Jeremiah 20:17

“Because he slew me not from the womb, etc.] As soon as he came out of it; that is, as soon as he was born; either because God slew him not so soon, as Kimchi; or the angel of death, as Jarchi: or rather the man that carried the tidings of his birth to his father, who is all along spoken of in the two former verses; he curses him for not doing that, which, had he done, would have been exceeding criminal in him indeed; for not committing murder, even for not murdering an innocent babe; or that my mother might have been my grave; he wishes he had died in her womb, and had never been brought forth; and so that had been his grave, where he should have been at ease and safety: and her womb [to be]…”

“he--"that man" (Jer 20:15-16). from the womb--that is, at that time while I was still in the womb. Written probably when, after having repulsed the Egyptians who brought succors to the Jews (Jer 37:5-8; Kg2 24:7), the Chaldees were a second time advancing against Jerusalem, but were not yet closely besieging it (Jer 21:4, Jer 21:13) [ROSENMULLER]. This chapter probably ought to be placed between the thirty-seventh and thirty-eight chapters; since what the "princes," in Jer 38:2, represent Jeremiah as having said, is exactly what we find in Jer 21:9. Moreover, the same persons as here (Jer 21:1) are mentioned in Jer 37:3; Jer 38:1, namely, Pashur and Zephaniah. What is here more fully related…”

“In the rest of the chapter we have an outbreak of deep emotion, of which the first part ends in a cry of hope Jeremiah 20:13, followed nevertheless by curses upon the day of his birth. Was this the result of feelings wounded by the indignities of a public scourging and a night spent in the stocks? Or was it not the mental agony of knowing that his ministry had (as it seemed) failed? He stands indeed before the multitudes with unbending strength, warning prince and people with unwavering constancy of the national ruin that would follow necessarily upon their sins. Before God he stood crushed by the thought that he had labored in vain, and spent his strength for nothing. It is important to…”

“20:17-18 Jeremiah saw no meaning to his life.”

“he slew: Job 3:10, Job 3:11, Job 3:16, Job 10:18, Job 10:19; Ecc 6:3 Jeremiah 20:18”