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Time after Pentecost · Proper 7 · Year A

Jeremiah 20:7-13

Jeremiah's Complaint; A Burning Fire

June 21, 2026

God Addressing Jeremiah, the opening initial of Jeremiah, Winchester Bible
God Addressing Jeremiah, the opening initial of Jeremiah, Winchester Bible, c. 1160–1175Winchester Cathedral Library
From the largest surviving twelfth-century English Bible, written by one scribe and illuminated by at least six artists over decades. It was never finished.O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed … within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones … But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior.Winchester BibleNot a painter but a book: the largest twelfth-century English Bible, written out by a single scribe and illuminated by several artists over decades, and never finished.Winchester Cathedral LibraryOne of the oldest book rooms in England, holding the Winchester Bible, which has never left the cathedral.Winchester Cathedral Library
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelMatt. 10:5a, 21-33Mt 10:5a, 21-33
EpistleRom. 6:12-23Rom 6:12-23
Old TestamentJer. 20:7-13Jer 20:7-13
PsalterPs. 91:1-10 (11-16)Ps 91:1-10 (11-16)

Overview & Insights

"If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot." (Jeremiah 20:9)

Jeremiah laments the mockery and persecution his prophetic calling brings, feeling deceived and overpowered by God. Yet God's word burns within him so that he cannot keep silent, and he trusts that the Lord will deliver him from his persecutors.

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Commentary

Working Preacher: Commentary on Jeremiah 20:7-13Working Preacher: Commentary on Jer 20:7-13 Working Preacher

Lutheran lectionary commentary on the prophet's lament and the burning word.

Enduring Word: Jeremiah 20Enduring Word: Jer 20 Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse-by-verse evangelical notes on the whole chapter.

Precept Austin: Jeremiah 20 CommentaryPrecept Austin: Jer 20 Commentary Precept Austin

Detailed study gathering many commentators on Jeremiah's confession.

BibleHub: Commentaries on Jeremiah 20:7BibleHub: Commentaries on Jer 20:7 BibleHub

Parallel classic commentaries keyed to the prophet feeling deceived and overpowered.

StudyLight: Jeremiah 20 CommentariesStudyLight: Jer 20 Commentaries StudyLight

Many complete commentaries on Jeremiah 20 gathered on one passage page.

Background & Word Study

Sefaria: Jeremiah 20 (Hebrew)Sefaria: Jer 20 (Hebrew) Sefaria

Hebrew text with English and classical Jewish commentary on the chapter.

BibleHub: Jeremiah 20 InterlinearBibleHub: Jer 20 Interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew-English interlinear for word-level study of the chapter.

The Church Fathers

Catena: Jeremiah 20Catena: Jer 20 Catena

Patristic comments gathered verse by verse on Jeremiah 20.

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