Laughter that can hurt

LAUGHTER THAT CAN HURT
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
One of life's worstexperiences is to become a laughingstock to your friends, or
to anyone really. This happened three places in the Old Testament.
Job 12:4 I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbor, I who called
upon God, and he answered:The just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock.
(ASV JPS)
Jeremiah20:7 Yahweh, you have persuadedme, and I was persuaded; you
are strongerthan I, and have prevailed: I am become a laughing-stock allthe
day, every one mocks me. (WEB JPS ASV)
Ezekiel23:32 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah:Thou shalt drink of thy sister's
cup deep and large;thou shalt be for a laughing-stock and a derision, for it
containeth much. (DBY)
We will study them in that order.
1. Job 12:4 4"I have become a laughingstockto my
friends, though I called on God and he answered- a
mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics

Irony
Job 12:2
W.F. Adeney
I. IRONY IS TO BE FOUND IN SCRIPTURE.There is greatvariety in the
style of Scripture. Almost every modification of language is to be found in the
Bible, consecratedto some holy purpose. Even the faculty of humour is
utilized, as in the incident of Balaam's ass (Numbers 22:28-30), and in St.
Paul's recommendation that the woman who will not weara veil had better
complete the exposure of her head by being shorn (1 Corinthians 11:6). The
prophets abound in irony. Christ used irony in the parable of the rich fool
(Luke 12:16-20).
II. THERE IS A PLACE FOR IRONY IN DISCOURSE.Some evils can be
best met just by being exposed. Now, irony is a method of showing a thing in
an unexpected light, so that, while admitting all its claims, we make it
apparent that those very claims are absurd. Slight failings will be best
castigatedwith simple ridicule; more serious ones, if they are not greatsins,
with grave irony.
III. PRETENTIOUSNESS ESPECIALLYPROVOKES IRONY. Each of
Job's three friends has now spoken. Thoughthey were not alike in
attainments nor in natural dispositions, they agreedin their dogmas and in
their judgment of Job. A tone of conscious superiority and irritating
censoriousnessrings through all their speeches. This not only vexes Job; it
prompts an ironicalretaliation. It is dangerous to make grand pretensions.
Humility is a great security, and when humility is lost, we lay ourselves open
to attack on the ground of our assumptions. Pretentiousness does notonly
thus provoke ironical replies; it best meets its merited castigationby these
replies, which humilitate it in a most unanswerable manner.
IV. IRONY IS A DANGEROUS WEAPON FOR A CHRISTIAN TO WIELD.
It may be a lawful weapon-There are times when it can be used in the cause
of righteousness with tremendous effect. But there is greatdanger lestthe
employment of it should destroy "the greatestthing in the world" - love.

There is always a tendency to push it too far, and to go beyond wholesome
rebuke in the direction of cruel scorn. This is distinctly unchristian.
Moreover, as Job's friends did not understand him, possibly he did not
understand them. If so, his irony may have been too severe for justice. We
should be careful that we are in no error before we venture to use irony
againstour brother. Even then, zealfor righteousness shouldbe tempered by
brotherly kindness.
V. GOD DISPLAYS IRONY IN PROVIDENCE. The Greek tragedians saw
irony in fate. Man's greatness was shownto be a very small thing, and his
boastedsuccessa mere bubble. The old classicalidea was dark and hard, for
it did not take into accountthe Fatherhoodof God. But within God's infinite
purpose of love there is room for irony. By the slow unrolling of the course of
events, the boasting of the pretentious ends in confusion. God humbles his
creatures in their pride and vanity, giving them sudden falls, by means of
which they cannot but feeltheir helplessness andlittleness. The monarch is
chokedby a fly. Such things are not done vindictively, or in scorn; but
because we are mined by boasting and savedin our humiliation. Thus the ugly
weaponof irony may prepare us for the healing grace of the gospel. - W.F.A.
Biblical Illustrator
I am as one mockedof his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and He
answereth.
Job 12:4
The man who gets answers maymock him who gets none
JosephCaryl.
The antecedentto "who" seems to be uncertain. It may be Job; it may be the
neighbour about whom Job speaks. Theywho have had experience of God's
tenderness to help them and hear their prayers, should be very tender to
others, when they call to them, and seek their help. Learn —

1. It is the privilege of the saints, when men fail and rejectthem, to make God
their refuge and their recourse to heaven.
2. The repulses which we meet with in the world, should drive us nearer to
God.
3. Prayerand seeking unto God are not in vain or fruitless.
4. As it is sinful, so it is extremely dangerous to mock those who have the ear
of God, or acceptancewith God in prayer.
(JosephCaryl.)
The Man Who Gets Answers May Mock Him Who Gets None
JosephCaryl.
Job 12:4
I am as one mockedof his neighbor, who calls on God, and he answers him:
the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
The antecedentto "who" seems to be uncertain. It may be Job; it may be the
neighbour about whom Job speaks. Theywho have had experience of God's
others, when they call to them, and seek their help. Learn —

God.
of God, or acceptancewith God in prayer.
(JosephCaryl.)
The Effectof the Friends' Speeches Upon Job
DeanBradley.
Job 12:1-5
And Job answeredand said,…
The whole world, Job feels, is againsthim, and he is left forlorn and solitary,
unpitied in his misery, unguided in his perplexity. And he may well feelso. All
the religious thought of his day, all the traditions of the past, all the wisdomof
the patriarchalChurch, if I may use, as I surely may, the expression, is on one
side. He, that solitary sufferer and doubter, is on the other. And this is not all,
or the worst. His own habits of thought, his own training, are arrayed against
him. He had been nursed, it is abundantly clear, in the same creedas those
who feel forcedto play the part of his spiritual advisers. The new and terrible
experience of this crushing affliction, of this appalling visitation, falling upon
one who had passedhis life in the devout service of God, strikes at the very
foundation of the faith on which that life, so peaceful, so pious, and so blessed,

as it has been put before us in the prologue to the tragedy, has been basedand
built up. All seems againsthim; his friends, his God, his pains and anguish, his
own tumultuous thoughts; all but one voice within, which will not be silenced
or coerced. How easyfor him, had he been rearedin a heathen creed, to say,
"My past life must have been a delusion; my consciencehas borne me false
witness. I did justice, I loved mercy, I walkedhumbly with my God. But I
must in some way, I know not how, have offended a capricious and arbitrary,
but an all-powerful and remorselessBeing. I will allow with you that that life
was all vitiated by some act of omissionor of commissionof which I know
nothing. Him therefore who has sent His furies to plague me, I will now try to
propitiate." But no! Job will not come before his God, a God of righteousness,
holiness, and truth, with a lie on his lips. And so he now stands stubbornly at
bay, and in this and the following two chapters he bursts forth afreshwith a
strain of scornand upbraiding that dies awayinto despair, as he turns from
his human tormentors, once his friends, to the God who seems, like them, to
have become his foe, but to whom he clings with an indomitable tenacity.
(DeanBradley.)
The Resentmentof a Wounded Spirit
E. Johnson
Job 12:1-6
Repeatedreproaches andaccusationsfalling upon the conscienceofan
innocent man sting him into self-defence. Theymay do a service by rousing
him out of stupor and weakness,and may bring to light the nobler qualities of

his soul. We are indebted to the slanders of the Corinthians for some of the
noblest self-revelations ofSt. Paul.
I. OUTBURST OF INDIGNANT SCORN.(Vers. 1-3.)With bitter irony Job
rebukes the assumption of these men to know better than himself concerning
matters which belonged to the common stock of intelligence, and in which he
was in no wise inferior to them. To claim superior knowledge overothers is
always offensive. To do so againsta sick and broken man from the vantage-
ground of health and prosperity is nothing less than a cruelty. And to make
this pretensionin matters of common tradition and acceptance, where all
stand about on a level, is an insult to the sufferer's understanding.
II. INDIGNANT REMONSTRANCEAGAINST THE COURSE OF THE
WORLD. (Vers. 4-6.)
1. Cruel inversions of life. Job, who in his just and innocent life, had hitherto
stoodin confidential relations with God, who had prayed and whose prayers
had been heard, is now a butt for laughter and scorn. He calls now and God
no longer hears (ver. 4).
2. The injustice of human opinion. (Ver. 5.) "Contempt belongs to misfortune,
in the opinion of the secure." A true description of the opinion of the world. If
"nothing succeeds like success;then nothing damns like failure in the common
opinion of the unfeeling world. "It awaits those whose footis slipping." As the
herd of wolves turn upon the sick and fallen brute, so the thoughtless man
tramples upon the man who is down. To those who are banded togetherby the
tie of selfishpleasure only or convenience, the very sight of that which
interferes for a moment with their content is hateful. How different the
sanctifiedinstincts of pity, compassion, and helpfulness which Christ has
planted in his society, the Church! It is the mission of the Christian

community to leaven with its principles the heartless mass of society. Onthe
other hand, nothing succeedslike success;"restful dwellings" (ver. 6) and
confident security are enjoyed by the wasters ordesolators who by word and
deed hold God in contempt, and think to make him bend to their purposes.
The rude man of violence, who owns no law but that of the strong hand,
thinks that where force is there is God, and all must bow to force as if to God.
So he "takethGod in his hand;" he "imputes his power unto his god;" he
sacrifices to his net, and burns incense unto his drag (Habakkuk 1:11, 16). His
motto is like that of the impious warrior, "My right hand is god" (Virg., 'AEn.
10:773, "Dextra mihi deus"). - J.
Contempt the Lot of Misfortune
R. Green
Job 12:1-6
Job is driven to retort. He affirms his own competencyto speak. He claims
equality with his would-be teachers, whosewords are yet far from healing or
comforting his sorely afflicted heart. "I have understanding as well as you."
But to him belongs the contempt which is the lot of misfortune. Sad is the
story told in a sentence here, but repeatedin every day's history and in every
land and every age. The selfish heart, rising to a higher levelof prosperity,
looks down, and looks contemptuouslydown, on him over whom Misfortune
casts her dark shade. "The just upright man is laughed to scorn." Note the
truth of this, its wrong and its remedy.

I. UNIVERSAL EXPERIENCE TESTIFIESTO THIS - THAT CONTEMPT
IS THE LOT OF MISFORTUNE.The testimony comes up from a thousand
sufferers towards whom fortune has shown no favour. The wounds may be
deep, the pangs of sorrow keen;dark desolationmay encompass;but the
joyful, the well-to-do, on whom the smile of prosperity rests, become
incompetent to descendto the lowly lot. On such the tale of woe makes little
impression. There is a sad, if not even natural, revulsion from the mere sight
of suffering, and the step is easyfrom this to the bitter, scathing complaint,
"Ah! he brought it all upon himself!' From Job's days downward the same
has been ever seen. Prosperityseems to blind the eyes, to harden the heart, to
withdraw the sympathies even from the friend overtakenin misfortune. It is
an interruption to ease andfelicity, to quiet and comfort. And Well-to-do
resists as impertinent the appeals of the victim of misfortune; or, as here,
takes up an accusationagainsthim, and treats him as an offender.
Everywhere the truth of this is seen. "He that is ready to slip with his feet is as
a lamp despisedin the thoughts of him that is at ease;"
II. IT IS NOT MORE GENERALTHAN IT IS WRONG. It is unworthy,
unbrotherly, unneighbourlike. The greatTeacherhit the evil with his hard
words, and exposedfor ever to the gaze of men the self-sufficiencyof the
prosperous one and his carelessnessas to the condition of the sufferer. He
passes by on the other side, indisposed to help the poor wretch lying in his
blood, stript and sore. Pride fills the heart to overflowing that is well-nigh full
of treasure. There is little room in it for sympathy and pity, and the tender
communion of sorrow. He who is lifted up does not feel that the lot of him who
is trodden down is any affair of his. He cannot be hindered on his way. Shame
upon the heart that is so far forgetful of the common interest that it leaves the
needy and sad, and finds itself absorbed in its own comfort! The curl of
contempt upon the lip and the hard word upon the tongue - Job fathomed this
depth, and in the bitterness of his soul rebukes the wrong.

III. WE TURN TO OTHER WORDS FOR THE CORRECTIONOF THIS
ERROR. True, Jobby his irony accuses his severe friends, who transport
themselves into accusers. In their hard words he traces the contempt of which
he complains, and takes his lot with others who suffer like himself. He is not
unmindful of the true Source of help. He is one who "callethupon God." lie
retains his integrity, and the consciousnessofit gives him support even under
this trouble. "The just upright man is laughed to scorn." But the assurance of
his uprightness is a deep consolation. Here, then, are the true sources ofhelp.
The testedfaith in God will find its reward, and the testimony of a good
conscienceis of price untold. By these Job is upheld, and by that strength
which is secretlyimparted to all faithful ones who call upon God, though it
may seemas though they were abandoned and forgotten. If the "neighbour"
mocketh, the righteous Judge does not mock;and though the trial is permitted
and continued, a Divine and gracious end is reservedwhich Job lived fully to
prove. - R.G.
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
"I am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answeredhim;
The just and blameless man is a joke.
Adam Clarke Commentary
I am as one mockedof his neighbor - Though I am invoking God for help and
salvation, yet my friends mock me in this most solemn and sacredwork. But
God answerethme.
The just upright man is laughedto scorn - This is a very difficult verse, on
which no two critics seemto be agreed. Mr. Goodtranslates the fourth and
fifth verses thus: -

"Thus brother is become a laughing-stock to his companions,
While calling upon God that he would succorhim.
The just, the perfectman, is a laughing-stock to the proud,
A derision amidst the sunshine of the prosperous,
While ready to slip with his foot.
For a vindication of this version, I must refer to his notes. Coverdale gives at
leasta goodsense. Thus he that calleth upon God, and whom God heareth, is
mockedof his neighboure: the godly and innocent man is laughed to scorne.
Godlynesse is a light despysedin the hertes of the rich; and is set for them to
stomble upon. The fifth verse is thus rendered by Mr. Parkhurst:"A torch of
contempt, or contemptible link, (see Isaiah7:4; Isaiah 40:2, Isaiah 40:3;),
‫(נכון‬ ydaer )si ohw eh si(suorepsorp eht fo sruodnelps eht ot,htothsael‫לעשתות‬
nachon, Job 15:23; Job18:12; Psalm38:17;) to slip with his foot." The general
sense is tolerably plain; but to emendations and conjectures there is no end.
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
I am as one mockedof his neighbour - There has been considerable variety in
the interpretation of this verse. The generalsense is, that Job felt himself to be
a mere laughing-stock for his neighbors. They treated him as if he were not
worth regarding. They had no sympathy for him in his sorrows, and they
showedno respectfor his opinions. Dr. Goodunderstands this and the
following verses as a part of the controversyin which Job proposes to show
his skillin debate, and to adduce proverbs after the manner of his friends. But
it is more probably an allusion to himself, and is designedto state that he felt
that he was not treatedwith the respectwhich was due to him. Much difficulty
has been felt in understanding the connection. Reiskecontends that Job 12:2
has no connectionwith Job 12:3, and that Job12:11-12, should be interposed
betweenthem. The connectionseems to me to be this: Job complains that he
was not treated with due deference. Theyhad showedno respectfor his
understanding and rank. They had urged the most common-place topics;

advancedstale and trite apothegms, as if he had never heard them; dwelt on
maxims familiar even to the meanestpersons;and had treated him in this
manner as if he were a mere child in knowledge. Thus, to be approachedwith
vague common-places, and with remarks such as would be used in addressing
children, he regardedas insult and mockery.
Who calleth upon God, and he answerethhim - This phrase has given
occasionto greatvariety in the interpretation. Umbreit renders it, “I, who
once calledupon God, and he answeredme;” that is, I, who once was a happy
man, and blessedof God. Schultens renders it, “I, who call upon God,” that is,
for trial, “and am ready to answerhim.‘ Rosenmullersupposes that Job has
reference to the assurancesofhis friends, that if he would callupon God, he
would answerhim, and that in view of that suggestionhe exclaims, “Shalla
man who is a laughing-stock to his neighbor call upon God, and will he
answerhim!‘ The probable meaning is, that he had been a man who had had
constantcommunion with God. He had been a favorite of the Almighty, for he
had lent a listening earto his supplications. It was now a thing of which he
might reasonablycomplain, that a man who had enjoyed such manifest tokens
of the divine favor, was treated with reproachand scorn.
The Biblical Illustrator
Job 12:4
I am as one mockedof his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and He
answereth.
The man who gets answers maymock him who gets none
The antecedentto “who” seems to be uncertain. It may be Job; it may be the
neighbour about whom Job speaks. Theywho have had experience of God’s
others, when they call to them, and seek their help. Learn--

God.
of God, or acceptancewith God in prayer. (JosephCaryl.)
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
I am as one mockedof his neighbour,.... That is, according to Sephorno, if I
knew not, or denied those things you have been speaking ofconcerning God,
his immensity, sovereignty, and wisdom, I should be derided by all my friends
and acquaintance;but rather the sense is, Job instances in himself as a proof
that goodmen are afflicted by God in this life; he was once in a very
prosperous condition, when he was caressedby all, but now was fallen into
such low and miserable circumstances as to be the scornand contempt of his
friends and neighbours; and even his being mockedwas no small part of his
afflictions; to endure cruel mockings has been the common lot of goodmen in
all ages, and is reckonedone part of their distresses andsufferings for
righteousness sake, Hebrews 11:36;and to be mockedby a neighbour, or a
"friend"F7, as it may be rendered, greatly aggravatesthe affliction, see Psalm
55:12;which was Job's case;his friends that came to comfort him mockedat
him, at leastso he understood them, and interpreted what they said unto him,
see Job16:20; and what made it still the heavier to bear, he was mockedby
such a neighbour or friend,
who callethupon God, and he answerethhim; he was mockedat not by
profane men only, but by a professorof religion, ong swept awaywith the
flood, were castinto hell, where they have lain ever since, and will lie unto the
judgment of the greatday; betweenthe place of the damned, and of the
happy, in Abraham's bosom, is a greatgulf, that there is no passing from one

to the other, which is the immutable and unalterable decree of God, which has
fixed the everlasting states ofmen, Luke 16:26.
F18 ‫לע‬ ‫שיא‬ "super virum", Montanus, Mercerus, Bolducius;_superviro",
Schmidt, Michaelis. Job12:15.
Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up,.... Or "lays a restraint in"
or "on the waters"F19;either in the ocean, as he did at the creation, when he
gatheredthe waters that were upon the face of the earth into one place, and
restrained them there, even in the decreedplace he broke up for them, called
the sea, and setbars and doors to keepthem within bounds, whereby the
places they left became dry and the dry land appeared calledearth; and even
such a man does not do goodwithout sinning; only the man Christ Jesus is
righteous in such sense;but then all that are made righteous, by the
imputation of his righteousness to them, are perfectly justified from all things,
and are become the spirits of just men made perfect and complete in him: the
characterhere designs such who are really righteous, truly gracious, are
upright in heart, sincere souls, who have the truth of grace in them, and walk
uprightly; these become a prey, a laughing stock to wickedmen, as Noah, Lot,
and others, before the times of Job, had been, which he may have respect
unto.
Geneva Study Bible
I am b [as]one mockedof his neighbour, who callethupon God, and he c
answerethhim: the just upright [man is] laughed to scorn.
(b) He reproves his friends for two faults: one, that they thought they had
better knowledge than they did: and the other, that instead of true
consolation, they derided and despisedtheir friend in his adversity.
(c) Who being a mockerand a wickedman, thinks that no man is in God's
favour but he, because he has all things that he desires.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The unfounded accusations ofJob‘s friends were a “mockery” ofhim. He
alludes to Zophar‘s word, “mockest”)Job11:3(.
neighbour, who calleth, etc. — rather, “I who call upon God that he may
answerme favorably” [Umbreit].
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
I am as one mockedof his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he
answerethhim: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
Upon God — Even by my religious neighbours, by those who callupon God,
and not in vain; whose prayers therefore I covet, not their reproaches.
The just — I, who, notwithstanding all their hard censures dare still own it,
that through God's grace I am an upright man.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
Job 12:4 I am [as] one mockedof his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he
answerethhim: the just upright [man is] laughed to scorn.
Ver. 4. Iam as one mockedof his neighbour] Those that should countenance
and comfort me contemn and scornme. I am their laughter and pastime; so
he took it, since they sat so heavily upon the skirts of his conscience, and
would not weighhis reasons brought in his owndefence.
Who calleth upon God, and he answerethhim] i.e. I, Job, do make God my
refuge when these jeering neighbours of mine do shame my counsel, Psalms
14:6, and would mock me out of my religion; but God favoureth me though
men frown; and where human help faileth Divine appeareth. Or thus rather: I

am derided by those who profess to call upon God, and to hear often from
heaven. They are hard hearted to me, though themselves have liberally tasted
of God’s tenderness;and they pull up the bridge of mercy before me, which
themselves have oft gone over.
The just upright man is laughedto scorn]"Shame shall be the promotion of
fools," Proverbs 3:35, and such a dissembleras Doeg may well be derided,
Psalms 52:6-7. But what hath the righteous done? And why should just,
upright Job be laughed to scorn? But this is no news. Christ and his people
have ever been for signs and for wonders in this mad world, always beside
itself in point of salvation. "He that departeth from evil makethhimself a
prey," or is accountedmad, Isaiah59:15. If he will needs be a just upright
man, if he will live godly in Christ Jesus (if he be so setupon it, that none shall
hinder him), he shall suffer persecution, this of the tongue howsoever, 2
Timothy 3:12. A wolf flieth not upon a painted sheep. We can look upon a
painted toad with delight; it is the reality of godliness that is hated.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Job 12:4. I am as one mockedof his neighbour— I am a mocking-stockto my
neighbour. "He hath appealedto God, to be sure he will answerhim! The
integrity of the righteous man is become a scoff." He hath appealedto God,
was the mock which had been thrown out to him, and alludes to what he had
said, chap. Job 10:7 which had drawn forth that wish of Zophar (Job 12:5-6 of
the lastchapter), that God would appear, and convict him of his hypocrisy.
Heath.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
As one mockedof his neighbour, Heb. I am a derision (the infinitive being put
for a noun, as is usual both in the Hebrew and other languages)to my
neighbour, i.e. to these three, who have pretended and would be thought to be
my friends and neighbours; whom therefore such carriage doth very ill

become. Insteadof supporting and comforting me, they make a sport and
scornof me.
Who calleth upon God, and he answerethhim. This who belongs either,
1. To Job, who here declares his own practice in this case:When you mock
me, I go to God with my complaints and prayers, and he hears me, though you
will not. But this seems not to agree eitherwith the context, or with other
passagesofJob; in which he constantly complains that God did not hear nor
regard his prayers, nor pity and help him. Or,
2. To Job’s friends; and so this is either,
1. An aggravationof their crime, that they should mock him who made a
greatprofessionof religion, who used duly to callupon God, and to receive
answers from him, and therefore should have carried themselves more
piously, and charitably, and compassionatelytowards their miserable brother.
Or,
2. As the reasonoftheir mockageofJob, because God, who neglectedJob’s
prayers, heard theirs, and gave them those mercies for which they prayed;
and therefore being themselves well and at ease, theywere hard-hearted
towards their poor afflicted brother, as the manner of men is. This seems to
suit well with the following verse. Or,
3. As all argument againsttheir scorning or slighting of him: God hears you
when you pray, therefore you should turn your mocks of me into prayers for
me; and you should pity me, whom God doth not hear when I pray; and as
God hears you, so you should hear and comfort me, when I pour out my
complaints to you. But these words may be brought in mimetically, as being
some of their scoffing words: They say of me, Let him callupon God, and God
will hear him; for so they had suggestedto Job, Job 5:8 8:5 11:13. But this,
saith Job, I take for a piece of mockery, and insulting over my miseries; for I
know by sadexperience, and they see the contrary, that though I calland cry
againand again, yet God hath no regardto me.
The just, upright man is laughed to scorn, i.e. I, who, notwithstanding all their
hard censures and reproaches, must and dare still own it, that through God’s

grace I am a just and upright man, am derided by them. This he repeats
again, because it was very grievous and burdensome to him.
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Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Job 12:4". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/job-12.html. 1685.
return to 'Jump List'
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
4. I am one mocked— Literally, A mockeryto his friend, am I [I] who railed
upon God and he answeredhim: a mockeryis the just, upright man.
Answereth him — As if it were too greata thing for Job to say that God had
heard and answeredhis prayer, he passesfrom the first to the third person.
What appears to be a solecism, is really the humility of true greatness. If we
truly appreciate the significance of prayer we shall not wonder at this; for
prayer assumes thatthe invisible God is near to hearkento, and consciously
answer, the cry of mortals. Its privilege confers on the mind of man the
greatestconceivable exerciseofmight — none the less than to move the Divine
Being to the exertion of his powerfor our good. The secretof this lies in the
parental affectionof God. No attainment of greatnessraises the Fatherabove
the touching appealof an infant’s cry. “When ye pray, say, Our Father.”
JosephBenson's Commentaryof the Old and New Testaments
Job 12:4. I am as one mockedof his neighbour — ‫אׂשיׂש‬ ‫לועׂשו‬ ‫,היה‬ sechok
leregnehu ehjeh, literally, a jest to his friend, I am. Thus Jeremiahcomplains,
I was a derision to all my people, Lamentations 3:14 . Who calleth upon God,

and he answerethhim — This is applied by Sol. Jarchi, and the commentators
in general, to Job’s neighbour or friend; intimating that such a one,
addressing himself to God, receiveda favourable answer;when Job himself
had no satisfactoryreturn paid to his loud cries and importunate complaints.
But the words are capable of a very different constructionif we refer them to
Job, and not to his friend, and as containing the mocking words thrown out
againsthim: Thus, He calleth (saythey) upon God; but doth he answerhim?
— He is loud and importunate in protesting his innocence;in clearing and
vindicating himself; in appealing to the tribunal of Heaven. But to what
purpose? Are his importunities and clamours received, his solemn
protestations heard or admitted? His trust and confidence (he would have us
to believe) are entirely on God; but is he easedof his troubles; is he delivered
from his miseries? Thus the Jews mockedourLord Jesus:“He trusted in
God; (said they;( let him deliver him now, if he will have him.” “This man
calleth for Elias;let us see whether Elias will come and save him.” The just
upright man is laughed to scorn — The words have a peculiar beauty, being
spokenwith much religious concernand modesty; for Jobdoes not say, I, a
just and upright man, am made a laughing-stock;but he delivers himself in
generalterms; the just and upright man, &c. His meaning howeveris, that,
notwithstanding all their hard censures and reproaches, he must still believe
himself to be, through God’s grace, a just and upright man; and must say
that, as such, he was derided by them.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Mocked. He retaliates on Sophar, (chap. xi. 3.; Haydock)who had very
seriouslyexhorted Job to call on God, as if he had been ignorant of this duty.
(Calmet) --- Godwill one day force the wickedto retract their false notion, in
despising his servants, Wisdom v. 3. (Worthington)
Mark Dunagan Commentary on the Bible

Job has lookedfor sympathy but receivedscorn. "Theirinflexible approachto
justice that God always blesses the upright does not fit the facts. Job
illustrated his point in severalways. Firsthe cited his own case"(Zuck p. 56).
"Jobresents the grounds on which Zophar has made him an inferior. First, he
says that he is mockedand made a laughing-stock by his friends because he
dares to ask God why he suffers when he is just and blameless" (McKenna p.
110).
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
answerethhim: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
Mocked. The unfounded accusations ofJob's friends were a 'mockery' of him.
He alludes to Zophar's words, "whenthou mockes" (Job11:3).
answerethhim - rather, 'who calledupon God, and He answeredhim.' Job
speaks ofhimself in the third person, standing as it were outside of himself,
and contemplating himself as an object. 'I am like one mockedof his
neighbour, though that one formerly was always answeredin all that he called
upon God for (enjoying the favour of God: a proof that I could not have been
the wickedhypocrite which ye make me out)' (cf. Job 29:3-5).
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(4) I am as one mockedof his neighbour.—The laughing-stock ofhis
companion—he who calledon God, and He answeredhim. This is either the
characterJobclaims for himself, or it is the supposedtaunt of his friends—
the righteous and the perfect a laughing-stock, or, the righteous and the
perfect might be a laughing-stock. Ridicule is no testof truth or of merit.
END OF STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES

Job 12:4 Context
1And Job answeredand said, 2No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom
shall die with you. 3But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior
to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? 4I am as one mockedof his
neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answerethhim: the just upright
man is laughed to scorn. 5He that is ready to slip with his feetis as a lamp
despisedin the thought of him that is at ease. 6The tabernaclesofrobbers
prosper, and they that provoke God are secure;into whose hand God
bringeth abundantly. 7But ask now the beasts, and they shall teachthee; and
the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
clark thompson
Mar 9, 2017 #1
Job 12:4-6
KJV 4 I am as one mockedof his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he
answerethhim: the just upright man is laughed to scorn. 5 He that is ready to
slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. 6
The tabernacles ofrobbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure;
into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
Job 12:4-6Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB)
4 He who invokes God and he answers him is mockedby his friend; the just
and perfectman is laughedto scorn.

5 The torch is held in low esteemin the thought of him that is prosperous,
which was prepared to guard againsta slip of the feet.
6 ¶ The tents of robbers are at ease,and those that provoke God and those
who carry gods in their hands live secure.
Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB)Copyright© 2000, 2001, 2010 by Life Sentence
Publishing, Inc.
These are my thoughts, please share yours.
4 Job didn’t feel like Godwas answering his prayers anymore often times we
feel this way when things turn againstus like they did with Job, his friends
mocking him and telling him he was sinful and being punished by God was
only hurting his faith and bringing him even further down.
5 Job was about to lose his mind because ofall that happened to him, he is
saying his friends have things better and physically they do, money wise they
do but spiritually they didn’t, Jobhad a better relationship with God then
them.
6 Job is seeing that pagans had better lives then he now had, but Job would be
blessedby God following God will lead to blessing it just maybe in glory
rather then on earth.
My friends all laugh at me when I call on God and expecthim to answerme;
they laugh at me even though I am right and innocent!

2. Jeremiah20:7 Yahweh, you have persuadedme,
and I was persuaded; you are stronger than I, and
have prevailed:I am become a laughing-stockall the
day, every one mocks me. (WEB JPS ASV)
NIV, "Jeremiah20:7 7Youdeceived me, LORD, and I
was deceived;you overpoweredme and prevailed. I
am ridiculedall day long; everyone mocks me.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Sorrow And JoyOf God's Servant
Jeremiah20:7-18
A.F. Muir
There are many such photographs of the inner heart-life of God's people. It is
the touch of nature which brings them near to us. The words and work of
Jeremiahbecome more living and influential when we witness his spiritual
struggles.

I. THE SPIRITUAL NECESSITYOF HIS POSITION IS ALTERNATELY
COMPLAINED OF AND ACQUIESCED IN. The saint cannot always
continue amidst his highest experiences. There are ups and downs, not only of
our actualoutward circumstances, but of our inward spiritual states. Do not
condemn Jeremiah until you are able to acquit yourself. The heavenly mind is
not formed easily or at once. There is an inward cross m every true heart,
upon which it must needs "die daily." But "the powers of the world to come"
ever tend to increase their hold upon the believer. This alternation of mood
and feeling is a necessaryaccompanimentof spiritual growth. Some day the
heart will be fixed. "The reproachof Christ" will then be esteemed"greater
riches than the treasures ofEgypt." This is what we should strive after -
inward oneness ofheart and purpose with our Master.
II. HIS EXPERIENCEIS TRANSITIONAL.
1. From doubt to faith. (Vers. 11, 12.)
2. From sorrow to joy. (Ver. 13.)
3. One day the struggle will end in triumph. - M.

Biblical Illustrator
O Lord, Thou hast deceivedme.
Jeremiah20:7
The arduous characterofGod's service forgotten
Fausset.
Too often the servants of God are impatient under present crosses, andgive
way to the infirmity of their old nature. Like Jeremiah, they complain as if
God had done them some wrong, and had not let them know in entering His
service what trials were before them. But it is not God who has dealt unfairly
with them, but themselves who have lost sight of the appointed conditions of
His service. The Lord never allures any to follow Him without plainly telling
them the cross that awaits them. —
(Fausset.)He deals with them as brave Garibaldi did with his recruits. When
Garibaldi was going out to battle, he told his troops what he wanted them to
do. When he had describedwhat he wanted them to do, they said: "Well,
General, what are you going to give us for all this? "Well," he replied, "I
don't know what else you will get;but you will gethunger and cold, and
wounds and death." How do you like that? (Revelation2:10.)
The ideal and the real; or, does God deceive?
T. R. Williams.
A religious man in the nineteenth century is not accustomedto speak ofGod
as a deceiver. And yet, once we allow for the difference of phraseologyandget
behind the words, we find that the experience which Jeremiah expressedhere
is one through which we ourselves have passed, and the problem which he
tries to solve is still on our hands. He had now been preaching for several
years. He had set out with all the ardour of young enthusiasm. His was no
recklessrush into the ministry. Objections and difficulties there were, and he
took account of them. But the impulse to preach was too strong to be resisted,

and the young prophet had no doubt that that impulse was the voice of God.
His obedience involved an expectation. He expected, of course, that his work
would tell; the God who calledhim would be with him, and the "work of the
Lord" would "prosperin his hands." After severalyears'hard, faithful work,
what does he find? A people not only obdurate and disobedient, but
revengeful and cruel. He had seenthe reformation under King Josiah, and he
had seenalso the terrible relapse. It grieved his heart to see the fearful
idolatrous practices restoredin the Valley of Hinnom. He went down there
one day to protestagainstit in the name of God. While he delivered his
messagehe held in his hand a potter's earthen bottle, which, at one point in
his discourse, he dashed to pieces on the ground, and assuredhis hearers that
so the Lord would break them and their city in pieces. The result of this was
not, as he might have hoped, the turning awayof the people from sin. On the
contrary, Pashur, the chief officerin the house of the Lord, struck Jeremiah
and put him in stocks to be jeered at. Though liberated the next day, this
treatment causedthe prophet seriouslyto reflect upon the whole question of
his mission. He lookedupon that mission in the light of results, and he
confessedto a greatdisappointment. That is what he expresses in the words,
"Lord, Thou hast deceivedme." Results seemedto tell him to give up, and he
tried to give up. He said: "I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any
more in His name." But what did he find? A burning fire in his heart, and he
could not forbear. Here, then, was the prophet's dilemma. The language of
actualities to him was "stop," but there was an imperative in his soul, and he
could not stop. Now the practicalquestion to him was — Which of these two
conflicting voices was the voice of God? Was it the voice of history, or was it
the prophetic impulse of his heart? If the latter, then there was the hard fact
for him to face, that "the word of the Lord" made him a laughing stock, a
derision, and a reproach. Jeremiah decided for the latter, spite of the
tremendous odds againsthim, and preachedon in the faith that God would
some day vindicate his cause. The problem which Jeremiahhad to solve for
himself is still with us. There does appear to be a contradiction betweenthe
world as it is and the world as we feel it ought to be, which is very puzzling.
To many minds that contradiction is altogetherinexplicable. The so-called
moral ideal is an illusion of the mind, and if we callit the voice of God, then
God deceives men. There always have been ideals of justice and goodwill, but

the realworld is all the time in dead opposition to them. Now, which of these
expresses the will of God? Is it the world of fact, or the world of aspiration? Is
it in our sight of what is, or in our hope of what may be? Shall we learn His
characterfrom what He has actually done, or from an ideal which He has
always promised but never realised? Does Goddeceive men? Reformers die
with their holms unfulfilled; lives have been given to the cause of
righteousness, andyet might remains right, and the tyrant prevails. Do our
ideals simply mock us? If these are the voice of God, why do they not prevail?
Is God defeated? What shall we say? Let us not try to escapethe difficulty by
denying it. We may purchase a cheapoptimism by blinking the ugly facts of
the world. Let us admit to the full that the history of moral reform has its sore
disappointments. The world has not only opposed the reformer, but it has
always put him in stocks. It changes the kind of stocks as time goes on, but
they are stocks allthe same. Officialreligion and real religion are often
engagedin deadly conflict, a conflict which frequently results to the reformer,
as to Jeremiah, in a sore sense ofdisappointment. And every man who seeks
to do goodsooncomes upon many discouraging facts. There are times when
he says:"I have laboured in vain, and spent my strength for nought." Nor is it
by ignoring such and similar facts, and dwelling only on the bright side, that
we have to support faith. On the other hand, we must beware of the
temperament which ever occupies itselfwith life's disappointments, and fails
to see its progress and success. Now,I admit that if there were that complete
breach betweenthe real and ideal which appears to be, the problem would be
utterly insoluble. But it is not so. In the first place, it is not correctto speak of
the world of fact and the world of aspirationas separate and distinct, for the
aspiration is one of the facts. It is a part of that unto which it aspires. The
aspiration after goodnessis itself good, and all prayer for spiritual excellence
is part of its ownanswer. There is no clearline betweenthe ideal and the real,
for the ideal is a part of man as he is, and he is a part of the world as it is.
When we ask whether we shall learn God's characterfrom that which He has
accomplishedin the world, or from the ideal which stirs the soul, we forget
that that soul with its ideal is a part of what He has done. Man, with his sense
of duty, with all his yearnings for purer and diviner being, is a part of the
world as it is; the ideal is partly actual; prophecy is history at its highest
range. If only one man desiredthat societyshould be righteous and pure,

societycould not be judged without that man. The powerof an ideal may
culminate in a greatperson, find in him an exceptionally brilliant expression,
and reachthe point at which it commands the world; but he is always a sharer
in the conditions he condemns, and the men he condemns have helped to make
him what he is. He may be as different from the average societyas the
blossomis from the stem on which it grows, but that societyconditions him as
the stem conditions the blossom. This is the fact which the prophet is liable to
forget. It was as true of Jeremiah as of Thomas Carlyle, that he made the
blackness blackerthan it was. Jeremiahwas not as lonely as he himself
thought he was. If that nation had been utterly faithless, suchfaith as his
could not have been born in it. So, though the prophet must condemn the
actual, because he is swayedby the ideal, and is a divinely discontentedman,
working for progress, yethis very existence proves that that progress has
already been the order of God, and has produced him. That there is a
contradiction betweenwhat is and what ought to be is true, but it is not the
whole truth. Strictly speaking, nothing is, but everything is becoming. We are
in the process ofa Divine evolution in which the ideal is forever actualising
itself. The contradictionis not ultimate, nor the breachcomplete. What
cannot we hope, for instance, of a race that counts one Jesus among its
members? He is, then, an example of what we may become, and our
representative before God. In like manner, surely, when God judges the
human race, He does not judge it with its best specimens left out; He takes its
highest points into consideration. He does with the race what you and I do
with the individual — takes its best as its real self, as that to which it shall one
day fully attain. And when we think that Jesus, and all that He was, is a part
of the actualhistory of the world, then we say that the richest ideals that ever
swayour souls are justified by the history of our race — God is not deceiving
us. Let us try to remember this when we come to bitter disappointments in
life's work. When the prophet finds, as find he will, that multitudes do not
listen, but mock and deride, let him nevertheless be sure that the goodand the
true must prevail. Some disappointments are inevitable. It is of the very
nature of an ideal to make life unsatisfactory;a spirit so possessedcannever
rest in what is, but will forever press forward to that which is before. To be
content with all things as they are is to obliterate the distinction betweengood
and bad, betweenright and wrong. No high-souled man will settle matters so.

But some of our bitterest disappointments come from the fact that the form in
which the ideal shapes itself in our mind is necessarilydefective, and that our
scheme of work is consequently partial and one-sided. This was a constant
source of trouble to the prophets of Israel. We get many of our
disappointments in a similar way. Here are two men, for instance, whose souls
are stirred by the ideal of a renovated world in which righteousness andlove
shall reign. Eachthink of bringing it about chiefly in one particular way, the
former, perhaps by some scheme of socialreform, the latter by a certaintype
of gospelpreaching. Both will be very disappointed; the world will not come
round to them as they wish. And yet while these two men are groaning under
their disappointments, the factis that the world is all the time advancing,
though not in their way. The man who thinks that his particular gospelis the
only thing that can possibly save the world finds the world very indifferent to
that gospel, and thinks that it is going to perdition, while all the time it is
going onward and upward to higher and better things. But the truth is, that
the world's progress is far too greatto be squeezed into any one creed, or
scheme, or ordinance, and you cannot measure it by any of these. Attempt
that, and while you bemoan your discouragements andthink ill of the world,
humanity will sweeponward, receiving its marching orders from the throne of
the universe. For practicalpurposes we must confine our energies chieflyto
one or two ways of doing good, but if we only remember that when we have
selectedour wayit is but a small fragment of what has to be done, that other
ways and methods are quite as necessary, we shall save ourselves from much
personaltrouble, and from much ill-judgment of others. But even when we
have done our best, there will still be some adverse results. These must not
dishearten us. If there be in our heart "as it were a burning fire," and we
become wearyof silence and cannotcontain, then let the fiery speechflow,
howevercold the world. We must obey the highest necessities of our nature.
Our best impulses and purest desires are the word of God to us, which we
have to preach. With this conviction we cango on with our work,
disappointments notwithstanding. Nothing is more evident in reviewing
history than the continuity of Divine purpose. It is the unfolding of a plan. It is
full enoughof evil and of sorrow, and yet "out of evil cometh good," and "joy
is born of sorrow." It is full enough of error, and yet, somehow, evenerror has
been used to preserve truth. Out of mistakes and superstitions have come

some of the greatesttruths. The greatesttragedyof history was the crucifixion
of Jesus, yet Calvary has become the mount of our highest ascensions, andthe
altar of our best thanksgivings. So often, indeed, has the best come out of the
worst, so often has the morning brokenwhen the night was darkest, so often
has peace come through war, that no discouragements oftoday shall weaken
our faith, or bedim our hope, or mar the splendour of our expectation. We
believe in God. There are dark places in history, tunnels through which we
are not able to follow the train of the Divine purpose, but we saw it first on the
one side, and then on the other, and conclude it must have gone through —
the tunnel, too, was on the line of progress. The history of the world is an
upward history. And those who know Godare ever looking up; men with a
Divine outlook are ever on the march. And, friends, whateveryou do, cling to
the ideal. Let no discouragementrelease yourhold. Be active and practical;
yes, but do not be bound within the limits of any one scheme. Climb the mount
of vision, and have converse with God, and you will carry down with you a
faith that can stand any disappointment, and hold itself erectamid the rush of
the maddest torrent.
(T. R. Williams.)
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Home / Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary / Jeremiah/ Chapter 20
Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah20:7
Jeremiah20:6
Jeremiah20
Jeremiah20:8
O LORD, You have deceived me and I was deceived;You have overcome me
and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock allday long; Everyone mocks
me.
Jump to: Clarke Commentary • Biblical Illustrator • Coffman Commentaries
• Gill's Exposition • Geneva Study Bible • Commentary Critical and
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Commentary • Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes • Commentary Critical

and Explanatory - Unabridged • Ellicott's Commentary • Treasury of
Knowledge
Other Authors
Range Specific
BirdgewayBible Commentary
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Keil & Delitzsch
Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures
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Peake'sBible Commentary
Hawker's PoorMan's Commentary
Chapter Specific
Adam Clarke Commentary
O Lord, thou hast deceivedme - Thou hast promised me protection; and, lo! I
am now delivered into the hands of my enemies. These words were probably
spokenwhen Pashur smote him, and put him in prison.
I think our translation of this passageis very exceptionable. Myold Bible
reads, Thou laddist me aside Lord; and I was lad aside. The original word is
siht ot ysehporp dna og ot,.e.i ,em dedausrep tsah uoht ,inahtittip‫פתיתני‬
people. I went, faithfully declaredthy message, andnow I am likely to perish
by their cruelty. As the root ‫ׂשתפ‬ pathah signifies to persuade and allure as
well as to deceive, the above must be its meaning in this place. Takenas in our
Version it is highly irreverent. It is used in the same sense here as in Genesis

9:27; : God shall enlarge (persuade, margin) Japheth; and he shall dwell in
the tents of Shem.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Jeremiah20:7". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/jeremiah-
20.html. 1832.
The Biblical Illustrator
Jeremiah20:7
O Lord, Thou hast deceivedme.
The arduous characterofGod’s service forgotten
Too often the servants of God are impatient under present crosses, andgive
way to the infirmity of their old nature. Like Jeremiah, they complain as if
God had done them some wrong, and had not let them know in entering His
service what trials were before them. But it is not God who has dealt unfairly
with them, but themselves who have lost sight of the appointed conditions of
His service. The Lord never allures any to follow Him without plainly telling
them the cross that awaits them.
(Fausset.)
He deals with them as brave Garibaldi did with his recruits. When Garibaldi
was going out to battle, he told his troops what he wanted them to do. When
he had described what he wanted them to do, they said: “Well, General, what
are you going to give us for all this? “Well,” he replied, “I don’t know what
else you will get; but you will get hunger and cold, and wounds and death.”
How do you like that? (Revelation2:10.)

The ideal and the real; or, does God deceive?
A religious man in the nineteenth century is not accustomedto speak ofGod
as a deceiver. And yet, once we allow for the difference of phraseologyandget
behind the words, we find that the experience which Jeremiah expressedhere
is one through which we ourselves have passed, and the problem which he
tries to solve is still on our hands. He had now been preaching for several
years. He had set out with all the ardour of young enthusiasm. His was no
recklessrush into the ministry. Objections and difficulties there were, and he
took accountof them. But the impulse to preach was too strong to be resisted,
and the young prophet had no doubt that that impulse was the voice of God.
His obedience involved an expectation. He expected, of course, that his work
would tell; the God who calledhim would be with him, and the “work of the
Lord” would “prosperin his hands.” After severalyears’hard, faithful work,
what does he find? A people not only obdurate and disobedient, but
revengeful and cruel. He had seenthe reformation under King Josiah, and he
had seenalso the terrible relapse. It grieved his heart to see the fearful
idolatrous practices restoredin the Valley of Hinnom. He went down there
one day to protestagainstit in the name of God. While he delivered his
messagehe held in his hand a potter’s earthen bottle, which, at one point in
his discourse, he dashed to pieces on the ground, and assuredhis hearers that
so the Lord would break them and their city in pieces. The result of this was
not, as he might have hoped, the turning awayof the people from sin. On the
contrary, Pashur, the chief officerin the house of the Lord, struck Jeremiah
and put him in stocks to be jeered at. Though liberated the next day, this
treatment causedthe prophet seriouslyto reflect upon the whole question of
his mission. He lookedupon that mission in the light of results, and he
confessedto a greatdisappointment. That is what he expresses in the words,
“Lord, Thou hast deceivedme.” Results seemedto tell him to give up, and he
tried to give up. He said: “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any
more in His name.” But what did he find? A burning fire in his heart, and he
could not forbear. Here, then, was the prophet’s dilemma. The language of
actualities to him was “stop,” but there was an imperative in his soul, and he
could not stop. Now the practicalquestion to him was--Whichof these two
conflicting voices was the voice of God? Was it the voice of history, or was it

the prophetic impulse of his heart? If the latter, then there was the hard fact
for him to face, that “the word of the Lord” made him a laughing stock, a
derision, and a reproach. Jeremiah decided for the latter, spite of the
tremendous odds againsthim, and preachedon in the faith that God would
some day vindicate his cause. The problem which Jeremiahhad to solve for
himself is still with us. There does appear to be a contradiction betweenthe
world as it is and the world as we feel it ought to be, which is very puzzling.
To many minds that contradiction is altogetherinexplicable. The so-called
moral ideal is an illusion of the mind, and if we callit the voice of God, then
God deceives men. There always have been ideals of justice and goodwill, but
the realworld is all the time in dead opposition to them. Now, which of these
expresses the will of God? Is it the world of fact, or the world of aspiration? Is
it in our sight of what is, or in our hope of what may be? Shall we learn His
characterfrom what He has actually done, or from an ideal which He has
always promised but never realised? Does Goddeceive men? Reformers die
with their holms unfulfilled; lives have been given to the cause of
righteousness, andyet might remains right, and the tyrant prevails. Do our
ideals simply mock us? If these are the voice of God, why do they not prevail?
Is God defeated? What shall we say? Let us not try to escapethe difficulty by
denying it. We may purchase a cheapoptimism by blinking the ugly facts of
the world. Let us admit to the full that the history of moral reform has its sore
disappointments. The world has not only opposed the reformer, but it has
always put him in stocks. It changes the kind of stocks as time goes on, but
they are stocks allthe same. Officialreligion and real religion are often
engagedin deadly conflict, a conflict which frequently results to the reformer,
as to Jeremiah, in a sore sense ofdisappointment. And every man who seeks
to do goodsooncomes upon many discouraging facts. There are times when
he says:“I have laboured in vain, and spent my strength for nought.” Nor is it
by ignoring such and similar facts, and dwelling only on the bright side, that
we have to support faith. On the other hand, we must beware of the
temperament which ever occupies itselfwith life’s disappointments, and fails
to see its progress and success. Now,I admit that if there were that complete
breach betweenthe real and ideal which appears to be, the problem would be
utterly insoluble. But it is not so. In the first place, it is not correctto speak of
the world of fact and the world of aspirationas separate and distinct, for the

aspiration is one of the facts. It is a part of that unto which it aspires. The
aspiration after goodnessis itself good, and all prayer for spiritual excellence
is part of its ownanswer. There is no clearline betweenthe ideal and the real,
for the ideal is a part of man as he is, and he is a part of the world as it is.
When we ask whether we shall learn God’s characterfrom that which He has
accomplishedin the world, or from the ideal which stirs the soul, we forget
that that soul with its ideal is a part of what He has done. Man, with his sense
of duty, with all his yearnings for purer and diviner being, is a part of the
world as it is; the ideal is partly actual; prophecy is history at its highest
range. If only one man desiredthat societyshould be righteous and pure,
societycould not be judged without that man. The powerof an ideal may
culminate in a greatperson, find in him an exceptionally brilliant expression,
and reachthe point at which it commands the world; but he is always a sharer
in the conditions he condemns, and the men he condemns have helped to make
him what he is. He may be as different from the average societyas the
blossomis from the stem on which it grows, but that societyconditions him as
the stem conditions the blossom. This is the fact which the prophet is liable to
forget. It was as true of Jeremiah as of Thomas Carlyle, that he made the
blackness blackerthan it was. Jeremiahwas not as lonely as he himself
thought he was. If that nation had been utterly faithless, suchfaith as his
could not have been born in it. So, though the prophet must condemn the
actual, because he is swayedby the ideal, and is a divinely discontentedman,
working for progress, yethis very existence proves that that progress has
already been the order of God, and has produced him. That there is a
contradiction betweenwhat is and what ought to be is true, but it is not the
whole truth. Strictly speaking, nothing is, but everything is becoming. We are
in the process ofa Divine evolution in which the ideal is forever actualising
itself. The contradictionis not ultimate, nor the breachcomplete. What
cannot we hope, for instance, of a race that counts one Jesus among its
members? He is, then, an example of what we may become, and our
representative before God. In like manner, surely, when God judges the
human race, He does not judge it with its best specimens left out; He takes its
highest points into consideration. He does with the race what you and I do
with the individual--takes its best as its real self, as that to which it shall one
day fully attain. And when we think that Jesus, and all that He was, is a part

of the actualhistory of the world, then we say that the richest ideals that ever
swayour souls are justified by the history of our race--Godis not deceiving us.
Let us try to remember this when we come to bitter disappointments in life’s
work. When the prophet finds, as find he will, that multitudes do not listen,
but mock and deride, let him nevertheless be sure that the goodand the true
must prevail. Some disappointments are inevitable. It is of the very nature of
an ideal to make life unsatisfactory;a spirit so possessedcannever rest in
what is, but will forever press forward to that which is before. To be content
with all things as they are is to obliterate the distinction betweengoodand
bad, betweenright and wrong. No high-souled man will settle matters so. But
some of our bitterest disappointments come from the fact that the form in
which the ideal shapes itself in our mind is necessarilydefective, and that our
scheme of work is consequently partial and one-sided. This was a constant
source of trouble to the prophets of Israel. We get many of our
disappointments in a similar way. Here are two men, for instance, whose souls
are stirred by the ideal of a renovated world in which righteousness andlove
shall reign. Eachthink of bringing it about chiefly in one particular way, the
former, perhaps by some scheme of socialreform, the latter by a certaintype
of gospelpreaching. Both will be very disappointed; the world will not come
round to them as they wish. And yet while these two men are groaning under
their disappointments, the factis that the world is all the time advancing,
though not in their way. The man who thinks that his particular gospelis the
only thing that can possibly save the world finds the world very indifferent to
that gospel, and thinks that it is going to perdition, while all the time it is
going onward and upward to higher and better things. But the truth is, that
the world’s progress is far too greatto be squeezed into any one creed, or
scheme, or ordinance, and you cannot measure it by any of these. Attempt
that, and while you bemoan your discouragements andthink ill of the world,
humanity will sweeponward, receiving its marching orders from the throne of
the universe. For practicalpurposes we must confine our energies chieflyto
one or two ways of doing good, but if we only remember that when we have
selectedour wayit is but a small fragment of what has to be done, that other
ways and methods are quite as necessary, we shall save ourselves from much
personaltrouble, and from much ill-judgment of others. But even when we
have done our best, there will still be some adverse results. These must not

dishearten us. If there be in our heart “as it were a burning fire,” and we
become wearyof silence and cannotcontain, then let the fiery speechflow,
howevercold the world. We must obey the highest necessities ofour nature.
Our best impulses and purest desires are the word of God to us, which we
have to preach. With this conviction we cango on with our work,
disappointments notwithstanding. Nothing is more evident in reviewing
history than the continuity of Divine purpose. It is the unfolding of a plan. It is
full enoughof evil and of sorrow, and yet “out of evil cometh good,” and“joy
is born of sorrow.” It is full enough of error, and yet, somehow, evenerror has
been used to preserve truth. Out of mistakes and superstitions have come
some of the greatesttruths. The greatesttragedyof history was the crucifixion
of Jesus, yet Calvary has become the mount of our highest ascensions, andthe
altar of our best thanksgivings. So often, indeed, has the best come out of the
worst, so often has the morning brokenwhen the night was darkest, so often
has peace come through war, that no discouragements oftoday shall weaken
our faith, or bedim our hope, or mar the splendour of our expectation. We
believe in God. There are dark places in history, tunnels through which we
are not able to follow the train of the Divine purpose, but we saw it first on the
one side, and then on the other, and conclude it must have gone through--the
tunnel, too, was on the line of progress. The history of the world is an upward
history. And those who know God are ever looking up; men with a Divine
outlook are ever on the march. And, friends, whatever you do, cling to the
ideal. Let no discouragementreleaseyour hold. Be active and practical;yes,
but do not be bound within the limits of any one scheme. Climb the mount of
vision, and have converse with God, and you will carry down with you a faith
that can stand any disappointment, and hold itself erectamid the rush of the
maddest torrent. (T. R. Williams.)
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "Jeremiah20:7". The Biblical Illustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/jeremiah-20.html. 1905-
1909. New York.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
JEREMIAH'S FINAL LAMENT
Some find two confessions orlaments in this passage, but we candiscoveronly
one. The only basis for making two out of it is the unexpected appearance of
the reassuring verses (Jeremiah20:11-13), but we believe the latter verses
(Jeremiah 20:14-18)are also built around and related to Jeremiah20:11-13,
giving only one confessionandlament in this chapter. We shall assignfurther
reasons forthis understanding of the chapter in the discussionunder
Jeremiah20:13-14.
"O Jehovah, thou has persuaded me, and I was persuaded;thou art stronger
than I, and hast prevailed: I am become a laughing-stock allthe day, everyone
mockethme. For as often as I speak, I cry out; I cry, Violence and
destruction! because the word of Jehovahis made a reproach unto me, and a
derision all the day. And 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 wearywith forbearing, and I cannot contain. For I
have heard the defaming of many, terror on every side. Denounce, and we will
denounce him, say all my familiar friends, they that watchfor my fall;
peradventure he will be persuaded, and we shall prevail againsthim, and we
shall take our revenge on him."
This is indeed a pitiful complaint on the part of Jeremiah. All of his close
neighbors and friends preferred to believe the false prophets such as Pashhur
rather than the terrible warnings of Jeremiah; and it appears here that they

confidently expectedhim to be destroyed rather than themselves and their
city. How wrong they were!
"This paragraph reveals at what terrible personalcostGod's word was
faithfully delivered by Jeremiah."[14]Note thatJeremiah, on occasion, had
tried to refrain from delivering such sorrowfulnews to his beloved people and
their city; but he had found it impossible to hide God's message,unpopular as
it surely was.
"The word of Jehovahis made a reproachunto me ..." (Jeremiah20:8).
Severalthings had contributed to this. The message was notone of blessing,
but of punishment and destruction. Furthermore, the years had slipped away,
and the false prophets were screaming that the true prophecies of men like
Isaiahand Jeremiah were false. No destruction had yet come upon Jerusalem;
and they were shouting that the prophecies were false because they had not
yet come to pass. The people, who strongly preferred to put their trust in the
false prophets, took up all of the cries of violence and destruction, of terror on
every side, etc., and affixed them to Jeremiah as a nickname. "Here comes old
`Violence and Destruction'; here comes old `'Terror on Every Side'"!
Jeremiahhere responds to his situation with words that are little short of
blasphemy. He accusedGodof "persuading him." "The literal Hebrew word
here is `deceived,'and it actually means `to seduce,'as a virgin is seduced
(Exodus 22:16)."[15]Jeremiahwas saying that, "He was unwilling to take the
prophetic office at first, but that God had over-persuadedhim with promises,
as in Jeremiah1:8,17,18. However, Jeremiahhad simply misunderstood the
promises, for God had promised no immunity from persecutionand hatred of
men, but that Jeremiahwould prevail."[16]God certainly knew his man;
because despite Jeremiah's bitter lament, he did indeed prevail.
The whole paragraph here, "Depicts a man loudly complaining about his lot
in life, yet showing that he is still submissive, loyal and obedient to God's
will."[17]
Copyright Statement

James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Jeremiah20:7". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/jeremiah-20.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
O Lord, thou hast deceivedme, and I was deceived,....Whatfollows from
hence to the end of the chapteris thought to have been said by the prophet,
when in the stocks,orin prison, and shows mixture of grace and corruption in
him; a struggle betweenflesh and spirit, and the force of a temptation under
which he laboured, arising from difficulties and discouragements in his work;
and he not only complains to God, but of him; that he had deceivedhim, when
he first called him to be a prophet, by telling him that he should be set over
nations and kingdoms, to pull them down, Jeremiah1:10; which he
understood of foreign nations, but now found his own people were meant, so
Jerom; or in not immediately executing the threatenings he senthim with; as
was the case ofJonah; or by giving him reasonto expecthonour and ease,
whereas he met with nothing but disrespectand trouble; and that he should
have divine protection and successagainsthis opposers, Jeremiah1:18;
whereas he was now delivered into their hands, and used in the most
reproachful manner; but be it so, this was all a mistake of the prophet, and no
deceptionof God. Calvin takes it to be ironically spoken, expressing the sense
of his enemies, who charging him with a deception, tacitly chargedGod with
being the author of it. Others, to softenthe expression, render the words, "if
thou hast deceivedme, I am deceived";or, "thou hast deceivedme if I am
deceived"F25. Butit seems bestof all to translate them, as they will hear it,
"O Lord, thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded"F26;so the word is
used of God in Genesis 9:27;"God shall enlarge" or"persuade Japheth";see
also Hosea 2:14, where it is rendered allure; and then the sense is, thou hast

persuaded me to take upon me the prophetical office againstmy will, and
againstremonstrances made by me; and I was persuadedby thy words and
promises, and by thy spirit and grace, to enter upon it; to which sense the
following words incline:
thou art strongerthan I, and hast prevailed; so strong were the arguments,
motives, and inducements the Lord made use of; so pressing his injunctions
and commands; so forcible the constraints of his spirit; that the prophet was
obliged to yield unto them, and was made willing in the day of his powerto
comply, though first it was sore againsthis will; but he could not withstand
the divine call, and therefore might have hoped, since it was so manifest that
he was sent of God, and did not run of himself, that he should have met with a
better reception, and more success;but so it was not:
I am in derision daily, everyone mockethme; he was the laughing stock of
everyone of the people of Israel, from the highest to the lowest;princes,
priests, and people, all derided him and his prophecies, and that continually,
every day, and all the day long, and especiallywhen he was in the stocks;
though it was not only his person they mocked, but the word of the Lord by
him, as appears from Jeremiah20:8.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7". "The New John Gill Exposition
of the Entire Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/jeremiah-20.html. 1999.

Geneva Study Bible
O LORD, thou hast deceivedme, and I was c deceived:thou art strongerthan
I, and hast d prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mockethme.
(c) In this appears the impatiency which often overcomes the servants of God
when they do not see their labours profit, and also feel their own weakness.
{See (Jeremiah 15:18)}
(d) You thrust me forth to this work againstmy will.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon Jeremiah20:7". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/jeremiah-20.html.
1599-1645.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Jeremiah‘s complaint, not unlike that of Job, breathing somewhatof human
infirmity in consequence ofhis imprisonment. Thou didst promise never to
give me up to the will of mine enemies, and yet Thou hast done so. But
Jeremiahmisunderstood God‘s promise, which was not that he should have
nothing to suffer, but that God would deliver him out of sufferings (Jeremiah
1:19).
deceived— Others translate as Margin, “Thou hast enticed” or “persuaded
me,” namely, to undertake the prophetic office, “and I was persuaded,” that

is, suffered myself to be persuaded to undertake what I find too hard for me.
So the Hebrew word is used in a good sense (Genesis9:27, Margin;Proverbs
25:15;Hosea 2:14).
strongerthan I — Thou whose strengthI could not resisthast laid this burden
on me, and hast prevailed (hast made me prophesy, in spite of my reluctance)
(Jeremiah 1:5-7); yet, when I exercise my office, I am treated with derision
(Lamentations 3:14).
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Jeremiah20:7". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/jeremiah-20.html.
1871-8.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
O LORD, thou hast deceivedme, and I was deceived: thou art strongerthan I,
and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mockethme.
Hast prevailed — Thou prevailedst againstme. Jeremiahat first excused
himself to God, chap1:6, but the Lord prevailed againsthim replying,
verse1:7, Saynot, I am a child, for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee,
and whatsoeverI command thee thou shalt speak, verse1:9. This is all that is
here meant, namely, God's over-ruling him contrary to his own inclinations.

Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/jeremiah-20.html. 1765.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
Some think that these words were not spokenthrough the prophetic Spirit,
but that Jeremiah had uttered them inconsiderately through the influence of a
hasty impulse; as even the most eminent are sometimes carriedawayby a
hasty temper. They then suppose the Prophet, being overcome by a
temptation of this kind, made this complaint, to God, “What! Lord, I have
followedthee as a leader; but thou hastpromised to me what I do not find: I
seem, then, to myself to be deceived.” Others give even a harsher explanation,
— that the Prophet had been deceived, according to what is said elsewhere,
“I the Lord have deceivedthat Prophet.” )Ezekiel14:9.(
But there is no doubt but that his language is ironical, when he says that he
was deceivedHe assumes the characterof his enemies, who boastedthat he
presumptuously prophesied of the calamity and ruin of the city, as no such
thing would take place. The Prophet here declares that God was the author of
his doctrine, and that nothing could be allegedagainsthim which would not
be againstGod himself; as though he had said that the Jews contendedin
vain, under the notion that they contendedwith a mortal man; for they openly
carried on war with God, and like the giants furiously assailedheavenitself.
He then says that he was deceived, not that he thought so;for he was fully

satisfiedas to himself; nor had he only the Spirit of God as a witness to his
calling, but also possessedin his heart a firm conviction of the truth he
delivered. But as I have already said, he relates the words of those who, by
opposing his teaching, denied that he was God’s servant, and gave him no
credit as though he was only an impostor.
But this mode of speaking is much more striking than if he had said in plain
terms, “Lord, I am not deceived, for I have only obeyed thy command, and
have receivedfrom thee whateverI have made public; nor have I
presumptuously obtruded myself, nor adulterated the truth of which thou
hast made me the herald: I have, then, faithfully dischargedmy office.” If the
Prophet had thus spoken, there would have been much less force in his words
than by exposing in the manner he does here the blasphemies of those who
dared to accuseGod, and make him guilty by arraigning his servantas a false
prophet.
We now, then, understand why he spoke ironically, and freely expostulated
with God, because he had been deceivedby him; it was that the Jews might
know that they vomited forth reproaches, notagainsta mortal man, but
againstGod himself, who would become the avengerof so greatan insult.
Were any one to ask whether it became the Prophet to make God thus his
associate,the answerwould be this, — that his cause was so connectedwith
God’s cause, that the union was inseparable;for Jeremiahspeaks nothere as
a private individual, much less as one of the common people; but as he knew
that his calling was approved by God, he hesitated not to connectGodwith
himself, so that the reproachmight belong to both. God, indeed, could not be
separatedfrom his own truth; for nothing would be left to him, were he
regardedas apart from his word. Hence a mere fiction is every idea which
men form of God in their minds, when they neglectthat mirror in which he
has made himself known, Nay more, we ought to know that whateverpower,
majesty, and glory there is in God, so shines forth in his word, that he does not
appear as God, excepthis word remains safe and uncorrupted. As, then, the
Prophet had been furnished with a sure commission, it is no wonder that he so
boldly derides his enemies and says, that God was a deceiver, if he had been
deceived. To the same purpose is what Paul says,

“If an angelcome down from heavenand teachyou another Gospel, let him be
accursed.” )Galatians1:8(
Certainly Paul was inferior to the angels, and we know that he was not so
presumptuous as to draw down angels from heaven, and to make them
subservient to himself; no, by no means; but he did not regard what they
might be; but as he had the truth of the Gospel, ofwhich he was the herald,
sealedin his heart, he hesitated not to raise that word above all angels. So now
Jeremiahsays, that God was a deceiver, if he was deceived:how so? because
God would deny himself, if he destroyed the truth of his word.
We now, then, perceive that the Prophet did not exceedwhat was right, when
he dared to elevate himself, so as to become in a manner the associate ofGod,
that is, as to the truth of which God was the author and he the minister.
But from this passage a useful doctrine may be gathered. All who go forth to
teachought to be so sure of their calling, as not to hesitate to appeal to God’s
tribunal wheneverany dispute happens. It is indeed true, that even the best
servants of God may in some things be mistaken, or be doubtful in their
judgment; but as to their calling and doctrine there ought to be that certainty
which Jeremiah exhibits to us here by his own example.
He afterwards adds, Thou hast constrainedme By saying that he had been
deceived, he meant this, — “O God, if I am an impostor, thou hast made me
so;if I have deceived, thou hast led me; for I have derived from thee all that I
have; it hence follows, that thou art in fault, and less excusable than I am, if
there be anything wrong in me.” Afterwards, as I have said, he enlarges on
this, — that Godconstrained him; for he had not covetedthe prophetic office,
but being constrained, undertook it; for he could not have rejectedor castoff
the burden laid on him. He then expresses two things, — that he had brought
no fancies of his own, nor invented anything of what he had said, but had been
the instrument of God’s Spirit, and delivered what he had receivedas from
hand to hand: this is one thing. And then he adds, — that had he his free
choice, he would not have undertaken the prophetic office;for he had been
drawn as it were by constraint to obey God in this respect. We now then
perceive the meaning of Jeremiah.

Were any to ask, whether it could be deemed commendable in the Prophet
thus constrainedly to undertake his office;to this the plain answeris, — that a
generalrule is not here laid down, as though it were necessaryfor all to be
thus unwillingly drawn. But though Jeremiahmight not have been faultless in
this respect., yethe might have justly testified this before men. And we have
seenat the beginning, that when God appointed him a teacherto his Church,
he refused as far as he could the honor,
“Ah! Lord,” he said, “I know not how to speak.”
(Jeremiah 1:6)
Though then he was constrainedby God’s authority, and as it were, led by
force, and though he may have shewedin this respectthat he was not free
from fault or weakness;yet he might have rightly pleaded this againsthis
enemies.
He then says, that he was a scorncontinually, and was derided by all The
Prophet no doubt tried here to find out whether any portion of the people was
still reclaimable;for to hear that God was chargedwith falsehood, that the
Prophet’s office was rendered void by the wilfulness and audacity of men, was
much calculatedto rouse their minds. When, therefore, they heard this, they
must surely have been terrified, if they had a particle of true religion or of
right knowledge. Hence the Prophet wishedto make the trial, whether there
were any remaining who were capable of being reclaimed. But his objectalso
was to shew, that their wickednesswas inexpiable, if they continued wickedly
and proudly to oppose his doctrine. (11)
And we ought carefully to notice this; for this passagehas not only been
written, that we may be instructed in the fear of God; but the Holy Spirit
continually proclaims againstall despisers, andopenly accusesthem, that they
offer to God the atrocious insult of charging him with falsehoodand
deception. Let us then know that a dreadful judgment is here denounced on
all those profane men who despise God’s word and treat it with derision; for
the Holy Spirit by the mouth of Jeremiahopenly proclaims, as I have said,
before God’s tribunal, that God is made by them a liar. It afterwards follows,
—

7.Thoudidst persuade me, O Jehovah, and I was persuaded;Thou didst
constrainme, and didst prevail: I am become a derision every day; The whole
of it are jeering me.
The “it” refers to the city where he was, and of which he speaks atthe end of
the lastchapter; for this chapteris but a continuation of the narrative. What
he relates there of the fate of the city drew the attention and excitedthe rage
of Pashur. After having spokenof what Pashurdid, Jeremiahgives utterance
here to his complaints.
Blayney renders the last line thus, and is approved by Horsley, —
Ridicule hath spent its whole force upon me.
All the versions and the Targum regard‫,ׂשלכ‬ not as a verb, but as signifying
“all,” or every one; and the proposed rendering is too refined. — Ed
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Calvin, John. "Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7". "Calvin's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/jeremiah-
20.html. 1840-57.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
Jeremiah20:7 O LORD, thou hast deceivedme, and I was deceived:thou art
strongerthan I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh
me.
Ver. 7. O Lord, thou hast deceivedme, and I was deceived.](a) From hence to
the end of the chapter the prophet, not without some tang and taint of human

frailty, grievously quiritateth and expostulateth with God about the hard
usage and ill successhe met with in the executionof his prophetic function.
But as ex incredulitate Thomae nostra contirmata estfides, Thomas’s unbelief
serveth to the settling of our faith; and as Peter’s fall warneth us to look well
to our standings; so when such a man as Jeremiah shall miscarry in this sort,
and have such outbursts, oh be not high minded, but fear. Some render the
text, Lord, if I be deceived, thou hast deceivedme; and so every faithful man
who keepethto the rule, may safelysay. Piscatorhath it, Persuasistimihi
Iehova, et persuasus sum. O Lord, thou persuadedstme, and I was persuaded
- sc., to undertake this prophetic office - but I have small joy of it. Some think
he thus complained when he was put in prison by Pashnr.
I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.] This is the world’s wages. The
cynic said of the Megarians long ago, Betterbe their horse, dog, or pander
than their teacher, and better he should be regarded.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/jeremiah-
20.html. 1865-1868.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Jeremiah20:7. O Lord, thou hast deceivedme, &c.— Over-persuadedme,
and I was over-persuaded. Our translation here is harsh and faulty. The
occasionofthe words was this: The prophet had met with a large share of ill-
usage from an ungrateful people, in return for the faithful discharge of his

prophetic office. Under these his calamitous circumstances, he looks up to
God, and appeals to him, the searcherof hearts, as his witness, that it was not
through any ambition of his own that he had enteredupon that invidious
office;see chap. Jeremiah1:6-7, &c. nor had he takenupon him of his own
accordto reprove his countrymen: but all that he had done in that affair was
pursuant to a divine cause, and in pure obedience to divine command. He
would gladly have declined it, but God would not suffer him; wherefore
hereupon he says, speaking to the Almighty, Thou hast over-persuadedme,
and I was over-persuaded;thou art strongerthan I, and hast prevailed. The
passagecarries in it a lively idea of the prophet's greatmodesty and profound
humility, in not affecting high things or shining offices;but submitting,
however, to the burden of them in obedience to the will of God. See
Waterland's Script. Vind. part. 3: p. 84.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentaryon Jeremiah20:7". Thomas Coke Commentary
on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/jeremiah-20.html. 1801-
1803.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
The following part of the chapter to the end of it containetha complaint or
prayer of the prophet unto God, made (as some think) during his
imprisonment by Pashur, but the certaintime is not known. Our translators
here might have translated the word yghyhm more favourably than

thou hast deceivedme. It might have been, thou hast persuaded me, or, thou
hast allured or enticed me, as it is translated, Jude 14:15 1 Kings 22:21,22 Exo
22:16 Proverbs 1:10 16:29 Psalms 78:36. The word signifies no more than by
words to remove a man from his own opinion. That is, doubtless, the sense
here: Lord, I was not fond of this employment as a prophet, by thy words I
was removed from my ownopinion of myself; which might be spokenby the
prophet without any reflectionupon God; it only signifieth his undertaking
the office of a prophet at God’s command, not out of any ambition of his own.
Thou art strongerthan I and hastprevailed; but thou prevailestagainstme.
Jeremiahat first excusedhimself to God, as we read, Jeremiah 1:6; he said
Ah, Lord God! behold, I am a child, and cannotspeak;but the Lord prevailed
upon him, replying, Jeremiah 1:7, Say not, I am a child; for thou shalt go to
all that I shall send thee, and whatsoeverI command thee thou shalt speak.
Jeremiah1:9, The Lord put forth his hand, and touched his mouth, and said,
Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. This is all that is here meant by
deceiving, viz. God’s overruling of him contrary to his own inclinations.
I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me; he complaineth that now he was
in this office every one mockedhim and derided him, and that for the faithful
discharge of that office to which God had calledhim.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Jeremiah20:7". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/jeremiah-20.html. 1685.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

JEREMIAH’S COMPLAINT, Jeremiah20:7-18.
7. Deceived— Rather, persuaded: though the word often contains the sense of
misleading. Here the meaning is: didst entice me into the prophetic office with
vain hopes.
Thou art stronger — Literally, hast takenhold of: placedme in this position
of fruitless suffering and danger.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7". "Whedon's Commentary
on the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/jeremiah-
20.html. 1874-1909.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
The prophet complained that the Lord had deceivedhim (cf. Exodus 20:16;1
Kings 22:20-22)and had overcome him. He had made Jeremiaha
laughingstock and an objectof constantmockeryby his people. Evidently
Jeremiahhoped that the people would repent at his preaching, and when they
did not, he felt betrayed by the Lord.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon Jeremiah 20:7". "Expository
Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/jeremiah-20.html. 2012.
JosephBenson's Commentaryof the Old and New Testaments
Jeremiah20:7. O Lord, thou hast deceivedme, &c. — This is a very harsh
and improper translation of the prophet’s words, ‫ינתיתפ‬ ‫,תפאו‬ which properly
and literally signify, Thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded. Some, to
make the sense more clear, supply a few words, and make the whole sentence
stand thus; O Lord, thou hast persuaded me to carry thy commands to thy
people, and I was persuaded: thou art strongerthan I, and hastprevailed —
That is, “It was sore againstmy will, that I undertook the prophetic office,
which I would gladly have declined, chap. Jeremiah1:6 . But thy commands
and inspiration did, in a manner, constrainme to it.” The occasionofthe
words was this: “The prophet had met with a large share of ill usage, from an
ungrateful people, in return for the faithful discharge ofhis prophetic office.
Under these his calamitous circumstances he looks up to God, and appeals to
him, the searcherofhearts, as his witness, that it was not through any
ambition of his own that he had entered upon that invidious office;nor had he
takenupon him, of his own accord, to reprove his countrymen: but he had
done all in pure obedience to the divine command. He would gladly have
declined the office, but God would not suffer him: wherefore, hereuponhe
says, speaking to the Almighty, Thou hast persuadedme, &c. The passage
carries in it a lively idea of the prophet’s greatmodesty, and profound
humility, in not affecting high things or shining offices;but submitting,
however, to the burden of them, in obedience to the will of God.” See
Waterland’s Script. Vind., part 3. page 84.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Benson, Joseph. "Commentaryon Jeremiah20:7". JosephBenson's
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rbc/jeremiah-
20.html. 1857.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Thou hast deceived, &c. The meaning of the prophet is not to charge Godwith
any untruth; but what he calls deceiving, was only the concealing from him,
when he acceptedofthe propheticalcommission, the greatnessofthe evils
which the executionof that commissionwas to bring upon him. (Challoner) ---
Hebrew, "thou hast enticed me," when I declined the office. (Tirinus) --- God
never promised that he should suffer no persecution. (Haydock) --- Jeremias
might also have supposed that he was to be sent to the Gentiles, chap. i. 5. (St.
Jerome in chap xxv. 18.) --- The oriental languages are much more lofty than
ours, and express common things in the strongestmanner. (Calmet) --- We
may perceive the different emotions of fear and joy (Du Hamel) with which
the prophet was actuated, like St. Paul, and our Saviour himself. The saints
evince the weakness ofman and the powerof divine grace. (Calmet) ---
Hebrew, "If thou, Lord, hastdeceived me, I am," &c. (Tournemine)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Haydock, George Leo. "Commentaryon Jeremiah 20:7". "GeorgeHaydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/jeremiah-20.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
deceived= induced, or persuaded. Hebrew. pathah, in a goodsense:Genesis
9:27 ("enlarge"). Proverbs 25:15 ("persuade"). Hosea2:14 ("allure"). The
adjective Petthi means persuasible, and generallyin a goodsense:Psalms
19:7; and is rendered "simple": (Psalms 19:7; Psalms 116:6;Psalms 119:130.
Proverbs 1:4; Proverbs 8:5; Proverbs 21:11, &c.)
stronger= stronger(to hold fast). Hebrew. hazak. Not the same word as in
Jeremiah20:5.
mocketh= is laughing at.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/jeremiah-20.html. 1909-
1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
O LORD, thou hast deceivedme, and I was deceived: thou art strongerthan I,
and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mockethme.

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