Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.
Parallel translations
- WEB If I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I can’t.
- KJV Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
- BSB If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
- NASB But if I say, “I will not remember Him Nor speak anymore in His name,” Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am tired of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.
- NLT But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!
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
When Jeremiah resolves to stop speaking, God's word becomes a fire in his bones that he cannot hold in. The call is irresistible.
Overview
Tempted to fall silent under persecution, the prophet finds the word of God burning within him so that he cannot keep quiet. This vivid confession reveals both the compelling power of God's word and the genuine struggle of the one who bears it. It testifies that true prophetic ministry is not self-generated but a divine constraint, like Paul's woe to me if I do not preach (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 39:3My heart was hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned. I spoke with my tongue:
- Job 32:18–20For I am full of words. The spirit within me constrains me.
- Acts 4:20for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.”
- 1 Cor 9:16–17For if I preach the Good News, I have nothing to boast about; for necessity is laid on me; but woe is to me, if I don’t preach the Good News.
- Ezek 3:14So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; and Yahweh’s hand was strong on me.
- Acts 17:16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city full of idols.
- Jer 6:11Therefore I am full of Yahweh’s wrath. I am weary with holding in. “Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him who is full of days.
- 2 Cor 5:13–15For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sober mind, it is for you.
- Luke 9:62But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.”
- John 1:2–3The same was in the beginning with God.
- John 4:2–3(although Jesus himself didn’t baptize, but his disciples),
- Acts 18:5But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
- 1 Kgs 19:3–4When he saw that, he arose, and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
- Acts 15:37–38Barnabas planned to take John, who was called Mark, with them also.
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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 20:9 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.