17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever.
17 because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great.
17 He should have killed me before I was born, with that womb as my tomb, My mother pregnant for the rest of her life with a baby dead in her womb.
17 Because he did not kill me from the womb, That my mother might have been my grave, And her womb always enlarged with me.
17 because he did not kill me at birth. Oh, that I had died in my mother's womb, that her body had been my grave!
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 20:17
Commentary on Jeremiah 20:14-18
(Read Jeremiah 20:14-18)
When grace has the victory, it is good to be ashamed of our folly, to admire the goodness of God, and be warned to guard our spirits another time. See how strong the temptation was, over which the prophet got the victory by Divine assistance! He is angry that his first breath was not his last. While we remember that these wishes are not recorded for us to utter the like, we may learn good lessons from them. See how much those who think they stand, ought to take heed lest they fall, and to pray daily, Lead us not into temptation. How frail, changeable, and sinful is man! How foolish and unnatural are the thoughts and wishes of our hearts, when we yield to discontent! Let us consider Him who endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, lest we should be at any time weary and faint in our minds under our lesser trials.