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Jeremiah 20

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Pashur Punishes Jeremiah 1–6

1
Now Pashhur, the son of Immer the priest, who was chief officer in the house of Jehovah, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. ​
2
Then Pashhur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Jehovah. ​
3
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashhur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, Jehovah hath not called thy name Pashhur, but Magor-missabib. ​
4
For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it; and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. ​
5
Moreover I will give all the riches of this city, and all the gains thereof, and all the precious things thereof, yea, all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies; and they shall make them a prey, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.
6
And thou, Pashhur, and all that dwell in thy house shall go into captivity; and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and there shalt thou be buried, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied falsely. ​

Jeremiah's Lament: Deceived and Mocked 7–13

7
O Jehovah, thou hast persuaded me, and I was persuaded; thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am become a laughing-stock all the day, every one mocketh me. ​
8
For as often as I speak, I cry out; I cry, Violence and destruction! because the word of Jehovah is made a reproach unto me, and a derision, all the day. ​
9
And if I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with forbearing, and I cannot contain. ​
10
For I have heard the defaming of many, terror on every side. Denounce, and we will denounce him, say all my familiar friends, they that watch for my fall; peradventure he will be persuaded, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him. ​
11
But Jehovah is with me as a mighty one and a terrible: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail; they shall be utterly put to shame, because they have not dealt wisely, even with an everlasting dishonor which shall never be forgotten. ​
12
But, O Jehovah of hosts, that triest the righteous, that seest the heart and the mind, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I revealed my cause. ​
13
Sing unto Jehovah, praise ye Jehovah; for he hath delivered the soul of the needy from the hand of evil-doers. ​

Jeremiah Curses the Day of His Birth 14–18

14
Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. ​
15
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man-child is born unto thee; making him very glad.
16
And let that man be as the cities which Jehovah overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear a cry in the morning, and shouting at noontime; ​
17
because he slew me not from the womb; and so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb always great.
18
Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame? ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 20

Verse 1

chief governor in the house of the LORD — Pakid nagid, an overseer and leader of the temple. Jer 29:26 describes the post: officers 'in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet', to put him 'in prison, and in the stocks'. Immer is the sixteenth priestly course (1 Chr 24:14).

Verse 2

in the stocks — Mahpeketh occurs four times: here, v.3, Jer 29:26, and 2 Chr 16:10, where Asa put the seer in a 'prison house'. Pashur 'smote' Jeremiah and set him at 'the high gate of Benjamin', which was by the house of the LORD; at a gate of that name Jeremiah was later seized (Jer 37:13).

Verse 3

Magormissabib — Magor missabib, 'fear on every side', words Jeremiah had used of the invasion (Jer 6:25, 'fear is on every side'); v.4 gives the sense: 'I will make thee a terror to thyself' (magor, terror). The LORD names Pashur by what he will become. The same words are heard against Jeremiah in v.10.

Verse 4

I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon — This is the first place in Jeremiah that names Babylon. 'Thine eyes shall behold it': Pashur sees his friends 'fall by the sword of their enemies', so the 'terror' (magor) is also his own.

Verse 6

to whom thou hast prophesied lies — Pashur is called a prophet (naba) here, and what he spoke is sheqer, falsehood: 'The prophets prophesy lies in my name' (Jer 14:14). He, his household and his friends go into captivity, and 'there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried'.

Verse 7

thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived — Pathah, to entice or persuade, used in Jeremiah only here and in v.10, where his enemies hope he 'will be enticed'. 'Stronger' is chazaq, 'prevailed' is yakol, the verb that carries through vv.9–11: 'I could not stay', 'we shall prevail', 'they shall not prevail'.

Verse 8

Violence and spoil — Chamas and shod, the pair of Jer 6:7, 'violence and spoil is heard in her'. This is what Jeremiah cries, and 'the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily' (cherpah, qeles): the message he is given to speak is what brings the mockery.

Verse 9

a burning fire shut up in my bones — Ba'ar, to burn, and atsar, to shut up; the word 'was in mine heart' and could not be held. Compare 'my heart was hot within me' (Ps 39:3), 'we cannot but speak' (Acts 4:20) and 'woe is unto me, if I preach not' (1 Cor 9:16). The LORD says, 'Is not my word like as a fire?' (Jer 23:29).

Verse 10

fear on every side — The words of v.3 now come from the crowd, 'Report, say they, and we will report it.' 'Familiars' is literally 'men of my peace' (enosh shalom), the friends of Ps 41:9, 'mine own familiar friend… hath lifted up his heel against me', which Christ applies in John 13:18. They hope he will be 'enticed' (pathah, v.7).

Verse 11

a mighty terrible one — Gibbor aritz; aritz is the 'terrible' from whose hand the LORD promised to 'redeem' Jeremiah (Jer 15:21). The confidence rests on the call itself: 'they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee' (Jer 1:19). 'Prevail' is the yakol of vv.7–10.

Verse 12

that triest the righteous — These words are close to Jer 11:20: 'that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.' 'Triest' is bachan, to test; the 'reins' (kilyah, kidneys) are the inner seat of thought (Jer 17:10). 'Opened' is galah, to uncover.

Verse 13

he hath delivered the soul of the poor — Natsal, to deliver, the verb of the call's promise, 'I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee' (Jer 1:19) and of Jer 15:21. 'Poor' is ebyon, one in need. The praise is stated as already done, between a complaint (vv.7–12) and the curse that follows (v.14).

Verse 14

Cursed be the day wherein I was born — Jeremiah has said it before: 'Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me' (Jer 15:10). The curse is on the day, as in Job's 'Let the day perish wherein I was born' (Job 3:3), yet it was on this birth the LORD spoke: 'before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee' (Jer 1:5).

Verse 16

as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not — The cities are Sodom and Gomorrah: 'As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah' (Jer 50:40; Gen 19:25). Hapak, to overturn, and nacham, repented, here of the LORD's not relenting. The man cursed is the one who 'brought tidings to my father' (v.15).

Verse 18

labour and sorrow — Amal and yagon, trouble and grief. 'Wherefore came I forth out of the womb' echoes Job 3:11, 'Why died I not from the womb?' 'Shame' is bosheth, the noun of the verb bush in v.11, where his persecutors 'shall be greatly ashamed'.