Jeremiah 15:10
in Jeremiah 15Woe 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 not lent, neither have men lent to me; yet every one of them doth curse 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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 15
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Verse 10) Woe to me, my mother, why did you give birth to me as a man of strife (or judgment), a man of discord (or one who judges), in the whole world? This can be understood συνεκδοχικῶς from Jeremiah, that he was judged not in the entire world, but in the land of Judah.
This site's exposition
Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me
on Jeremiah 15:10-11
Jeremiah's first confession breaks in without transition, woe is me, my mother, a cry against his own birth into a life of universal contention, cursed by everyone though he has lent to no one on usury and owes no one anything. Calvin reads the outburst as honest rather than sinful, the same kind of complaint Job and the psalmists bring, grief spoken to the Lord rather than concealed from him. The Lord's answer at verse 11 promises the remnant will be well and the enemy made to plead with Jeremiah in the time of evil, mercy offered inside the complaint rather than a rebuke for making it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He was a peaceable man, gave no provocation to any, nor was apt to resent the provocations given him, and yet a man of strife, not a man striving, but a man striven with; he was for peace, but, when he spoke, they were for war. And, whatever they pretended, that which was the real cause of their quarrels with him was his faithfulness to God and to their souls.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A man of contention to the whole earth! - To the whole Land, to all his countrymen; though he had done nothing to merit their displeasure.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Woe is to me, my mother Jeremiah was complaining about himself, that his townsmen hated him because of his castigations.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
1 leave you over I leave you over, an expression of a remnant. In this manner, Menahem (Machbereth p. 181) interpreted it, but Dunash (Teshuvoth Dunash p. 36) interpreted it as an expression of release.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֽוֹי־ | ʾo- | woe! | H188 → | 24 times |
| לִ֣י | li | to <the> me | ||
| אִמִּ֔י | ʾimi | O mother my | H517 → | 220 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְלִדְתִּ֗נִי | yelidtini | you gave birth to me | H3205 → | 496 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | a man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| רִ֛יב | riv | strife | H7379 → | 61 times |
| וְאִ֥ישׁ | veish | and a man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מָד֖וֹן | madon | contention | H4066 → | |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָשִׁ֥יתִי | nashiti | I have lent | H5383 → | |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָֽשׁוּ־ | nashu- | people have lent | H5383 → | |
| בִ֖י | vi | to me | ||
| כֻּלֹּ֥ה | kuloh | all of him | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מְקַלְלַֽונִי׃ ס | mekalavni | [are] cursing me | H7043 → | 82 times |
אֽוֹי־woe!
ʾo-H188 →24 times
לִ֣יto <the> me
li
אִמִּ֔יO mother my
ʾimiH517 →220 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְלִדְתִּ֗נִיyou gave birth to me
yelidtiniH3205 →496 times
אִ֥ישׁa man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
רִ֛יבstrife
rivH7379 →61 times
וְאִ֥ישׁand a man of
veishH376 →1663 times
מָד֖וֹןcontention
madonH4066 →
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נָשִׁ֥יתִיI have lent
nashitiH5383 →
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
נָֽשׁוּ־people have lent
nashu-H5383 →
בִ֖יto me
vi
כֻּלֹּ֥הall of him
kulohH3605 →5413 times
מְקַלְלַֽונִי׃ ס[are] cursing me
mekalavniH7043 →82 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
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.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:10–12
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 10:22
You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
- 1 Peter 4:12–16
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- 1 Peter 3:14
But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.”
- John 16:2
They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
- Matthew 5:10–12
Through
Jeremiah 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…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:18–19
Now 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…
- Ezekiel 3:9
I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.”
- Psalms 124:1–3
If the LORD had not been on our side— let Israel now declare—
- Jeremiah 1:18–19
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.