Jeremiah 20
Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah Beaten by Pashhur
20 Pashhur the priest,(A) the son of Immer(B) and chief official in the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 So Pashhur had the prophet Jeremiah beaten and put him in the stocks(C) at the Upper Benjamin Gate(D) in the Lord’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Terror Is on Every Side,[a] 4 for this is what the Lord says, ‘I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love.(E) They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes.(F) I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon and put them to the sword. 5 I will give away all the wealth(G) of this city, all its products(H) and valuables. Indeed, I will hand all the treasures of the kings of Judah over to their enemies. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon.(I) 6 As for you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, you will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon.(J) There you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends to whom you prophesied lies.’”(K)
Jeremiah Compelled to Preach
7 You deceived(L) me, Lord, and I was deceived.
You seized me and prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all the time;(M)
everyone ridicules me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I proclaim, “Violence and destruction!” (N)
so the word of the Lord has become my
constant disgrace and derision.
9 I say, “I won’t mention him
or speak any longer in his name.”(O)
But his message becomes a fire burning in my heart,(P)
shut up in my bones.
I become tired of holding it in,(Q)
and I cannot prevail.
10 For I have heard the gossip of many people,
“Terror is on every side!(R)
Report him; let’s report him!”
Everyone I trusted[b] watches for my fall.(S)
“Perhaps he will be deceived
so that we might prevail against him
and take our vengeance on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me like a violent warrior.(T)
Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed,
an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten.(U)
12 Lord of Armies, testing the righteous
and seeing the heart[c] and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to you.(V)
13 Sing to the Lord!
Praise the Lord,
for he rescues the life of the needy
from evil people.
Jeremiah’s Lament
14 May the day I was born
be cursed.(W)
May the day my mother bore me
never be blessed.
15 May the man be cursed
who brought the news to my father, saying,
“A male child is born to you,”
bringing him great joy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
the Lord demolished without compassion.(X)
Let him hear an outcry in the morning(Y)
and a war cry at noontime
17 because he didn’t kill me in the womb(Z)
so that my mother might have been my grave,
her womb eternally pregnant.
18 Why did I come out of the womb
to see only struggle and sorrow,(AA)
to end my life in shame?
Jeremiah 20
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?
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
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
