Jeremiah 20:18Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Those who assert that souls existed in heaven and fell into a lesser state use this and similar testimonies to argue that it was better for them to have lived in heaven than to endure life on earth bound in a humiliated body; they seek new or revised proof for their misguided beliefs. We, reflecting on the words of the blessed Job—“Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that declared, ‘A male child is conceived’” (Job 3:3)—parallel this with the statement: “Cursed be the man who told my father, ‘A son has been born to you,’” suggesting it is preferable not to live than to experience miserable existence. Indeed, as it is written: “Death is a rest for the man whose way is made evil” and “Why is light and life given to the miserable, those who suffer in spirit?” (Job 3:20). In the Gospel, it is also stated that it would have been better for him if he had never been born (Matthew 26:24)—not implying that one who is not born truly exists, but rather that nonexistence is preferable to an existence fraught with wretchedness. There is a distinction between nonexistence and existing in a perpetual state of poverty; hence, we choose the tranquility of death over a life of misery. This is why Amos speaks of a day of darkness and calamity (Am. 5), and Jacob, who endured toil and hardship, referred to his days as few and full of evil (Gen. 47). The Apostle Paul states: that he might deliver us from this present evil age (Gal. 1:4) and reminds us to redeem the time because the days are filled with wickedness (Eph. 5:16). The Hebrews, based on complex and extraordinary calculations, associate the day of Jeremiah's birth with the fifth month, the time when Jerusalem fell and the temple was destroyed. Even if they were to prove this, how could they reconcile it with Job's testimony? They could not claim he was born on the same day as the temple’s destruction, suggesting a type or foreshadowing of future events. When it speaks of a fate akin to that of the ruined cities, Sodom and Gomorrah likely come to mind, as the tribulations are meant to be unending—crying in the morning and weeping at noon. Regarding the phrase “who hath not killed me in the womb,” it is believed to signify God. The statement about her womb being eternally burdened with me is expressed hyperbolically. Ultimately, he presents the rationale for preferring death over life, declaring: why did I emerge from the womb to endure labor and sorrow, and experience my days in confusion?