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?
Notas al pie
- 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 20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur
20 Now the priest Pashhur son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things.(A) 2 Then Pashhur struck the prophet Jeremiah and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord.(B) 3 The next morning when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord has named you not Pashhur but ‘Terror-all-around.’ 4 For thus says the Lord: I am making you a terror to yourself and to all your friends, and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon; he shall carry them captive to Babylon and shall kill them with the sword.(C) 5 I will give all the wealth of this city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon.(D) 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, shall go into captivity, and to Babylon you shall go; there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.”(E)
Jeremiah Denounces His Persecutors
7 O Lord, you have enticed me,
and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
everyone mocks me.(F)
8 For whenever I speak, I must cry out;
I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.(G)
9 If I say, “I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.(H)
10 For I hear many whispering:
“Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
All my close friends
are watching for me to stumble.
“Perhaps he can be enticed,
and we can prevail against him
and take our revenge on him.”(I)
11 But the Lord is with me like a terrifying warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.(J)
12 O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous;
you see the heart and the mind;
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.(K)
13 Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hands of evildoers.(L)
14 Cursed be the day
on which I was born!
The day when my mother bore me,
let it not be blessed!(M)
15 Cursed be the man
who brought the news to my father, saying,
“A child is born to you, a son,”
making him very glad.(N)
16 Let that man be like the cities
that the Lord overthrew without pity;
let him hear a cry in the morning
and an alarm at noon,(O)
17 because he did not kill me in the womb;
so my mother would have been my grave
and her womb forever pregnant.(P)
18 Why did I come forth from the womb
to see toil and sorrow
and spend my days in shame?(Q)
Jeremiah 20
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
20 Now Phassur the son of Emmur, the priest, who was appointed chief in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremias prophesying these words.
2 And Phassur struck Jeremias the prophet, and put him in the stocks, that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, in the house of the Lord.
3 And when it was light the next day, Phassur brought Jeremias out of the stocks. And Jeremias said to him: The Lord hath not called thy name Phassur, but fear on every side.
4 For thus saith the Lord: Behold I will deliver thee up to fear, thee and all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thy eyes shall see it, and I will give all Juda into the hand of the king of Babylon: and he shall strike them with the sword.
5 And I will give all the substance of this city, and all its labour, and every precious thing thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Juda will I give into the hands of their enemies: and they shall pillage them, and take them away, and carry them to Babylon.
6 But thou, Phassur, and all that dwell in thy house, shall go into captivity, and thou shalt go to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and there thou shalt be buried, thou and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied a lie.
7 Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I am deceived: thou hast been stronger than I, and thou hast prevailed. I am become a laughing-stock all the day, all scoff at me.
8 For I am speaking now this long time, crying out against iniquity, and I often proclaim devastation: and the word of the Lord is made a reproach to me, and a derision all the day.
9 Then I said: I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name: and there came in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was wearied, not being able to bear it.
10 For I heard the reproaches of many, and terror on every side: Persecute him, and let us persecute him: from all the men that were my familiars, and continued at my side: if by any means he may be deceived, and we may prevail against him, and be revenged on him.
11 But the Lord is with me as a strong warrior: therefore they that persecute me shall fall, and shall be weak: they shall be greatly confounded, because they have not understood the everlasting reproach, which never shall be effaced.
12 And thou, O Lord of hosts, prover of the just, who seest the reins and the heart: let me see, I beseech thee, thy vengeance on them: for to thee I have laid open my cause.
13 Sing ye to the Lord, praise the Lord: because he hath delivered the soul of the poor out of the hand of the wicked.
14 Cursed be the day wherein I was borne: let not the day in which my mother bore me, be blessed.
15 Cursed be the man that brought the tidings to my father, saying: A man child is born to thee: and made him greatly rejoice.
16 Let that man be as the cities that the Lord hath overthrown, and hath not repented: let him hear a cry in the morning, and howling at noontide:
17 Who slew me not from the womb, that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb an everlasting conception.
18 Why came I out of the womb, to see labour and sorrow, and that my days should be spent in confusion?
Jeremiah 20
The Message
Life’s Been Nothing but Trouble and Tears
20 1-5 The priest Pashur son of Immer was the senior priest in God’s Temple. He heard Jeremiah preach this sermon. He whipped Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate of God’s Temple. The next day Pashur came and let him go. Jeremiah told him, “God has a new name for you: not Pashur but Danger-Everywhere, because God says, ‘You’re a danger to yourself and everyone around you. All your friends are going to get killed in battle while you stand there and watch. What’s more, I’m turning all of Judah over to the king of Babylon to do whatever he likes with them—haul them off into exile, kill them at whim. Everything worth anything in this city, property and possessions along with everything in the royal treasury—I’m handing it all over to the enemy. They’ll rummage through it and take what they want back to Babylon.
6 “‘And you, Pashur, you and everyone in your family will be taken prisoner into exile—that’s right, exile in Babylon. You’ll die and be buried there, you and all your cronies to whom you preached your lies.’”
* * *
7-10 You pushed me into this, God, and I let you do it.
You were too much for me.
And now I’m a public joke.
They all poke fun at me.
Every time I open my mouth
I’m shouting, “Murder!” or “Rape!”
And all I get for my God-warnings
are insults and contempt.
But if I say, “Forget it!
No more God-Messages from me!”
The words are fire in my belly,
a burning in my bones.
I’m worn out trying to hold it in.
I can’t do it any longer!
Then I hear whispering behind my back:
“There goes old ‘Danger-Everywhere.’ Shut him up! Report him!”
Old friends watch, hoping I’ll fall flat on my face:
“One misstep and we’ll have him. We’ll get rid of him for good!”
11 But God, a most fierce warrior, is at my side.
Those who are after me will be sent sprawling—
Slapstick buffoons falling all over themselves,
a spectacle of humiliation no one will ever forget.
12 Oh, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, no one fools you.
You see through everyone, everything.
I want to see you pay them back for what they’ve done.
I rest my case with you.
13 Sing to God! All praise to God!
He saves the weak from the grip of the wicked.
* * *
14-18 Curse the day
I was born!
The day my mother bore me—
a curse on it, I say!
And curse the man who delivered
the news to my father:
“You’ve got a new baby—a boy baby!”
(How happy it made him.)
Let that birth notice be blacked out,
deleted from the records,
And the man who brought it haunted to his death
with the bad news he brought.
He should have killed me before I was born,
with that womb as my tomb,
My mother pregnant for the rest of her life
with a baby dead in her womb.
Why, oh why, did I ever leave that womb?
Life’s been nothing but trouble and tears,
and what’s coming is more of the same.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson