Font Size
Jeremiah 20-21
New American Standard Bible
Jeremiah 20-21
New American Standard Bible
Pashhur Persecutes Jeremiah
20 When Pashhur the priest, the son of (A)Immer, who was (B)chief overseer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet (C)beaten and put him in the (D)stocks that were at the upper (E)Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of the Lord. 3 Then on the next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “Pashhur is not the name the Lord has (F)called you, but rather [a](G)Magor-missabib. 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to make you a (H)horror to yourself and to all your friends; and while (I)your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will (J)hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will take them away as (K)exiles to Babylon and will kill them with the sword. 5 I will also give all the (L)wealth of this city, all its produce and all its valuable things—even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will (M)hand over to their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away, and bring them to Babylon. 6 And you, (N)Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your (O)friends to whom you have (P)falsely prophesied.’”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 Lord, You persuaded me and I let myself be persuaded;
You have (Q)overcome me and prevailed.
I have become a (R)laughingstock all day long;
Everyone (S)mocks me.
8 For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
I (T)proclaim violence and destruction,
Because for me the (U)word of the Lord has [b]resulted
In taunting and derision all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not (V)remember Him
Nor speak anymore in His name,”
Then in (W)my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am tired of holding it in,
And (X)I cannot endure it.
10 For (Y)I have heard the whispering of many,
“(Z)Terror on every side!
(AA)Denounce him; let’s denounce him!”
[c]All my (AB)trusted friends,
Watching for my fall, say:
“Perhaps he will be persuaded, so that we may (AC)prevail against him
And take our revenge on him.”
11 But the (AD)Lord is with me like a powerful champion;
Therefore my (AE)persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will be put to great shame because they have [d]failed,
An (AF)everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.
12 Yet, Lord of armies, who (AG)tests the righteous,
Who sees the [e]mind and the heart;
Let me (AH)see Your vengeance on them,
For (AI)to You I have disclosed my cause.
13 (AJ)Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord!
For He has (AK)saved the soul of the needy one
From the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the (AL)day when I was born;
May the day when my mother gave birth to me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the news
To my father, saying,
“A [f](AM)boy has been born to you!”
And made him very happy.
16 But may that man be like the cities
Which the Lord (AN)overthrew without [g]relenting,
And may he hear an (AO)outcry in the morning
And [h]an alarm for war at noon;
17 Because he did not (AP)kill me [i]before birth,
So that my mother would have been my grave,
And her womb forever pregnant.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb
To (AQ)look at trouble and sorrow,
So that my (AR)days have been spent in (AS)shame?
Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah
21 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when (AT)King Zedekiah sent to him (AU)Pashhur the son of Malchijah and (AV)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Please (AW)inquire of the Lord in our behalf, because (AX)Nebuchadnezzar king of (AY)Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us (AZ)in accordance with all His [j]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to (BA)turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you are making war against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will (BB)gather them into the middle of this city. 5 And I (BC)Myself will make war against you with an (BD)outstretched hand and a mighty arm, and in (BE)anger, wrath, and great indignation. 6 I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both the people and the animals; they will die of a great (BF)plague. 7 Then afterward,” declares the Lord, “(BG)I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, that is, those who survive in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine, over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to their enemies, and to those who seek their lives; and he will strike and kill them with the edge of the sword. He (BH)will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’
8 “You shall also say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am (BI)setting before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 Anyone who (BJ)stays in this city will die by the (BK)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who leaves and goes over to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as plunder. 10 For I have (BL)set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be (BM)handed over to the king of Babylon and he will (BN)burn it with fire.”’
11 “Then say to the household of the (BO)king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 (BP)house of David, this is what the Lord says:
“(BQ)Administer justice [k]every (BR)morning;
And save the person who has been robbed from the [l]power of his oppressor,
(BS)So that My wrath will not spread like fire
And (BT)burn, with no one to extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.
13 “Behold, (BU)I am against you, you inhabitant of the (BV)valley,
You [m]rocky plain,” declares the Lord,
“You who say, ‘(BW)Who will come down against us?
Or who will enter our dwellings?’
14 But I will punish you (BX)according to the [n]results of your deeds,” declares the Lord,
“And I will (BY)kindle a fire in its forest
So that it may devour all its surroundings.”’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 20:3 I.e., horror on every side
- Jeremiah 20:8 Lit become
- Jeremiah 20:10 Lit Every man of my peace
- Jeremiah 20:11 Lit not succeeded; or not acted wisely
- Jeremiah 20:12 Lit kidneys
- Jeremiah 20:15 Lit male child
- Jeremiah 20:16 Lit being sorry
- Jeremiah 20:16 Or a trumpet blast
- Jeremiah 20:17 Lit from the womb
- Jeremiah 21:2 Or miracles
- Jeremiah 21:12 Or in the
- Jeremiah 21:12 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 21:13 Lit rock of the level place
- Jeremiah 21:14 Lit fruit
Jeremiah 20-21
New International Version
Jeremiah 20-21
New International Version
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, 2 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. 3 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) 4 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. 5 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. 6 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
7 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.
8 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.
9 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)
God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request
21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah(AT) sent to him Pashhur(AU) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah(AV) son of Maaseiah. They said: 2 “Inquire(AW) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar[c](AX) king of Babylon(AY) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders(AZ) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn(BA) against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians[d] who are outside the wall besieging(BB) you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fight(BC) against you with an outstretched hand(BD) and a mighty arm(BE) in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strike(BF) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.(BG) 7 After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah(BH) king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,(BI) sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(BJ) and to their enemies(BK) who want to kill them.(BL) He will put them to the sword;(BM) he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’(BN)
8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life(BO) and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.(BP) But whoever goes out and surrenders(BQ) to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.(BR) 10 I have determined to do this city harm(BS) and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands(BT) of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’(BU)
11 “Moreover, say to the royal house(BV) of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:
“‘Administer justice(BW) every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor(BX)
the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire(BY)
because of the evil(BZ) you have done—
burn with no one to quench(CA) it.
13 I am against(CB) you, Jerusalem,
you who live above this valley(CC)
on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
Who can enter our refuge?”(CD)
14 I will punish you as your deeds(CE) deserve,
declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire(CF) in your forests(CG)
that will consume everything around you.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
- Jeremiah 21:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 9
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.