Jeremiah 20:16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Those who believe that souls existed in heaven only to fall from a state of grace to suffering use this and similar passages to assert that it is preferable to reside in heaven than to endure a body subject to humiliation. They seek to reinforce their erroneous beliefs with such arguments.

In reflecting on the words of the blessed Job, “Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that declared, ‘Behold, a male child’” (Job 3:3), we find parallels in the proclamation: “Cursed is the man who announced my birth.” This suggests it is better not to exist than to live in misery, aligning with the truth that “Death is a relief to the man to whom God has given no way” and “Why is light given to the miserable, and life to those burdened in soul?” (Job 3:20). Moreover, the Gospel explicitly states: it would have been better for him if he had not been born (Matthew 26:24)—not to imply that the non-existent possesses existence, but rather that it is more beneficial not to exist than to exist in a state of distress. The experience of complete nonexistence differs from the anguish of enduring life in perpetual want, thus persuading us to favor a peaceful death over a tormented life.

This notion is reflected in the words of Amos regarding the day of darkness and calamity (Amos 5), and Jacob, who, having lived in toil and sorrow, refers to his days as few and troubled (Genesis 47). The Apostle Paul asserts the necessity of being rescued from this current evil age (Galatians 1:4) and the importance of redeeming the time, for the days are indeed evil (Ephesians 5:16). The Hebrews, through their complex and astonishing calculations, attribute the birth of Jeremiah to the fifth month, the month when Jerusalem fell and the temple was destroyed. Even if they could verify that connection, I wonder how they could reconcile it with Job’s lament. They might suggest that he was born on the same day as the temple’s destruction, viewing it as a prophetic signifier of future events.

Regarding the call for a fate akin to that of the cities laid waste, it appears that Sodom and Gomorrah come to mind, as the suffering they endure is perpetual—crying in the morning and mourning at noon. As for the phrase “He who did not kill me in the womb,” it is believed to refer to God, indicating that my mother’s womb should bear me forever, which is expressed in a hyperbolic manner. Ultimately, Job articulates his reasons for preferring death to life and implies it is better to not exist than to endure misery, asking: why did I exit the womb only to witness hardship and sorrow, allowing my days to slip away in bewilderment?