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20 When the priest Pashhur, Immer’s son, the officer in charge of the Lord’s temple, heard Jeremiah prophesying these words, he beat the prophet and detained him in confinement at the upper Benjamin Gate in the Lord’s temple. The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from confinement, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord has changed your name from Pashhur to Panic Lurks Everywhere. The Lord proclaims: I’m going to strike panic into your heart and into the hearts of your friends. You will watch as they fall in battle to their enemies. I will hand over all Judah to the king of Babylon, who will exile some to Babylon and slaughter others. I will hand over all the wealth of this city, all its goods and valuables, including the treasures of the kings of Judah, to their enemies, who will ransack and pillage and carry it all off to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all those in your household, will go into captivity. You will be deported to Babylon where you will die. There you will be buried with all your friends to whom you prophesied falsely.”

Total despair

Lord, you enticed me, and I was taken in.
    You were too strong for me, and you prevailed.
Now I’m laughed at all the time;
    everyone mocks me.
Every time I open my mouth, I cry out
    and say, “Violence and destruction!”
The Lord’s word has brought me
    nothing but insult and injury, constantly.
I thought, I’ll forget him;
    I’ll no longer speak in his name.
But there’s an intense fire in my heart,
    trapped in my bones.
    I’m drained trying to contain it;
        I’m unable to do it.
10 I hear many whispering—
    “Panic Lurks Everywhere!—
    proclaim, yes, let’s proclaim it ourselves!”
All my friends are waiting for me to stumble:
    “Perhaps he can be enticed.
        Then we’ll prevail against him
            and get our revenge on him!”
11 But the Lord is with me like a strong defender.
    Therefore, my oppressors
        will stumble and not prevail.
They will be disgraced by their own failures.
    Their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 The Lord of heavenly forces tests the righteous
    and discerns the heart and the mind.
Let me see your retribution upon them,
    for I have committed my case to you.
13 Sing to the Lord,
    praise the Lord,
        for he has rescued the needy
        from the clutches of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the day that I was born.
    May the day my mother gave birth to me not be blessed.
15 Cursed be the one
    who delivered the news to my father,
        “You have a son!”—
        filling him with joy.
16 May the bearer of that news be like the cities
    that the Lord destroyed without mercy.
May he hear screams in the morning,
    and the battle cries at noon,
17     because he didn’t kill me in the womb
        and let my mother become my grave,
        her womb pregnant forever.
18 Why was I ever born
    when all I see is suffering and misery,
        and my days are filled with shame?

Jeremiah and Pashhur

20 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer,(A) the official(B) in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten(C) and put in the stocks(D) at the Upper Gate of Benjamin(E) at the Lord’s temple. The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name(F) for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.(G) For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes(H) you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give(I) all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry(J) them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. I will deliver all the wealth(K) of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away(L) as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied(M) lies.’”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

You deceived[a](N) me, Lord, and I was deceived[b];
    you overpowered(O) me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed(P) all day long;
    everyone mocks(Q) me.
Whenever I speak, I cry out
    proclaiming violence and destruction.(R)
So the word of the Lord has brought me
    insult and reproach(S) all day long.
But if I say, “I will not mention his word
    or speak anymore in his name,”(T)
his word is in my heart like a fire,(U)
    a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;(V)
    indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
    “Terror(W) on every side!
    Denounce(X) him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends(Y)
    are waiting for me to slip,(Z) saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
    then we will prevail(AA) over him
    and take our revenge(AB) on him.”

11 But the Lord(AC) is with me like a mighty warrior;
    so my persecutors(AD) will stumble and not prevail.(AE)
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;(AF)
    their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
    and probe the heart and mind,(AG)
let me see your vengeance(AH) on them,
    for to you I have committed(AI) my cause.

13 Sing(AJ) to the Lord!
    Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues(AK) the life of the needy
    from the hands of the wicked.(AL)

14 Cursed be the day I was born!(AM)
    May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
    who made him very glad, saying,
    “A child is born to you—a son!”
16 May that man be like the towns(AN)
    the Lord overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing(AO) in the morning,
    a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,(AP)
    with my mother as my grave,
    her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb(AQ)
    to see trouble(AR) and sorrow
    and to end my days in shame?(AS)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
  2. Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded