Yeremia 20:13-15
Konteks20:13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord!
For he rescues the oppressed from the clutches of evildoers. 1
20:14 Cursed be the day I was born!
May that day not be blessed when my mother gave birth to me. 2
20:15 Cursed be the man
who made my father very glad
when he brought him the news
that a baby boy had been born to him! 3
[20:13] 1 sn While it may be a little confusing to modern readers to see the fluctuation in moods and the shifts in addressee in a prayer and complaint like this, it was not at all unusual for Israel where these were often offered in the temple in the conscious presence of God before fellow worshipers. For another example of these same shifts see Ps 22 which is a prayer of David in a time of deep distress.
[20:14] 2 sn From the heights of exaltation, Jeremiah returns to the depths of despair. For similar mood swings in the psalms of lament compare Ps 102. Verses 14-18 are similar in tone and mood to Job 3:1-10. They are very forceful rhetorical ways of Job and Jeremiah expressing the wish that they had never been born.
[20:15] 3 tn Heb “Cursed be the man who brought my father the news saying, ‘A son, a male, has been born to you,’ making glad his joy.” This verse has been restructured for English stylistic purposes.
[20:15] sn The birth of a child was an occasion of great joy. This was especially true if the child was a boy because it meant the continuance of the family line and the right of retention of the family property. See Ruth 4:10, 13-17.
