Jeremiah 20:7-13

¶[Jeremiah said,] O LORD, You have persuaded me and I was deceived; You are stronger than I and You have prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I must shout out; I shout violence and destruction, Because the word of the LORD has become to me A reprimand and a mockery and has brought me insult all day long. If I say, “I will not remember Him Or speak His name anymore,” Then my heart becomes a burning fire Shut up in my bones. And I am weary of enduring and holding it in; I cannot endure it [nor contain it any longer]. For I have heard the whispering and defaming words of many, “Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my familiar and trusted friends, [Those who are] watching for my fall, say, “Perhaps he will be persuaded and deceived; then we will overcome him, And take our revenge on him.” But the LORD is with me as a dread champion [one to be greatly feared]; Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not overcome [me]. They will be completely shamed, for they have not acted wisely and have failed [in their schemes]; Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. But, O LORD of hosts, You who examine the righteous, Who see the heart and the mind, Let me see Your vengeance on them; For to You I have committed my cause. Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For He has rescued the life of the needy one From the hand of evildoers.