20 Now Pashhur 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 Pashhur 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 Pashhur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, “The Lord hath not called thy name Pashhur, but Magormissabib [that is, Fear round about].

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 labors 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, who shall despoil them and take them and carry them to Babylon.

⁶ And thou, Pashhur, 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 when I spoke, I cried out; I cried, “Violence and despoliation!” 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 hold back.

¹⁰ For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. “Report,” say they, “and we will report it!” All in my company watched for my halting, saying, “Perhaps 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, fearsome 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, who 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 bore me be blessed.

¹⁵ Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, “A manchild 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 Why came I forth out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?

21 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent unto him Pashhur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,

² “Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us (for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us), if so it be that the Lord will deal with us according to all His wondrous works, that he may go up from us.”

³ Then said Jeremiah unto them, “Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah,

⁴ ‘Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans, who besiege you outside the walls; and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.

⁵ And I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and in fury and in great wrath.

⁶ And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence.

⁷ And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants and the people and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life. And he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity nor have mercy.’

⁸ “And unto this people thou shalt say, ‘Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.

⁹ He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence; but he that goeth out and falleth to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him as a prey.

¹⁰ For I have set My face against this city for evil and not for good, saith the Lord. It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’

¹¹ “And concerning the house of the king of Judah, say, ‘Hear ye the word of the Lord,

¹² O house of David. Thus saith the Lord: “‘Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is despoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest My fury go out like fire and burn, that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

¹³ Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley and rock of the plain, saith the Lord, who say, “Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter into our habitations?”

¹⁴ But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord; and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.’”

4 I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom:

² preach the Word; be instant in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but having itching ears, they shall heap to themselves teachers in accordance with their own lusts.

⁴ And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned toward fables.

⁵ But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill thy ministry.

⁶ For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

⁷ I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith.

⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me on that Day — and not to me only, but unto all those also who love His appearing.

⁹ Use diligence to come shortly unto me,

¹⁰ for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Take Mark and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

¹² And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.

¹³ The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.

¹⁴ Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil; the Lord reward him according to his works.

¹⁵ Beware thou also of him, for he hath greatly withstood our words.

¹⁶ At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

¹⁷ Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

¹⁸ And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto His heavenly Kingdom, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

¹⁹ Salute Prisca and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.

²⁰ Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I have left sick at Miletus.

²¹ Try with diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brethren.

²² The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.