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Jeremiah 20
Living Bible
Jeremiah 20
Living Bible
20 Now when Pashhur (son of Immer), the priest in charge of the Temple of the Lord, heard what Jeremiah was saying, 2 he arrested Jeremiah and had him whipped and put in the stocks at Benjamin Gate near the Temple. 3 He left him there all night.
The next day when Pashhur finally released him, Jeremiah said, “Pashhur, the Lord has changed your name. He says from now on to call you ‘The Man Who Lives in Terror.’ 4 For the Lord will send terror on you and all your friends, and you will see them die by the swords of their enemies. I will hand over Judah to the king of Babylon, says the Lord, and he shall take away these people as slaves to Babylon and kill them. 5 And I will let your enemies loot Jerusalem. All the famed treasures of the city, with the precious jewels and gold and silver of your kings, shall be carried off to Babylon. 6 And as for you, Pashhur, you and all your family and household shall become slaves in Babylon and die there—you and those to whom you lied when you prophesied that everything would be all right.”
7 O Lord, you deceived me when you promised me your help. I have to give them your messages because you are stronger than I am, but now I am the laughingstock of the city, mocked by all. 8 You have never once let me speak a word of kindness to them; always it is disaster and horror and destruction. No wonder they scoff and mock and make my name a household joke. 9 And I can’t quit! For if I say I’ll never again mention the Lord—never more speak in his name—then his word in my heart is like fire that burns in my bones, and I can’t hold it in any longer. 10 Yet on every side I hear their whispered threats and am afraid. “We will report,” they say. Even those who were my 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, and before him, the Mighty, Terrible One, they shall stumble. They cannot defeat me; they shall be shamed and thoroughly humiliated, and they shall have a stigma upon them forever. 12 O Lord Almighty, who knows those who are righteous and examines the deepest thoughts of hearts and minds, let me see your vengeance on them. For I have committed my cause to you. 13 Therefore, I will sing out in thanks to the Lord! Praise him! For he has delivered me, poor and needy, from my oppressors.
14 Yet, cursed be the day that I was born! 15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news that a son was born. 16 Let that messenger be destroyed like the cities of old which God overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts 17 because he did not kill me at my birth! Oh, that I had died within my mother’s womb, that it had been my grave! 18 Why was I ever born? For my life has been but trouble and 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
Jeremiah 20
King James Version
Jeremiah 20
King James Version
20 Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.
2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.
3 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib.
4 For thus saith the Lord, 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 into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
5 Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.
6 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.
7 O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
10 For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.
11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
12 But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.
13 Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
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 the Lord overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;
17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.
18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.