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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 men shall hate you, and when they shall exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
- Exod 22:25“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor. You shall not charge him interest.
- Jer 20:14–18Cursed is the day in which I was born. Don’t let the day in which my mother bore me be blessed.
- Jer 1:18–19For, behold, I have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.
- Neh 5:1–6Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brothers the Jews.
- Ps 120:5–6Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
- Acts 16:20–22When they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men, being Jews, are agitating our city,
- Lev 25:36Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God; that your brother may live among you.
- Matt 24:9Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake.
- Acts 17:6–8When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and certain brothers before the rulers of the city, crying, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here also,
- Job 3:1–26After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth.
- 1 Kgs 21:20Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do that which is evil in Yahweh’s sight.
- Jer 15:20I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; and they shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you,” says Yahweh.
- Deut 23:19–20You shall not lend on interest to your brother; interest of money, interest of food, interest of anything that is lent on interest.
- Ps 15:5he who doesn’t lend out his money for usury, nor take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be shaken.
- Jer 20:7–8Yahweh, you have persuaded me, and I was persuaded; you are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I have become a laughing-stock all day. Every one mocks me.
- Prov 26:2Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.
- Ps 109:28They may curse, but you bless. When they arise, they will be shamed, but your servant shall rejoice.
- Matt 10:21–23“Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.
- 1 Kgs 22:8The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” Jehoshaphat said, “Don’t let the king say so.”
- Luke 2:34and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against.
- Matt 5:44But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
- Ezek 3:7–9But the house of Israel will not listen to you, for they will not listen to me; for all the house of Israel are obstinate and hard-hearted.
- 1 Kgs 18:17–18When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
- Acts 19:25–28whom he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, “Sirs, you know that by this business we have our wealth.
- Acts 19:8–9He entered into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for a period of three months, reasoning and persuading about the things concerning God’s Kingdom.
- Ezek 2:6–7You, son of man, don’t be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you do dwell among scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.
- Acts 28:22But we desire to hear from you what you think. For, as concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against.”
- 1 Cor 4:9–13For, I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last of all, like men sentenced to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and 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
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