when my mother gave birth to me not be blessed!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/jeremiah/20.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />Cursed be the day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/jeremiah/20.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />Cursed be the day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/jeremiah/20.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />Cursed be the day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/jeremiah/20.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />Cursed be the day on which I was born; Do not bless the day on which my mother gave birth to me!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/jeremiah/20.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />May the day I was born be cursed. May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/jeremiah/20.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />May the day I was born be cursed. May the day my mother bore me never be blessed. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/jeremiah/20.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/jeremiah/20.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />Put a curse on the day I was born! Don't bless that day. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/jeremiah/20.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/jeremiah/20.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />Cursed is the day that I was born, the day that my mother gave birth to me. May it not be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/jeremiah/20.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />Curse the day I was born! Forget the day my mother gave me birth! <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/jeremiah/20.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />Let the day on which I was born be cursed. Don't let the day on which my mother gave birth to me be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/jeremiah/20.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/jeremiah/20.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />Cursed be the day I was born! May that day not be blessed when my mother gave birth to me. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/jeremiah/20.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />Cursed is the day in which I was born: do not let the day in which my mother bore me be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/jeremiah/20.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Cursed be the day in which I was born: let not the day in which my mother bore me be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/jeremiah/20.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />Cursed is the day in which I was born. Don’t let the day in which my mother bore me be blessed. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/jeremiah/20.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />Cursed [is] the day in which I was born, "" The day that my mother bore me, "" Let it not be blessed!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/jeremiah/20.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> Cursed is the day in which I was born, The day that my mother bare me, Let it not be blessed!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/jeremiah/20.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />Cursed the day which I was born in it; the day which my mother brought me forth shall not be blessed.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/jeremiah/20.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Cursed be the day wherein I was borne: let not the day in which my mother bore me, be blessed. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/jeremiah/20.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />Cursed is the day on which I was born! The day on which my mother gave birth to me: let it not be blessed!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/jeremiah/20.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />Cursed be the day on which I was born! May the day my mother gave me birth never be blessed! <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/jeremiah/20.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/jeremiah/20.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />Cursed be the day on which I was born; let not the day on which my mother bore me be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/jeremiah/20.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />Cursed is the day in which I was born, the day when my mother bore me! Let it not be blessed!<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/jeremiah/20.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Cursed be the day Wherein I was born; The day wherein my mother bore me, Let it not be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/jeremiah/20.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />Cursed be the day wherein I was born: the day wherein my mother brought me forth, let it not be blessed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5k55c51ZGhs?start=5982" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/jeremiah/20.htm">Jeremiah's Complaint</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">13</span>Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers. <span class="reftext">14</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/779.htm" title="779: ’ā·rūr (V-Qal-QalPassPrtcpl-ms) -- To curse. A primitive root; to execrate.">Cursed be</a> <a href="/hebrew/3117.htm" title="3117: hay·yō·wm (Art:: N-ms) -- Day. From an unused root meaning to be hot; a day, whether literal, or figurative.">the day</a> <a href="/hebrew/834.htm" title="834: ’ă·šer (Pro-r) -- Who, which, that. A primitive relative pronoun; who, which, what, that; also when, where, how, because, in order that, etc."></a> <a href="/hebrew/3205.htm" title="3205: yul·laḏ·tî (V-QalPass-Perf-1cs) -- A primitive root; to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage.">I was born!</a> <a href="/hebrew/bōw (Prep:: 3ms) -- "></a> <a href="/hebrew/3117.htm" title="3117: yō·wm (N-ms) -- Day. From an unused root meaning to be hot; a day, whether literal, or figurative.">May the day</a> <a href="/hebrew/834.htm" title="834: ’ă·šer- (Pro-r) -- Who, which, that. A primitive relative pronoun; who, which, what, that; also when, where, how, because, in order that, etc."></a> <a href="/hebrew/517.htm" title="517: ’im·mî (N-fsc:: 1cs) -- A mother. A primitive word; a mother; in a wide sense (like 'ab).">my mother</a> <a href="/hebrew/3205.htm" title="3205: yə·lā·ḏaṯ·nî (V-Qal-Perf-3fs:: 1cs) -- A primitive root; to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage.">bore me</a> <a href="/hebrew/408.htm" title="408: ’al- (Adv) -- Not (a subjective neg.). A negative particle; not; once as a noun, nothing.">never</a> <a href="/hebrew/1961.htm" title="1961: yə·hî (V-Qal-Imperf.Jus-3ms) -- To fall out, come to pass, become, be. A primitive root; to exist, i.e. Be or become, come to pass."></a> <a href="/hebrew/1288.htm" title="1288: ḇā·rūḵ (V-Qal-QalPassPrtcpl-ms) -- To kneel, bless. A primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God, and man; also to curse.">be blessed.</a> </span><span class="reftext">15</span>Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, saying, “A son is born to you,” bringing him great joy.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/job/3-1.htm">Job 3:1-3</a></span><br />After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. / And this is what he said: / “May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is conceived.’<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/job/3-11.htm">Job 3:11</a></span><br />Why did I not perish at birth; why did I not die as I came from the womb?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/job/3-20.htm">Job 3:20-23</a></span><br />Why is light given to the miserable, and life to the bitter of soul, / who long for death that does not come, and search for it like hidden treasure, / who rejoice and greatly exult when they reach the grave? ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/job/10-18.htm">Job 10:18-19</a></span><br />Why then did You bring me from the womb? Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me! / If only I had never come to be, but had been carried from the womb to the grave.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/job/14-1.htm">Job 14:1</a></span><br />“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/lamentations/3-1.htm">Lamentations 3:1-2</a></span><br />I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath. / He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness instead of light.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/lamentations/3-17.htm">Lamentations 3:17-18</a></span><br />My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. / So I say, “My strength has perished, along with my hope from the LORD.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/lamentations/3-43.htm">Lamentations 3:43-45</a></span><br />You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us; You have killed without pity. / You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through. / You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ecclesiastes/4-2.htm">Ecclesiastes 4:2-3</a></span><br />So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive. / But better than both is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ecclesiastes/7-1.htm">Ecclesiastes 7:1</a></span><br />A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_kings/19-4.htm">1 Kings 19:4</a></span><br />while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jonah/4-3.htm">Jonah 4:3</a></span><br />And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/26-38.htm">Matthew 26:38</a></span><br />Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/mark/14-34.htm">Mark 14:34</a></span><br />Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/luke/22-44.htm">Luke 22:44</a></span><br />And in His anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bore me be blessed.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/jeremiah/15-10.htm">Jeremiah 15:10</a></b></br> Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; <i>yet</i> every one of them doth curse me.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/job/3-3.htm">Job 3:3-16</a></b></br> Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night <i>in which</i> it was said, There is a man child conceived… </p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/jeremiah/16-3.htm">Bare</a> <a href="/jeremiah/16-3.htm">Birth</a> <a href="/jeremiah/17-7.htm">Blessed</a> <a href="/jeremiah/17-7.htm">Blessing</a> <a href="/jeremiah/16-3.htm">Bore</a> <a href="/jeremiah/16-3.htm">Born</a> <a href="/jeremiah/15-10.htm">Curse</a> <a href="/jeremiah/17-5.htm">Cursed</a> <a href="/jeremiah/16-7.htm">Mother</a> <a href="/jeremiah/16-19.htm">Wherein</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/jeremiah/22-26.htm">Bare</a> <a href="/jeremiah/20-17.htm">Birth</a> <a href="/ezekiel/3-12.htm">Blessed</a> <a href="/ezekiel/34-26.htm">Blessing</a> <a href="/jeremiah/20-15.htm">Bore</a> <a href="/jeremiah/20-15.htm">Born</a> <a href="/jeremiah/20-15.htm">Curse</a> <a href="/jeremiah/20-15.htm">Cursed</a> <a href="/jeremiah/20-17.htm">Mother</a> <a href="/jeremiah/22-28.htm">Wherein</a><div class="vheading2">Jeremiah 20</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/jeremiah/20-1.htm">Pashur, smiting Jeremiah, receives a new name, and a fearful doom.</a></span><br><span class="reftext">7. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/jeremiah/20-7.htm">Jeremiah complains of contempt;</a></span><br><span class="reftext">10. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/jeremiah/20-10.htm">of treachery;</a></span><br><span class="reftext">14. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/jeremiah/20-14.htm">and of his birth.</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/jeremiah/20.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/jeremiah/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/jeremiah/20.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>Cursed be the day I was born!</b><br>Jeremiah's lament reflects a deep personal anguish and despair, common in the prophetic literature where prophets often express their struggles with their divine calling. This phrase echoes <a href="/job/3.htm">Job 3:1-3</a>, where Job curses the day of his birth amidst his suffering. The expression of cursing one's birth highlights the intense emotional and spiritual turmoil faced by those chosen to deliver God's messages, often met with rejection and persecution. Jeremiah's ministry was marked by opposition, and this lament reveals the human side of a prophet grappling with the weight of his mission.<p><b>May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.</b><br>This continuation of the curse emphasizes the depth of Jeremiah's distress. In ancient Near Eastern culture, the birth of a child, especially a male, was typically a cause for celebration and blessing. By wishing that his birth never be blessed, Jeremiah is expressing a profound sense of regret and sorrow over his existence and the suffering it has brought him. This sentiment can be seen as a type of Christ, who also faced rejection and suffering despite being the bearer of God's message. The lamentation here is not just personal but reflects the broader rejection of God's word by the people of Judah, highlighting the prophet's role as a suffering servant.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/j/jeremiah.htm">Jeremiah</a></b><br>The prophet who is expressing deep anguish and despair in this verse. He is known for his prophecies of judgment and his personal struggles with the burden of his calling.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_day_of_birth.htm">The Day of Birth</a></b><br>This is a metaphorical reference to the day Jeremiah was born, which he curses due to his overwhelming suffering and the rejection he faces as a prophet.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/j/jeremiah's_mother.htm">Jeremiah's Mother</a></b><br>While not directly involved in the events of this verse, she is mentioned as the one who bore Jeremiah, highlighting the personal nature of his lament.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/j/jeremiah's_prophetic_ministry.htm">Jeremiah's Prophetic Ministry</a></b><br>The broader context of Jeremiah's life, marked by conflict, persecution, and the heavy burden of delivering God's messages to a rebellious people.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_city_of_jerusalem.htm">The City of Jerusalem</a></b><br>Although not directly mentioned in this verse, Jerusalem is the primary setting of Jeremiah's ministry and the focus of many of his prophecies.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_reality_of_despair.htm">The Reality of Despair</a></b><br>Even the most faithful servants of God can experience deep despair and anguish. This is a reminder that such feelings are part of the human experience and not necessarily a sign of weak faith.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_burden_of_prophetic_ministry.htm">The Burden of Prophetic Ministry</a></b><br>Jeremiah's lament underscores the heavy burden that comes with being a messenger of God, especially when the message is one of judgment and repentance.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_importance_of_lament.htm">The Importance of Lament</a></b><br>Lament is a biblical way to express grief and sorrow. It is a form of prayer that acknowledges pain while still turning to God.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/h/hope_beyond_despair.htm">Hope Beyond Despair</a></b><br>While Jeremiah curses the day of his birth, his life and writings also point to the hope and restoration that God promises. Believers are encouraged to look beyond their current suffering to the hope found in God.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/e/empathy_and_support.htm">Empathy and Support</a></b><br>Understanding Jeremiah's despair can help believers empathize with others who are suffering and offer support and encouragement.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_jeremiah_20.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Jeremiah 20</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/is_jeremiah_20_14-18_a_contradiction.htm">Does Jeremiah’s bitter lament in Jeremiah 20:14–18 contradict the portrayal of a steadfast prophet elsewhere in the book? </a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_to_manage_anger_at_god.htm">How should you handle anger towards God?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_challenges_come_with_a_tough_path.htm">What challenges arise from choosing a difficult path?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_is_job's_spirit_broken_in_17_1.htm">In Job 17:1, how can Job claim his spirit is broken if he continues to speak and survive throughout the rest of the narrative? </a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/jeremiah/20.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(14) <span class= "bld">Cursed be the day wherein I was born . . .</span>--The apparent strangeness of this relapse from the confidence of the two previous verses into a despair yet deeper than before is best explained by the supposition that it is in no sense part of the same poem or meditation, but a distinct fragment belonging to the same period, and placed in its present position by Jeremiah himself, or by the first editor of his prophecies. By some, indeed, it has been thought that we have here an accidental dislocation, and that <a href="/context/jeremiah/20-14.htm" title="Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bore me be blessed.">Jeremiah 20:14-18</a> should stand before <a href="/jeremiah/20-7.htm" title="O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and have prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocks me.">Jeremiah 20:7</a>. The prophet utters a cry of anguish yet keener than that which now precedes it, and borrows the language of that cry from the book of Job (<a href="/jeremiah/3-3.htm" title="Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain; and you had a whore's forehead, you refused to be ashamed.">Jeremiah 3:3</a>). The prophet turned in the depth of his suffering to the words in which the great representative of sufferers had <span class= "ital">"</span>cursed his day." The question whether we are to blame or to palliate such utterances, how far they harmonise with Christian feeling, is one on which we need not dwell long. It is enough to note (1) that, while we cannot make for them the half-evasive apology which sees in Jeremiah's prayers against his enemies, and in the imprecatory psalms, prophecies rather than prayers, they indicate the same temper as those psalms and prayers indicate when taken in their natural sense, and so help us to understand them; and (2) that in such cases, while we give thanks that we have the blessing of a higher law and the example of a higher life, we are not called upon to apportion praise or blame. It is enough to reverence, to sympathise, to be silent.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/jeremiah/20.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verses 14-18.</span> - Jeremiah curses the day of his birth. The passage is a further development of the complaint in <a href="/jeremiah/15-10.htm">Jeremiah 15:10</a>, and stands in no connection with the consolatory close of the preceding passage. There is a very striking parallel in <a href="/job/3-3.htm">Job 3:3-12</a>, and the question cannot be evaded, Which is the original? It is difficult to believe that Jeremiah copied from an earlier poem. Deep emotion expresses itself in language suggested by the moment; and, even after retouching his discourses, Jeremiah would leave much of the original expression. But impressions of this sort cannot be unreservedly trusted. The argument from parallel passages is only a subsidiary one in the determination of the date of books. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">Cursed be</span><br /><span class="heb">אָר֣וּר</span> <span class="translit">(’ā·rūr)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_779.htm">Strong's 779: </a> </span><span class="str2">To execrate</span><br /><br /><span class="word">the day</span><br /><span class="heb">הַיּ֔וֹם</span> <span class="translit">(hay·yō·wm)</span><br /><span class="parse">Article | Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3117.htm">Strong's 3117: </a> </span><span class="str2">A day</span><br /><br /><span class="word">I was born!</span><br /><span class="heb">יֻלַּ֖דְתִּי</span> <span class="translit">(yul·laḏ·tî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - QalPass - Perfect - first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3205.htm">Strong's 3205: </a> </span><span class="str2">To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage</span><br /><br /><span class="word">May the day</span><br /><span class="heb">י֛וֹם</span> <span class="translit">(yō·wm)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3117.htm">Strong's 3117: </a> </span><span class="str2">A day</span><br /><br /><span class="word">my mother</span><br /><span class="heb">אִמִּ֖י</span> <span class="translit">(’im·mî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_517.htm">Strong's 517: </a> </span><span class="str2">A mother, )</span><br /><br /><span class="word">bore me</span><br /><span class="heb">יְלָדַ֥תְנִי</span> <span class="translit">(yə·lā·ḏaṯ·nî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular | first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3205.htm">Strong's 3205: </a> </span><span class="str2">To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage</span><br /><br /><span class="word">never</span><br /><span class="heb">אַל־</span> <span class="translit">(’al-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adverb<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_408.htm">Strong's 408: </a> </span><span class="str2">Not</span><br /><br /><span class="word">be blessed.</span><br /><span class="heb">בָרֽוּךְ׃</span> <span class="translit">(ḇā·rūḵ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1288.htm">Strong's 1288: </a> </span><span class="str2">To kneel, to bless God, man, to curse</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Jeremiah 20:14 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Jeremiah 20:14 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Jeremiah 20:14 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Jeremiah 20:14 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Jeremiah 20:14 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Jeremiah 20:14 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Jeremiah 20:14 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Jeremiah 20:14 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Jeremiah 20:14 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/jeremiah/20-14.htm">Jeremiah 20:14 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/jeremiah/20-14.htm">OT Prophets: Jeremiah 20:14 Cursed be the day in which (Jer.) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/jeremiah/20-13.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Jeremiah 20:13"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Jeremiah 20:13" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/jeremiah/20-15.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Jeremiah 20:15"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Jeremiah 20:15" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>