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Jeremiah 20
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 20
New Living Translation
Jeremiah and Pashhur
20 Now Pashhur son of Immer, the priest in charge of the Temple of the Lord, heard what Jeremiah was prophesying. 2 So he arrested Jeremiah the prophet and had him whipped and put in stocks at the Benjamin Gate of the Lord’s Temple.
3 The next day, when Pashhur finally released him, Jeremiah said, “Pashhur, the Lord has changed your name. From now on you are to be called ‘The Man Who Lives in Terror.’[a] 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will send terror upon you and all your friends, and you will watch as they are slaughtered by the swords of the enemy. I will hand the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will take them captive to Babylon or run them through with the sword. 5 And I will let your enemies plunder Jerusalem. All the famed treasures of the city—the precious jewels and gold and silver of your kings—will be carried off to Babylon. 6 As for you, Pashhur, you and all your household will go as captives to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you prophesied that everything would be all right.’”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 O Lord, you misled me,
and I allowed myself to be misled.
You are stronger than I am,
and you overpowered me.
Now I am mocked every day;
everyone laughs at me.
8 When I speak, the words burst out.
“Violence and destruction!” I shout.
So these messages from the Lord
have made me a household joke.
9 But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord
or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
I can’t do it!
10 I have heard the many rumors about me.
They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.”
They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.”
Even my old friends are watching me,
waiting for a fatal slip.
“He will trap himself,” they say,
“and then we will get our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior.
Before him my persecutors will stumble.
They cannot defeat me.
They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated.
Their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
you test those who are righteous,
and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets.
Let me see your vengeance against them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
13 Sing to the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
For though I was poor and needy,
he rescued me from my oppressors.
14 Yet I curse the day I was born!
May no one celebrate the day of my birth.
15 I curse the messenger who told my father,
“Good news—you have a son!”
16 Let him be destroyed like the cities of old
that the Lord overthrew without mercy.
Terrify him all day long with battle shouts,
17 because he did not kill me at birth.
Oh, that I had died in my mother’s womb,
that her body had been my grave!
18 Why was I ever born?
My entire life has been filled
with trouble, sorrow, and shame.
Jeremiah 20
New International Version
Jeremiah 20
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)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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.