Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jeremiah 20:14
What does Jeremiah 20:14 mean?
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Jeremiah 20:14
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Jeremiah isn't just expressing personal despair; he's declaring that the very day he was brought into existence should be un-blessed, as if wishing it had never happened at all. This isn't a simple cry of pain, but a radical rejection of his own birth, an astonishingly intense expression that echoes Job's own deep lament.
Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage appears after Jeremiah has found solace in God's strength following intense persecution and opposition. However, it doesn't represent an immediate emotional collapse, but rather reflects the depth of despair he felt before his confident declaration in the preceding verses. It echoes Job's anguish, expressing the prophet's intense sorrow and frustration with his calling, even questioning the very day he was born into such a difficult mission.
One moment Jeremiah is overflowing with praise, the next he's cursing the day he was born. How can such a dramatic shift happen?
This verse, Jeremiah 20:14, presents a stark contrast to the joyful declaration in verse 13. Many commentators suggest this isn't a spontaneous 'now' but a recollection of a previous state of despair.
The Weight of the Word
Jeremiah was carrying an immense burden. He was God's messenger, but his message was rejected, and he himself was often ridiculed and persecuted. It's understandable that, in moments of deep suffering, he might question his very existence.
A Window into Humanity
This isn't necessarily a failure of faith, but a raw expression of human anguish. Even prophets, chosen by God, experience profound pain and doubt. It reminds us that faith isn't about never feeling despair, but about how we navigate it and return to God.
Jeremiah's words are incredibly powerful, but are they always wise? This verse contains a warning about how we express our deepest pain.
While Jeremiah's pain is real and relatable, his language here is extreme. He wishes his very existence had never been.
Beyond Simple Annoyance
This isn't just a bad mood; it's an imprecation, a curse upon his own life. It reflects a state where the prophet felt he could bear no more, leading to rash words. Some scholars note this language, while potent, borders on a lack of full submission to God's plan.
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A Cautionary Tale
Scripture records these moments not to endorse them, but to show the full spectrum of human experience. They serve as a reminder that even in our deepest sorrow, we must guard against speaking words that ultimately undermine trust in God's goodness and purpose.
Understand the original words
arar · Hebrew Verb/Adjective
To be under a divine ban or judgment; a state of being separated from God’s favor and excluded from His blessing.
This lament, though intensely personal, echoes the profound suffering experienced by Judah during the tumultuous period leading up to and including the Babylonian exile, a time of immense national crisis and spiritual testing.
Late 7th Century BC
Jeremiah's Call to Prophecy
Jeremiah is called by God to be a prophet, facing the immense task of warning Judah about impending judgment and exile.
c. 605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, besieges Jerusalem and deports some of the Judean nobility, including Daniel, to Babylon. This event marks the beginning of Judah's Babylonian captivity.
c. 597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Following a period of rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar deports more of Judah's population and King Jehoiachin to Babylon. Jeremiah continues to prophesy during this turbulent time.
c. 586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Third Deportation
Babylonian forces destroy Jerusalem, burn the Temple, and deport the majority of the remaining population to Babylon. This event represents the catastrophic end of the Kingdom of Judah.
Jeremiah 20— this verse
Jeremiah's Imprisonment and Release
Jeremiah is imprisoned, beaten, and placed in stocks for his prophecies. After his release, he experiences a moment of profound despair, cursing the day of his birth, before reasserting his trust in God.
This passage is a direct parallel, with Job also cursing the day of his birth out of extreme suffering, showing a profound human struggle with overwhelming pain.
2 Samuel 1:21David's lament over Saul and Jonathan includes imprecations against the mountains of Gilboa, demonstrating a similar poetic, passion-filled cursing of places or times associated with deep sorrow.
Jonah 4:3Like Jonah, who also wished for death after his prophecy was not fulfilled as he expected, Jeremiah expresses a desire not to have been born when his message seemed to fail.
Romans 7:24Paul's cry, 'Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?' echoes the depth of despair Jeremiah feels, highlighting the internal struggle against sin and suffering.
clarkeJeremiah 20:14: "Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed."
Cursed be the day wherein I was born - If we take these words literally, and suppose them to be in their proper place, they are utterly inconsistent with that state of confidence in which he exulted a few minutes before. If they are the language of Jeremiah, they must have been spoken on a prior occasion, when probably he had given way to a passionate hastiness. They might well comport…
ellicottJeremiah 20:14: "Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed."
(14) Cursed be the day wherein I was born . . . —The apparent strangeness of this relapse from the confidence of the two previous verses into a despair yet deeper than before is best explained by the supposition that it is in no sense part of the same poem or meditation, but a distinct fragment belonging to the same period, and placed in its present position by Jeremiah himself, or by t…
Jeremiah isn't just expressing personal despair; he's declaring that the very day he was brought into existence should be un-blessed, as if wishing it had never happened at all. This isn't a simple cry of pain, but a radical rejection of his own birth, an astonishingly intense expression that echoes Job's own deep lament.
This passage appears after Jeremiah has found solace in God's strength following intense persecution and opposition. However, it doesn't represent an immediate emotional collapse, but rather reflects the depth of despair he felt before his confident declaration in the preceding verses. It echoes Job's anguish, expressing the prophet's intense sorrow and frustration with his calling, even questioning the very day he was born into such a difficult mission.
This passage appears after Jeremiah has found solace in God's strength following intense persecution and opposition. However, it doesn't represent an immediate emotional collapse, but rather reflects the depth of despair he felt before his confident declaration in the preceding verses. It echoes Job's anguish, expressing the prophet's intense sorrow and frustration with his calling, even questioning the very day he was born into such a difficult mission.
"Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!" — Jeremiah isn't just expressing personal despair; he's declaring that the very day he was brought into existence should be un-blessed, as if wishing it had never happened at all. This isn't a simple…
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Last reviewed October 2026