Jeremiah 20

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.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.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?

JEREMIAH 20

Pashhur Arrests Jeremiah

1 Pashhur son of Immer was a priest and the chief of temple security. He heard what I had said, 2 and so he hit me.t Then he had me arrested and put in chainst at the Benjamin Gate in the [Lord]'s temple.t

3 The next day, when Pashhur let me go free, I told him that the [Lord] had said:
No longer will I call you Pashhur. Instead, I will call you Afraid-of-Everything.t 4 You will be afraid, and you will bring fear to your friends as well. You will see enemies kill them in battle. Then I will let the king of Babylonia take everyone in Judah prisoner, killing some and dragging the rest away to Babylonia.

5 He will clean out the royal treasury and take everything else of value from Jerusalem.

6 Pashhur, you are guilty of telling lies and claiming they were messages from me. That's why I will let the Babylonians take you, your family, and your friends as prisoners to Babylonia, where you will all die and be buried.

Jeremiah Complains //to the [Lord]

7 You tricked me, [Lord],
and I was really fooled.
You are stronger than I am,
and you have defeated me.
People never stop sneering
and insulting me.

8 You have let me announce
only injustice and death.
Your message has brought me
nothing but insults
and trouble.

9 Sometimes I tell myself
not to think about you, [Lord],
or even mention your name.
But your message burns
in my heart and bones,
and I cannot keep silent.

10 I heard the crowds whisper,
“Everyone is afraid.
Now's our chance
to accuse Jeremiah!”
All of my so-called friends
are just waiting
for me to make a mistake.
They say, “Maybe Jeremiah
can be tricked.
Then we can overpower him
and get even at last.”

11 But you, [Lord],
are a mighty soldier,
standing at my side.
Those troublemakers
will fall down and fail—
terribly embarrassed,
forever ashamed.

12 [Lord] All-Powerful,
you test those who do right,
and you know every heart
and mind.
I have told you my complaints,
so let me watch you
take revenge on my enemies.

13 I sing praises to you, [Lord].
You rescue the oppressed
from the wicked.

14  t Put a curse on the day I was born!
Don't bless that day.

15 Put a curse on the man
who told my father, “Good news!
You have a son.”

16 May that man be like the towns
you destroyed without pity.
Let him hear shouts of alarm
in the morning
and battle cries at noon.

17 He deserves to die
for not killing me
before I was born.
Then my mother's body
would have been my grave.

18 Why did I have to be born?
Was it just to suffer
and die in shame?