Jeremiah 20:17

20:16 And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;

Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.

KJV

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because he didn’t kill me from the womb; and so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb always great.

Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.

20:18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?

What does Jeremiah 20:17 mean?

Jeremiah 20:17 is a verse in the book of Jeremiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include מוּת (mûwth), רֶחֶם (rechem), אֵם (ʼêm). It connects to 28 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

Because

slewמוּתmûwth/mooth/H4191to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill

not

from

the

womb;רֶחֶםrechem/rekh'-em/H7358the womb

that

motherאֵםʼêm/ame/H517a mother (as the bond of the family); in a wide sense (both literally and figuratively (like father))

might

have

been

grave,קֶבֶרqeber/keh'-ber/H6913a sepulchre

and

her

wombרֶחֶםrechem/rekh'-em/H7358the womb

alwaysעוֹלָםʻôwlâm/o-lawm'/H5769properly, concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial (especially with prepositional prefix) always

greatהָרֶהhâreh/haw-reh'/H2030pregnant

with

me.

Commentary on Jeremiah 20:17

HENRY_FULL · Jeremiah 20:17

-p" With this chapter begins a new sermon, which is continued in the two following chapters. The subject of this discourse is Judah and Jerusalem, ver. 1 . In this chapter the prophet speaks, I. Of the glory of the Christians, Jerusalem, the gospel-church in the latter days, in the accession of many to it ( ver. 2, 3 ), and the great peace it should introduce into the world ( ver. 4 ), whence he infers the duty of the house of Jacob, ver. 5 . II. Of the shame of the Jews, Jerusalem, as it then was, and as it would be after its rejection of the gospel and being rejected of God. 1. Their sin was their shame, ver. 6-9 . 2. God by his judgments would humble them and put them to shame, ver. 10-17 . 3. They should themselves be ashamed of their confidence in their idols and in an arm of flesh, ver. 18-22 . And now which of these Jerusalems will we be the inhabitants of—that which is full of the knowledge of God, which will be our everlasting honour, or that which is full of horses and chariots, and silver and gold, and such idols, which will in the end be our shame? Increase of

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 49:1

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Numbers 24:14

And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.

Job 19:25

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

Psalms 2:8

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Psalms 22:27

All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

Jeremiah 3:17 Jeremiah 11:10 Jeremiah 23:20 Jeremiah 27:13 Jeremiah 30:24 Jeremiah 48:47 Jeremiah 49:6 Jeremiah 49:39 Ezekiel 38:16 Daniel 2:28 Daniel 2:35 Daniel 2:45 Daniel 10:14 Micah 4:1 Zechariah 8:3 Malachi 3:12 Acts 2:17 2 Timothy 3:1 Hebrews 1:2 2 Peter 3:3 Revelation 11:15 Revelation 20:4 Revelation 21:10

Topics

Murmuring

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Jeremiah 20:17.

Genesis 23:4

I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

Genesis 23:6

Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. a mighty: Heb. a prince of God

Frequently asked questions

What does Jeremiah 20:17 say?

Jeremiah 20:17 (King James Version) reads: "Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me."

Is Jeremiah 20:17 in the Old or New Testament?

Jeremiah 20:17 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Jeremiah.

Reflect

As you read Jeremiah 20:17, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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