Cursed be the day I was born!
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 Job 3:1-3, 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.

May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.
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.

1. Jeremiah
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.

2. The Day of Birth
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.

3. Jeremiah's Mother
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.

4. Jeremiah's Prophetic Ministry
The broader context of Jeremiah's life, marked by conflict, persecution, and the heavy burden of delivering God's messages to a rebellious people.

5. The City of Jerusalem
Although not directly mentioned in this verse, Jerusalem is the primary setting of Jeremiah's ministry and the focus of many of his prophecies.The Reality of Despair
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.

The Burden of Prophetic Ministry
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.

The Importance of Lament
Lament is a biblical way to express grief and sorrow. It is a form of prayer that acknowledges pain while still turning to God.

Hope Beyond Despair
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.

Empathy and Support
Understanding Jeremiah's despair can help believers empathize with others who are suffering and offer support and encouragement.Top 10 Lessons from Jeremiah 20

Does Jeremiah’s bitter lament in Jeremiah 20:14–18 contradict the portrayal of a steadfast prophet elsewhere in the book?

How should you handle anger towards God?

What challenges arise from choosing a difficult path?

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? (14) Cursed be the day wherein I was born . . .--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 Jeremiah 20:14-18 should stand before Jeremiah 20:7. 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 (Jeremiah 3:3). The prophet turned in the depth of his suffering to the words in which the great representative of sufferers had "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.

Verses 14-18. - Jeremiah curses the day of his birth. The passage is a further development of the complaint in Jeremiah 15:10, and stands in no connection with the consolatory close of the preceding passage. There is a very striking parallel in Job 3:3-12, 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.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Cursed be
אָר֣וּר (’ā·rūr)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular
Strong's 779: To execrate

the day
הַיּ֔וֹם (hay·yō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

I was born!
יֻלַּ֖דְתִּי (yul·laḏ·tî)
Verb - QalPass - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

May the day
י֛וֹם (yō·wm)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

my mother
אִמִּ֖י (’im·mî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 517: A mother, )

bore me
יְלָדַ֥תְנִי (yə·lā·ḏaṯ·nî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

never
אַל־ (’al-)
Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

be blessed.
בָרֽוּךְ׃ (ḇā·rūḵ)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine singular
Strong's 1288: To kneel, to bless God, man, to curse


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 20:14 Cursed be the day in which (Jer.)