Jeremiah 20:15 · Bible study
Jeremiah 20:15 Commentary: Cursing the Messenger of Good News
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does Jeremiah curse the man who announced his birth? This study probes the prophet's extreme despair and the honest cry of a servant of God.
Research Summary
- Meaning: In extreme despair, Jeremiah curses the man who first announced his birth, a shocking inversion of gratitude, showing the depth of his pain.
- Key words: 'a.rur (Qal passive participle: cursed); basar (Piel: bear good news); ben zakar (male child, cause of special joy).
- Main debate: Whether this curse is a sinful outburst or a legitimate, divinely-recorded lament that God accepts as honest prayer.
- Theological theme: The tension between faith and despair in the life of a faithful servant; God's willingness to include unfiltered human pain in Scripture.
- Best use: Pastoral care for those in deep anguish, validating despair without encouraging despair as a permanent state.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, saying, “A son is born to you,” bringing him great joy.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Cursed is the man who brought news to my father, saying, “A boy is born to you,” making him very glad.
KJV King James Version 1769
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man-child is born unto thee; making him very glad.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Cursed is the man who bore tidings to my father, saying, `Born to thee hath been a child--a male,' Making him very glad!
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad!
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Cursed be the man that brought the tidings to my father, saying: A man child is born to thee: and made him greatly rejoice.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Maldito el hombre que dió nuevas á mi padre, diciendo, Hijo varón te ha nacido, haciéndole alegrarse así mucho.
Maldito seja o homem que deu as novas a meu pai, dizendo, Um filho macho te nasceu, trazendo-lhe assim muita alegria.
Maudit soit l’ homme qui porta cette nouvelle à mon père:
Verflucht sei der, so meinem Vater gute Botschaft brachte und sprach: “Du hast einen jungen Sohn”, daß er ihn fröhlich machen wollte!
Vervloekt zij de man, die mijn vader geboodschapt heeft, zeggende: U is een jonge zoon geboren, verblijdende hem grotelijks!
Maledetto sia l’uomo che portò a mio padre la notizia: “T’è nato un maschio”, e lo colmò di gioia!
Przeklęty mąż, który oznajmił ojcu memu, mówiąc: Urodziłoć się dziecię płci męskiej, aby go bardzo uweselił.
Проклят человек, который принес весть отцу моему и сказал: "у тебя родился сын", и тем очень обрадовал его.
給 我父親 報信 說「你 得了 兒子」，使 我父親甚歡喜 的，願那人 受咒詛。
A curse on the man who gave the news to my father, saying, You have a male child; making him very glad.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 20:15
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse expresses the extreme depths of Jeremiah's despair, not a command or a divine word. Calvin calls it an "intemperate feeling" that even made the prophet "ungrateful towards men", the messenger who brought joyful news to his father deserved thanks, not a curse. Matthew Henry treats the passage as a record of Jeremiah's temptation, written to his own shame, showing how far a good man can be overcome by grief before grace regains control. Gill notes that the Hebrew word for "brought tidings" (basar) normally means good news, and the Septuagint uses the same root as the angel's announcement of Christ's birth (Luke 2:10). The curse here is thus not a prophetic pronouncement but an eruption of raw human pain, which Lange calls "merely a rhetorical form", it has no actual object, since the day and the messenger belong to the long past. Everyone agrees: this is an honest cry, not a pattern to imitate.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Sinful outburst: Calvin and Matthew Henry argue it shows ingratitude toward both God and the messenger; the prophet was not in control.
- Legitimate lament: Lange and others see it as a rhetorical form that has no real object; it is a permissible expression of extreme grief that God records without condemnation.
- Typological of Christ's suffering: Some Christian readings (less common) connect the cursed messenger to the way good news is rejected by those in agony; not widely held.
What is clear: The verse records a genuine moment of extreme despair in the life of a faithful prophet; it is not a command or a theological proposition about the value of life.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Justification of the curse | All commentators see it as an expression of extreme human despair, not a prophetic word from God. | Calvin and Matthew Henry treat it as a sinful failing that Jeremiah later repented of; Lange argues it is a rhetorical form with no actual object, a permissible venting of emotion. |
| Place in the chapter | The sudden shift from praise (vv. 11, 13) to lament (vv. 14, 18) is widely noted as a feature of Jeremiah's honesty. | Some (Cambridge Bible) think the lament came from a later, darker period under Zedekiah; others (Poole) see it as a flashback to earlier suffering that Jeremiah records as a warning. |
| Reference to the messenger's identity | The messenger is unnamed and the curse is not specific to a living person; it is directed at a past event. | Gill mentions a Jewish tradition identifying the messenger as Pashur, but calls it unfounded; most commentators reject any personal identification. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This verse stands in the closing lines of Jeremiah 20, a chapter that records the prophet's bitter complaint after being beaten and placed in stocks by Pashur the priest (Jeremiah 20:1, 6). Jeremiah's ministry was one of relentless opposition. He had been called from the womb (Jeremiah 1:5) to deliver a message of judgment to a people who refused to listen. In the ancient Near East, the birth of a son, especially a ben zakar, a "male child", was cause for special celebration, as sons carried the family name and inheritance. The messenger who first told Jeremiah's father that he had a son did a deeply good and culturally honored thing. That Jeremiah curses this man shows how thoroughly his suffering had inverted his perspective. He wished he had never been born at all.
The literary context is key. In verses 11, 13, Jeremiah bursts into praise: "Sing to Yahweh! Praise Yahweh, for he has delivered the soul of the needy." Then, without transition, he plunges into some of the darkest words in Scripture. Commentators offer various explanations. The Cambridge Bible suggests that the lament (vv. 14, 18) may come from a later, even more isolated period under Zedekiah. Matthew Henry sees it as a record of the struggle he had already overcome, a flashback to his time in the stocks. Poole also notes that Calvin and others read it as a "repetition of a former passion" rather than the immediate state of his spirit. Whatever precise timing, the cultural weight of the messenger's happy announcement makes Jeremiah's curse all the more shocking, and all the more honest about how deep despair can go.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Jeremiah 20:15. The verse is stable across the main manuscript traditions (Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Peshitta show no meaningful differences for this verse). The Hebrew ben zakar ("male child") is translated consistently across ancient versions.
Reception History
This passage has been read across church history primarily as a cautionary example of human weakness. Early interpreters, including Jerome, noted the connection to Job 3:3, where Job curses his day. The medieval Jewish tradition (Rashi, Kimchi) often tried to soften the curse by seeking a specific enemy behind the messenger, a move most modern commentators reject. Reformation-era writers like Calvin and Matthew Henry treated it as a painful reminder that even the greatest prophets could fall into intemperate passion. In modern pastoral theology, the verse is often used to validate the experience of depression and suicidal despair within a biblical framework, showing that such cries do not disqualify a person from faith. The Lectionary rarely includes this passage, but it appears in studies of lament literature as one of the rawest examples of honest prayer in Scripture.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Good news turned sour. The messenger brought a joyful announcement, yet Jeremiah gives him a curse instead of thanks. Even the best gifts can be twisted by pain.
- The prophet's humanness on display. Jeremiah is not a stoic hero; he is a man who screams at his own history. Scripture refuses to hide the cracks in its saints.
- Honest lament is not the same as sin. The curse has no power to harm a man decades dead; it is a rhetorical release valve. God lets His servants speak their grief without smiting them.
Five-point outline
- Context matters. This verse follows a beating, public humiliation, and a divine message that brought only rejection (20:1, 6).
- The specific target. Not just any messenger, but the one who made Jeremiah's father glad, the very joy is now the focus of bitterness.
- The weight of unfulfilled calling. Jeremiah felt appointed for suffering (Jeremiah 1:5); his lament asks whether the calling was worth it.
- The clash with faith. Verses 11, 13 show trust; verses 14, 18 show despair. Both are real, and both are recorded.
- God's tolerance of raw emotion. No lightning strikes. The lament stands in Scripture, reminding us that the Bible does not sanitize grief.
Illustration hooks
- A parent who lost a child and later, in a flash of anger, regrets ever having had that child, then feels crushing guilt for the thought. That is the kind of emotional honesty Jeremiah models.
- A cancer patient who, after months of treatment, screams at a well-meaning friend who says "At least they caught it early." The good news itself becomes unbearable.
- An athlete who, after a career-ending injury, wishes he had never played the sport he once loved. The joy of the past is poisoned by the pain of the present.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it a sin to feel such despair that I wish I had never been born?
- Does God get angry when I vent my anger at Him?
- If God called me to do something hard, does He expect me to always be happy about it?
Leading a Discussion
Jeremiah 20:15 shows a man at the end of his rope. The news that once made his father leap for joy now makes the prophet curse. This is not an instruction; it is an invitation to see that Scripture does not hide the hardest human questions. In your group, let honesty be the goal, not quick answers.
Discussion questions
- Read Jeremiah 20:14, 18 as a group. What specific things does Jeremiah curse, and how does the intensity escalate?
- Why is it significant that the messenger brought the news of a male child, a son, which was considered especially joyful? (See Gill's note on cultural joy at a son's birth.)
- Calvin calls Jeremiah's words "intemperate" and "ungrateful." Do you agree? Or is there a place for such language in a faithful life?
- How does the gospel handle moments when the good gifts of God (like life itself) feel like curses?
- Compare this passage with Job 3:3, 11. What do both writers share in their pain, and how does the Bible's willingness to include such words comfort readers?
- Why do you think the Bible includes a lament this raw, what does it teach us about God's character?
- If a friend today expressed a wish that they had never been born, how would you respond differently after studying this passage?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 21:5 | Abraham was one hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him. |
| Genesis 21:6 | Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.” |
| Jeremiah 1:5 | “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” |
| Luke 1:14 | You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
A man child is born - Borun is to thee a knave child. - Old MS. Bible. This is the old English word for man or servant; and is so used by Wiclif, Rev 12:6 .
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin sees the prophet's curse on his own birth as a twofold ingratitude: against God for giving life and against the messenger who brought joyful news. The extreme language reveals a mind swept away by blind impulse, stripped of piety and humanity, even spurning the special favor of being born male.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible for Schools sees this passage as revealing the prophet's deepest emotions, swinging between despair and confident hope. It argues the final verses belong to the later days of Zedekiah, while the earlier ones fit Jehoiakim's reign. The commentator also notes that the similar lament in Job likely derives from Jeremiah's more spontaneous expression.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights the bitter irony: the messenger who brought news of a son’s birth, intending comfort, is now cursed. This shows the speaker’s overwhelming grief, turning even joyful tidings into a reason for lament.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill observes the bitter irony: the word for "tidings" normally means good news, the same word the angel used at Christ's birth. Yet Jeremiah curses the messenger who simply did what any man would do, bringing joyful news of a son's birth to his father. Gill dismisses as groundless the claim that the man was Pashur.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB points out that in Eastern cultures a son's birth brings special rejoicing, while a daughter's arrival often does not receive the same celebration. This cultural distinction underlies the joy expressed in the verse.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange stresses that this passage is not a word from the Lord but a private, subjective record of Jeremiah's human feelings. He sees the prophet's cursing of his birth as an expression of genuine weakness and impatience, more in the spirit of Job than of the New Testament. The sudden swing from hopeful praise to utter despair simply mirrors the ebb and flow of Jeremiah's inner life.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry interprets these verses not as Jeremiah's current sin but as his shamefaced record of past desperation. He suggests the prophet wrote down his outburst from the stocks after faith had recovered, humbling himself and warning others to guard their spirits, amazed that God did not take him at his word.