Jeremiah 20
Common English Bible
20 When the priest Pashhur, Immer’s son, the officer in charge of the Lord’s temple, heard Jeremiah prophesying these words, 2 he beat the prophet and detained him in confinement at the upper Benjamin Gate in the Lord’s temple. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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
7 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.
8 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.
9 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 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?
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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.