Font Size
Jeremiah 20:16-18
New English Translation
Jeremiah 20:16-18
New English Translation
16 May that man be like the cities[a]
that the Lord destroyed without showing any mercy.
May he hear a cry of distress in the morning
and a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me before I came from the womb,
making my pregnant mother’s womb my grave forever.[b]
18 Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb?
All I experience is trouble and grief,
and I spend my days in shame.[c]
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 20:16 sn The cities alluded to are Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the Jordan plain, which had become proverbial for their wickedness and for the destruction that the Lord brought on them because of it. See Isa 1:9-10; 13:19; Jer 23:14; 49:18.
- Jeremiah 20:17 tn Heb “because he did not kill me from the womb, so my mother might be to me for my grave and her womb eternally pregnant.” The sentence structure has been modified and the word “womb” moved from the last line to the next-to-last line for English stylistic purposes and greater clarity.
- Jeremiah 20:18 tn Heb “Why did I come forth from the womb to see [= so that I might see] trouble and grief and that my days might be consumed in shame?”
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.