You said, ‘Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.’
English Standard Version (ESV)
Baruch isn't just feeling overwhelmed; he's framing God's actions as a personal, unfair addition to his existing suffering, revealing a heart that's more focused on his own comfort than on God's purposes in the midst of destruction. This complaint isn't just about pain, but about a sense of injustice from someone who should have recognized God's profound, albeit difficult, work.
You said, ‘Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.’
English Standard Version (ESV)
Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, is overwhelmed with despair after writing down Jeremiah's prophecies of doom. He feels God has piled sorrow upon his existing grief, making him weary and without peace, likely because he fears for his life due to the dangerous message he carries and the king's hostility toward Jeremiah's words. This cry of woe comes just before God speaks directly to Baruch, rebuking his self-pity and reminding him of the impending destruction of the land.
Baruch feels an overwhelming sense of despair. But is it just a bad mood, or something deeper? Let's look closer at his words.
Baruch's cry, 'Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain,' isn't just a sigh of general unhappiness. The scholars suggest his initial 'pain' likely stemmed from witnessing the sinfulness of his nation and the impending judgment.
But now, a new layer is added – 'sorrow.' This seems to be a more personal anguish, stemming from the immediate danger he and Jeremiah were in after reading the scroll to the officials. The king's reaction (cutting the scroll and throwing it in the fire) and the subsequent advice for them to hide would have amplified his fear for his own life.
It's a complex blend of empathy for his people's spiritual state and a very real, personal fear for his own survival.
Baruch declares, 'I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.' What does this profound exhaustion tell us about his experience?
Baruch's statement, 'I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest,' speaks volumes about the toll his situation has taken.
Ask a follow-up
It paints a picture of someone whose spirit is depleted, not just from a single event, but from an ongoing, overwhelming pressure.
God's response to Baruch is direct and challenging: 'Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.' What does this mean in light of Baruch's despair?
God's message to Baruch, delivered through Jeremiah, reframes Baruch's personal distress within a much larger context.
Understand the original words
’ôy · Hebrew Interjection
An expression of profound distress, lament, or impending judgment, signaling deep grief or divine displeasure.
mak’ōb · Hebrew Noun
A state of physical, emotional, or spiritual distress and agony, often associated with judgment, sin, or the hardships of life.
mᵉnûḥâ · Hebrew Noun
A state of tranquility, peace, or cessation from labor/struggle, which in Scripture is often found ultimately in God’s presence or covenant faithfulness.
Baruch's despair in Jeremiah 45 arises not just from the dire pronouncements of judgment against Judah, but from his personal fear for his life after the scroll's destruction. This context highlights how public crises deeply impact individuals, testing their faith and willingness to endure hardship for God's message.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar deports a portion of the Judean elite, including Daniel, to Babylon. This event signals the growing power of Babylon and foreshadows future devastation for Jerusalem.
c. 600 BC
Jeremiah Dictates Prophecies to Baruch
Jeremiah, under divine inspiration, dictates prophecies of judgment and hope to his scribe Baruch. These messages are compiled into a scroll intended to warn the people and their leaders.
c. 600 BC
Baruch Reads the Scroll to the Public
Baruch reads the scroll containing Jeremiah's prophecies in a public place. This act of public declaration is a crucial step in delivering God's message to the nation.
c. 600 BC
The Scroll is Presented to King Jehoiakim
The scroll is read before King Jehoiakim and his officials. The king's violent reaction—cutting the scroll and burning it—demonstrates his defiance and the danger faced by Jeremiah and Baruch.
c. 600 BC— this verse
Jeremiah and Baruch Hide
Following the king's destruction of the scroll, Jeremiah and Baruch are commanded by God to hide, likely to protect them from the king's wrath. Baruch expresses his despair during this perilous time.
597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar deports King Jehoiachin and another large group of Judeans, including the prophet Ezekiel, to Babylon. This further weakens Judah and intensifies the sense of impending doom.
586 BC
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Nebuchadnezzar's armies finally destroy Jerusalem and its sacred Temple, exiling the remaining population. This catastrophic event marks the end of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
This passage echoes Baruch's despair, where Job questions why God allows light to be given to a man tortured by suffering, expressing a similar weariness and longing for the end of his afflictions.
Psalm 6:6David here describes his intense suffering and exhaustion from grief ('I am weary with my sighing'), mirroring Baruch's statement of being 'weary with my groaning' and finding no rest.
Psalm 38:6This psalm describes overwhelming affliction and pain, where the psalmist declares 'I am profoundly troubled and crushed; I groan because of the anguish of my heart,' reflecting Baruch's deep sorrow and distress.
Lamentations 1:18This verse expresses a profound sense of helplessness and grief over desolation, stating 'The Lord is in the right, but who is this who contends against him?' similar to Baruch's feeling of being overwhelmed by divine judgment and personal sorrow.
Ecclesiastes 4:8This verse speaks of a lonely man with no one to help, who toils endlessly but never finds satisfaction, capturing a sense of relentless struggle and lack of rest that resonates with Baruch's lament.
calvinJeremiah 45:1-5: "The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,"
The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,
Sermo quem loquutus est Jeremias Propheta ad Ba…
jfbJeremiah 45:3: "Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest."
- Thou didst say, &c.—Jeremiah does not spare his disciple, but unveils his fault, namely, fear for his life by reason of the suspicions which he incurred in the eyes of his countrymen (compare Jer 36:17), as if he was in sympathy with the Chaldeans (Jer 43:3), and instigator of Jeremiah; also ingratitude in speaking of his "grief," &c., whereas he ought to d…
Baruch isn't just feeling overwhelmed; he's framing God's actions as a personal, unfair addition to his existing suffering, revealing a heart that's more focused on his own comfort than on God's purposes in the midst of destruction. This complaint isn't just about pain, but about a sense of injustice from someone who should have recognized God's profound, albeit difficult, work.
Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, is overwhelmed with despair after writing down Jeremiah's prophecies of doom. He feels God has piled sorrow upon his existing grief, making him weary and without peace, likely because he fears for his life due to the dangerous message he carries and the king's hostility toward Jeremiah's words. This cry of woe comes just before God speaks directly to Baruch, rebuking his self-pity and reminding him of the impending destruction of the land.
Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, is overwhelmed with despair after writing down Jeremiah's prophecies of doom. He feels God has piled sorrow upon his existing grief, making him weary and without peace, likely because he fears for his life due to the dangerous message he carries and the king's hostility toward Jeremiah's words. This cry of woe comes just before God speaks directly to Baruch, rebuking his self-pity and reminding him of the impending destruction of the land.
"You said, ‘Woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.’" — Baruch isn't just feeling overwhelmed; he's framing God's actions as a personal, unfair addition to his existing suffering, revealing a heart that's more focused on his own comfort than on God's purp…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026