Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife and conflict in all the land. I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent, neither have men lent to me; yet everyone of them curses me.
- KJV Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.
- NKJV Woe is me, my mother, That you have borne me, A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent for interest, Nor have men lent to me for interest. Every one of them curses me.
- NASB ¶Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to me As a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land! I have not lent, nor have people lent money to me, Yet everyone curses me.
- NLT Then I said, “What sorrow is mine, my mother. Oh, that I had died at birth! I am hated everywhere I go. I am neither a lender who threatens to foreclose nor a borrower who refuses to pay— yet they all curse me.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jeremiah laments his very birth, feeling like a man of strife cursed by all though he has wronged no one. He voices the deep personal cost of faithfully proclaiming God's word.
Overview
Bearing God's hard message made Jeremiah an object of universal hostility, leading him to mourn that he was ever born. His honest anguish shows that faithfulness to God often brings opposition and loneliness. It anticipates Christ, the man of sorrows despised and rejected, and encourages believers who suffer for the truth that they share in their Lord's reproach.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 29
- Luke 6:22Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
- Exod 22:25If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest.
- Jer 20:14–18Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.
- Jer 1:18–19Now behold, this day I have made you like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.
- Neh 5:1–6About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews.
- Ps 120:5–6Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!
- Acts 16:20–22They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil
- Lev 25:36Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you.
- Matt 24:9Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
- Acts 17:6–8But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,
- Job 3:1–26After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
- 1 Kgs 21:20When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Jer 15:20Then I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save and deliver you, declares the LORD.
- Deut 23:19–20Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan.
- Ps 15:5who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
- Jer 20:7–8You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
- Prov 26:2Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
- Ps 109:28Though they curse, You will bless. When they rise up, they will be put to shame, but Your servant will rejoice.
- Matt 10:21–23Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.
- 1 Kgs 22:8The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.
- Luke 2:34Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
- Matt 5:44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
- Ezek 3:7–9But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.
- 1 Kgs 18:17–18When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
- Acts 19:25–28Demetrius assembled the craftsmen, along with the workmen in related trades. “Men,” he said, “you know that this business is our source of prosperity.
- Acts 19:8–9Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
- Ezek 2:6–7But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.
- Acts 28:22But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”
- 1 Cor 4:9–13For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 15:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.