Jeremiah 20:8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 20:7-13

Pashur's doom was to be a terror to himself; Jeremiah, even now, in this hour of temptation, is far from being so; and yet it cannot be denied but that he is here, through the infirmity of the flesh, strangely agitated within himself. Good men are but men at the best. God is not extreme to mark what they say and do amiss, and therefore we must not be so, but make the best of it. In these verses it appears that, upon occasion of the great indignation and injury that Pashur did to Jeremiah,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:8

For since I spake, I cried out ,.... Or, "when I speak, I cry" F1 מדי אדבר אזעק "quum loquor exclamavi, i.e. loquor exclamans", Gataker. ; whensoever I speak in the name of the Lord, and deliver message from him to the people, I lift up my voice and cry aloud, that all may hear and understand; and as showing zeal, fervour, and diligence: or, "I cry" with grief and trouble at the usage I meet with, and the contempt that is cast upon the word; or because of what I am obliged to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 20:8

I cried violence and spoil - This was the burden of the message thou didst give me. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 20:8

Verse 8 The Prophet says here that he found no fruit from his labors, but on the contrary, he saw that all his efforts and endeavors had an opposite effect; for they exasperated all the Jews, inflamed their rage, and drove them into a greater licentiousness in sinning. Hence he says, that he purposed to give up the office assigned to him, but that by a secret impulse he was constrained to persevere, and that thus he was not at liberty to desist from the course which he had begun. But the verse... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 20:7-9

A conflict not to be avoided. The heart of the prophet is here revealed to us as the scene of a bitter conflict between two sets of motives; one set originating with the vehement will of God, the other in the utterly unsympathizing dispositions of men. The prophet makes us feel that it is utterly insufficient to describe his work simply as difficult. It is done amid a continuity of reproaches, some of which a less sensitive man might not have felt, but which were peculiarly irritating to a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 20:7-13

A lyric passage, expressing the conflict in the prophet's mind owing to the mockery and the slander which his preaching has brought upon him, and at the same time his confidence of victory through the protection of Jehovah; a suitable sequel to the narrative which goes before, even if not originally written to occupy this position (see general Introduction). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 20:7-18

The sorrow and joy of God's servant. There are many such photographs of the inner heart-life of God's people. It is the touch of nature which brings them near to us. The words and work of Jeremiah become more living and influential when we witness his spiritual struggles. I. THE SPIRITUAL NECESSITY OF HIS POSITION IS ALTERNATELY COMPLAINED OF AND ACQUIESCED IN . The saint cannot always continue amidst his highest experiences. There are ups and downs, not only... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Jeremiah 20:8

For since I spake, I cried out , etc.; rather, For as often as I speak , I must shout ; I must cry , Violence and spoil ; I can take up no other tone but that of indignant denunciation, no other theme but that of the acts of injustice constantly committed (not merely, nor indeed chiefly, against the prophet himself). Was made ; rather, is made . read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 20:7-18

In the rest of the chapter we have an outbreak of deep emotion, of which the first part ends in a cry of hope Jeremiah 20:13, followed nevertheless by curses upon the day of his birth. Was this the result of feelings wounded by the indignities of a public scourging and a night spent in the stocks? Or was it not the mental agony of knowing that his ministry had (as it seemed) failed? He stands indeed before the multitudes with unbending strength, warning prince and people with unwavering... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Jeremiah 20:8-9

Jeremiah 20:8-9. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil Or, rather, as Houbigant renders it, For since I spake, and cried against iniquity, and denounced desolation, the word of the Lord, &c. Blaney’s translation is nearly to the same sense: For as often as I speak, whether I cry out against injustice or proclaim devastation, the word of Jehovah is turned against me into matter of reproach and derision continually. The prophet means that, upon account of... read more

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