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Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Jeremiah 18:20

Is evil the payment for good? Yet they have dug a pit for me to fall in. Remember how I came to you and spoke on their behalf, so that you would not deal with them in anger.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ingratitude;   Intercession;   Jeremiah;   Persecution;   Prayer;   Zeal, Religious;   Thompson Chain Reference - Battle of Life;   Enemies;   Evil;   Evil for Good;   Gratitude-Ingratitude;   Ingratitude;   Soul's Enemies;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Ingratitude;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Jeremiah (2);  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Should good be repaid with evil?Yet they have dug a pit for me.Remember how I stood before youto speak good on their behalf,to turn your anger from them.
Hebrew Names Version
Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them.
King James Version
Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.
English Standard Version
Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them.
New American Standard Bible
Should good be repaid with evil? For they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You To speak good in their behalf, So as to turn Your wrath away from them.
New Century Version
Good should not be paid back with evil, but they have dug a pit in order to kill me. Remember that I stood before you and asked you to do good things for these people and to turn your anger away from them.
Amplified Bible
Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember [with compassion] that I stood before You To speak good on their behalf, To turn Your anger away from them.
World English Bible
Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Shall euill be recompensed for good? for they haue digged a pit for my soule: remember that I stood before thee, to speake good for the, and to turne away thy wrath from them.
Legacy Standard Bible
Should good be repaid with evil?For they have dug a pit for me.Remember how I stood before YouTo speak good on their behalf,So as to turn away Your wrath from them.
Berean Standard Bible
Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
Contemporary English Version
I tried to help them, but they are paying me back by digging a pit to trap me. I even begged you not to punish them.
Complete Jewish Bible
Is good to be repaid with evil? For they have dug a pit [to trap] me. Remember how I stood before you and spoke well of them, in order to turn your anger away from them?
Darby Translation
Shall evil be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them.
Easy-to-Read Version
I have done only good to them. It is not right for them to pay me back with evil. But they are preparing a death trap for me! Remember that I prayed to you for them. I asked only good for them. I tried to keep you from punishing them in anger.
George Lamsa Translation
Evil has been recompensed for good, for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee and spoke good for them to turn away thy wrath from them.
Lexham English Bible
Should good be repaid in place of evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember my standing before you to speak good for them, to avert your wrath from them.
Literal Translation
Should evil be repaid for good? For they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember, I stood before You to speak good concerning them, to turn Your wrath from them.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Do they not recompence euell for good, when they dygg a pyt for my soule? Remembre, how that I stode before the, to speake for the, ad to turne awaye thy wrath from them.
American Standard Version
Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them.
Bible in Basic English
Is evil to be the reward of good? for they have made a deep hole for my soul. Keep in mind how I took my place before you, to say a good word for them so that your wrath might be turned away from them.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before Thee to speak good for them, to turn away Thy wrath from them.
King James Version (1611)
Shall euill bee recompensed for good? for they haue digged a pit for my soule: remember that I stood before thee to speake good for them, and to turne away thy wrath from them.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Shall they recompence euyll for good? for they haue digged a pit for my soule: Remember howe that I stoode before thee to speake good for them, and to turne away thy wrath from them.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Forasmuch as evil is rewarded for good; for they have spoken words against my soul, and they have hidden the punishment they meant for me; remember that I stood before thy face, to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them.
English Revised Version
Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy fury from them.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whether yuel is yoldun for good, for thei han diggid a pit to my soule; haue thou mynde, that Y stoode in thi siyt, to speke good for hem, and to turne awei thin indignacioun fro hem.
Update Bible Version
Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them.
Webster's Bible Translation
Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, [and] to turn away thy wrath from them.
New English Translation
Should good be paid back with evil? Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. Just remember how I stood before you pleading on their behalf to keep you from venting your anger on them.
New King James Version
Shall evil be repaid for good? For they have dug a pit for my life. Remember that I stood before You To speak good for them, To turn away Your wrath from them.
New Living Translation
Should they repay evil for good? They have dug a pit to kill me, though I pleaded for them and tried to protect them from your anger.
New Life Bible
Should bad be given in return for good? Yet they have dug a deep hole for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good for them, to turn Your anger away from them.
New Revised Standard
Is evil a recompense for good? Yet they have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Shall, evil, be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my life, - Remember how I stood before thee To speak in their behalf what was good! To turn back thine indignation from them.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Shall evil be rendered for good, because they have digged a pit for my soul? Remember that I have stood in thy sight, to speak good for them, and to turn away thy indignation from them.
Revised Standard Version
Is evil a recompense for good? Yet they have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them.
Young's Literal Translation
Is evil recompensed instead of good, That they have dug a pit for my soul? Remember my standing before Thee to speak good of them, To turn back Thy wrath from them.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Should good be repaid with evil? For they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You To speak good on their behalf, So as to turn away Your wrath from them.

Contextual Overview

18 Then the people said, "Let's do something about Jeremiah! There will always be priests to instruct us, the wise to give us counsel, and prophets to proclaim God's message. Let's bring charges against him and stop listening to what he says." 19 So I prayed, " Lord , hear what I am saying and listen to what my enemies are saying about me. 20 Is evil the payment for good? Yet they have dug a pit for me to fall in. Remember how I came to you and spoke on their behalf, so that you would not deal with them in anger. 21 But now, Lord , let their children starve to death; let them be killed in war. Let the women lose their husbands and children; let the men die of disease and the young men be killed in battle. 22 Send a mob to plunder their homes without warning; make them cry out in terror. They have dug a pit for me to fall in and have set traps to catch me. 23 But, Lord , you know all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their evil or pardon their sin. Throw them down in defeat and deal with them while you are angry."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

evil: 1 Samuel 24:17-19, Psalms 35:12, Psalms 38:20, Psalms 109:4, Psalms 109:5, Proverbs 17:13, John 10:32, John 15:25

digged: Jeremiah 18:22, Job 6:27, Psalms 7:15, Psalms 35:7, Psalms 57:6, Psalms 119:95, Proverbs 26:27, Ecclesiastes 10:8

Remember: Jeremiah 7:16, Jeremiah 11:14, Jeremiah 14:7-11, Jeremiah 14:20-22, Jeremiah 15:1, Genesis 18:22-32, Psalms 106:23, Ezekiel 22:30, Ezekiel 22:31, Zechariah 3:1, Zechariah 3:2

Reciprocal: Exodus 21:33 - General 1 Samuel 19:4 - spake good 1 Samuel 25:21 - he hath requited 2 Chronicles 20:11 - how they reward us Nehemiah 6:14 - think thou Job 30:25 - Did not I Psalms 7:4 - If I Psalms 94:13 - until the pit Psalms 119:85 - The proud Psalms 119:86 - they Psalms 140:5 - The proud Proverbs 29:10 - but Jeremiah 11:20 - let Jeremiah 17:16 - neither Jeremiah 27:18 - let them Jeremiah 28:6 - the Lord perform Luke 13:8 - let Romans 10:1 - my heart's 1 Thessalonians 2:10 - how Hebrews 6:10 - to forget

Cross-References

Genesis 4:10
Then the Lord said, "Why have you done this terrible thing? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground, like a voice calling for revenge.
Genesis 13:13
whose people were wicked and sinned against the Lord .
Genesis 19:13
because we are going to destroy this place. The Lord has heard the terrible accusations against these people and has sent us to destroy Sodom."
Isaiah 3:9
Their prejudices will be held against them. They sin as openly as the people of Sodom did. They are doomed, and they have brought it on themselves.
Isaiah 5:7
Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty; the people of Judah are the vines he planted. He expected them to do what was good, but instead they committed murder. He expected them to do what was right, but their victims cried out for justice.
Jeremiah 14:7
My people cry out to me, ‘Even though our sins accuse us, help us, Lord , as you have promised. We have turned away from you many times; we have sinned against you.
James 5:4
You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Shall evil be recompensed for good?.... For all the good that I have done them, shall this be all the recompence I shall have, to be evilly treated by them, to have my good name, and even life, taken away by them? shall this be suffered to be done? and, if it is, shall it go unpunished? the prophet taxes the people with ingratitude, which he afterwards instances in, and proves:

for they have digged a pit for my soul; or "life"; they lay in wait to take it away; or they had formed a design against it, and brought a charge and accusation against him, in order to take it away, under colour of law and justice. Kimchi interprets it of poison, which they would have had him drank of:

remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, [and] to turn away thy wrath from them; he was an intercessor for them with God; pleaded with him on their behalf, that good things might be bestowed upon them, and that wrath might be averted from them; so Christ did for the Jews that crucified him, Luke 23:34; this is an instance of their ingratitude; that though he had been an advocate for them, stood in the gap between God and them, and was importunate for their good, yet this was all the recompense he had from them; they sought his life to take it away. This kindness of his for them was forgotten by them; but he trusts the Lord will remember it, and not suffer them to act the base part they intended; and now he determines no more to plead their cause, but to imprecate evils upon them, as follows:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Jeremiah had been laboring earnestly to avert the ruin of his country, but the Jews treated him as farmers do some noxious animal which wastes their fields, and for which they dig pitfalls.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 18:20. They have digged a pit for my soul. — For my life; this they wish to take away.

Stood before thee to speak good for them — I was their continual intercessor.


 
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