Jeremiah 20:13
in Jeremiah 20Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Sing unto Jehovah, praise ye Jehovah; for he hath delivered the soul of the needy from the hand of evil-doers.
KJV
Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
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This verse in Jeremiah 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSing unto the Lord - He was so completely delivered from all fear, that although he remained in the same circumstances, yet he exults in the Divine protection, and does not fear the face of any adversary.
This site's exposition
For I have heard the whispering
on Jeremiah 20:10-13
The cry “Terror is on every side!” takes up magor missabib and now describes his own days: “All my trusted friends watch for my fall.” Against them he sets his confidence, “But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior,” so his persecutors “will stumble and will not prevail.”
This site's exposition
Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD!
The prophet calls on all to sing to the LORD and praise the LORD, who rescues the life of the needy. Adam Clarke notes that his circumstances stayed the same, yet he exults in God's protection. Jerome reads the needy as the poor in spirit.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 13) Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of the wicked. The one who is poor in spirit and does not have riches, which have received their consolation in this world, about which Paul also speaks: Only that we should be mindful of the poor (I Cor. 13), when he has obtained vengeance from the Lord, praises the Lord in spirit, and boasts of being delivered from the hand of the wicked.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This is all that is here meant, namely, God's over-ruling him contrary to his own inclinations. Since - Since I first began to be a prophet, I have faithfully discharged my office, and that with warmth and zeal.
Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord,....
So full is he of the comfort of God's presence with him, the divine protection he is under, and the divine promise he has to depend upon, that in a transport of joy he stirs up himself and others to give God the glory of it: Sing unto the Lord, praise you the Lord.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Cursed be the day in which I was begotten (engendrer or engenrer in O.F.).
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. 5 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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִׁ֚ירוּ | shiru | sing | H7891 → | |
| לַֽיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַֽלְל֖וּ | halu | praise | H1984 → | 165 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִצִּ֛יל | hitzil | he has delivered | H5337 → | 212 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נֶ֥פֶשׁ | nefesh | [the] life of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| אֶבְי֖וֹן | ʾevyon | [the] needy | H34 → | 61 times |
| מִיַּ֥ד | miyad | from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מְרֵעִֽים׃ ס | mereim | evil-doers | H7489 → | 107 times |
שִׁ֚ירוּsing
shiruH7891 →
לַֽיהוָ֔הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַֽלְל֖וּpraise
haluH1984 →165 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הִצִּ֛ילhe has delivered
hitzilH5337 →212 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נֶ֥פֶשׁ[the] life of
nefeshH5315 →754 times
אֶבְי֖וֹן[the] needy
ʾevyonH34 →61 times
מִיַּ֥דfrom [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
מְרֵעִֽים׃ סevil-doers
mereimH7489 →107 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
Psalms 34:6This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
it leads to
- Psalms 34:17–19
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.
- Psalms 3:4
To the LORD I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy mountain. Selah
- Psalms 10:17
You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear,
- Psalms 66:16–20
Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for me.
- Psalms 40:17
But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.
- Psalms 34:17–19
Through
Isaiah 25:4For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like…
it leads to
- Zephaniah 3:12
But I will leave within you a meek and humble people, and they will trust in the name of the LORD.
- Zephaniah 3:12
Through
Psalms 69:33For the LORD listens to the needy and does not despise His captive people.
it leads to
- Psalms 68:6
God settles the lonely in families; He leads the prisoners out to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.
- Acts 5:18–19
and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
- Psalms 68:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Jeremiah

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
