Old/New Testament
Pashhur Strikes Jeremiah
20 Now Pashhur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. 2 Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord. 3 On the next day Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, The Lord has not called your name Pashhur, but “Magor-missabib.”[a] 4 For thus says the Lord: I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. And they will fall by the sword of their enemies while your eyes will see it. Thus I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them captive into Babylon and will slay them with the sword. 5 Moreover I will deliver all the wealth of this city, and all its produce, and all the precious things; and all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of their enemies who will destroy them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon. 6 You, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house will go into captivity; and you will come to Babylon, and there you will die and will be buried there, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.
Jeremiah Dejected
7 O Lord, You have deceived me and I was deceived;
You are stronger than I and have prevailed.
I am held in derision daily;
everyone mocks me.
8 For each time I speak, I cry out;
I cry out, “Violence and devastation,”
because to me the word of the Lord has resulted
in reproach and derision daily.
9 But if I say, “I will not make mention of Him
nor speak any more in His name,”
then His word was in my heart
as a burning fire shut up in my bones;
and I was weary of forbearing it,
and I could not endure it.
10 For I heard the defaming of many,
“Terror on every side!
Denounce him. Yes, denounce him!”
All my familiar friends
who watch for my fall, say,
“Perhaps he will be enticed
so that we can prevail against him,
and we will take our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me as a dread mighty One.
Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail.
They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper.
Their everlasting shame will never be forgotten.
12 But, O Lord of Hosts, who tests the righteous
and sees the mind and the heart,
let me see Your vengeance on them,
for to You I have presented my cause.
13 Sing to the Lord,
praise the Lord.
For He has delivered the soul of the poor
from the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the day in which I was born.
Let not the day be blessed in which my mother bore me.
15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father,
saying, “A baby boy has been born to you!”
and made him very glad.
16 Let that man be as the cities
which the Lord overthrew and did not relent,
and let him hear the cry in the morning
and the shout of alarm at noon,
17 because he did not kill me from the womb,
so that my mother might have been my grave,
and her womb be always pregnant.
18 Why did I come forth from the womb
to see trouble and sorrow,
so that my days are spent in shame?
Zedekiah’s Request Denied
21 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malkijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2 “Please inquire of the Lord for us. For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wondrous works, so that the enemy withdraws from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them: Thus you shall say to Zedekiah: 4 Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands with which you 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 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 I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterwards, says 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 who seek their life. And he will strike them with the edge of the sword. He will not spare them or have pity or mercy.
8 To this people you shall say: Thus says the Lord: See, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 9 He who abides in this city will die by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence. But he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he will live, and he will have his own life as booty. 10 For I have set My face against this city for disaster and not for good, says the Lord. It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.
Message to the House of David
11 Concerning the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David; thus says the Lord:
Execute justice each morning,
and deliver him who has been robbed
from the hand of the oppressor,
lest My fury go out like fire
and burn so that no one can quench it,
because of the evil of your deeds.
13 See, I am against you,
O inhabitant of the valley,
O rocky plain,
says the Lord,
you men who say,
“Who shall come down against us?
Or who shall enter our dwellings?”
14 But I will punish you
according to the fruit of your deeds,
says the Lord,
and I will kindle a fire in the forest,
and it will devour all things around it.
4 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching. 3 For the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but they will gather to themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, having itching ears, 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn to myths. 5 But be self-controlled in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and prove your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, and I have kept the faith. 8 From now on a crown of righteousness is laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Personal Instructions
9 Diligently try to come to me soon. 10 Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark, and bring him with you, for he is profitable to me for the ministry. 12 I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring with you the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, but especially the parchments.
14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil. May the Lord reward him according to his works. 15 Beware of him, for he has greatly opposed our words.
16 At my first defense no one stood with me, but everyone forsook me. May it not be charged against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through 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 The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me for His heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings
19 Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I have left Trophimus ill in Miletus. 21 Diligently try to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.
22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.