Jeremiah 20:13-15

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 20:13 sn While it may be a little confusing to modern readers to see the fluctuation in moods and the shifts in addressee in a prayer and complaint like this, it was not at all unusual for Israel, where these were often offered in the temple in the conscious presence of God before fellow worshipers. For another example of these same shifts, see Ps 22, which is a prayer of David in a time of deep distress.
2. Jeremiah 20:14 sn From the heights of exaltation Jeremiah returns to the depths of despair. For similar mood swings in the psalms of lament, compare Ps 102. Verses 14-18 are similar in tone and mood to Job 3:1-10. They are very forceful rhetorical ways for Job and Jeremiah to express the wish that they had never been born.
3. Jeremiah 20:15 tn Heb “Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, saying, ‘A son, a male, has been born to you,’ making glad his joy.” This verse has been restructured for English stylistic purposes.sn The birth of a child was an occasion of great joy. This was especially true if the child was a boy, because it meant the continuance of the family line and the right to retain the family property. See Ruth 4:10, 13-17.