Bible Commentary

Jeremiah 20:7

The Pulpit Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

Thou hast deceived me, etc.; rather, thou didst entice me, and I let myself be enticed. Jeremiah refers to the hesitation he originally felt to accepting the prophetic office (.). The verb does not mean "to deceive," but "to entice" (so rendered in verse 10, Authorized Version), or "allure."

The same word is used in that remarkable narrative of "the spirit" who offered to "entice" (Authorized Version, to "persuade") Ahab to "go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead" (). In Ezekiel, too, the same case is supposed as possible of Jehovah's "enticing" a prophet ( :9).

The expression implies that all events are, in some sense, caused by God, even those which are, or appear to be, injurious to the individual. Was Goethe thinking of this passage when he wrote the words, "Wen Gott betrugt, ist wohl betrogon?"

Applying the words in a Christian sense, we may say (with F. W. Robertson) that God teaches us by our illusions. Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed; rather, thou didst take hold on me, and didst prevail.

The expression is like "Jehovah spake thus to me with a grasp of the hand" ().

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commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jeremiah 20:1-18EXPOSITIONJoseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryMatthew Henry on Jeremiah 20:7-13The prophet complains of the insult and injury he experienced. But 7 may be read, Thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded. Thou wast stronger than I; and didst overpower me by the influence of thy Spirit upon me. So…Matthew HenrycommentaryThe Prophet's Impatient Appeal. (b. c. 600.)THE PROPHET'S IMPATIENT APPEAL. (B. C. 600.) Pashur's doom was to be a terror to himself; Jeremiah, even now, in this hour of temptation, is far from being so; and yet it cannot be denied but that he is here, through th…Matthew HenrycommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7Enticed and overpowered by God. I. GOD ENTICES HIS SERVANTS. Jeremiah had been led to undertake the prophetic mission with assurances of success and victory (Jeremiah 1:17-19), and he was surprised when he met only with…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7-9A conflict not to be avoided. The heart of the prophet is here revealed to us as the scene of a bitter conflict between two sets of motives; one set originating with the vehement will of God, the other in the utterly un…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7-13A lyric passage, expressing the conflict in the prophet's mind owing to the mockery and the slander which his preaching has brought upon him, and at the same time his confidence of victory through the protection of Jeho…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7-18The sorrow and joy of God's servant. 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 Jeremiah become more living and…Joseph S. Exell and contributors