Old/New Testament
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.
21 Then King Zedekiah sent Pashhur (son of Malchiah) and Zephaniah the priest (son of Maaseiah) to Jeremiah and begged, “Ask the Lord to help us, for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has declared war on us! 2 Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to us and do a mighty miracle as in olden times[a] and force Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw his forces.”
3-4 Jeremiah replied, “Go back to King Zedekiah and tell him the Lord God of Israel says, I will make all your weapons useless against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans besieging you. In fact, I will bring your enemies right into the heart of this city, 5 and I myself will fight against you, for I am very angry. 6 And I will send a terrible plague on this city, and both men and animals shall die. 7 And finally I will deliver King Zedekiah himself and all the remnant left in the city into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to slaughter them without pity or mercy.
8 “Tell these people: This is what the Lord says! Take your choice of life or death! 9 Stay here in Jerusalem and die—slaughtered by your enemies, killed by starvation and disease—or go out and surrender to the Chaldean army and live. 10 For I have set my face against this city; I will be its enemy and not its friend, says the Lord. It shall be captured by the king of Babylon and he shall reduce it to ashes.
11 “And to the king of Judah, the Lord says: 12 I am ready to judge you because of all the evil you are doing. Quick! Give justice to these you judge! Begin doing what is right before my burning fury flashes out upon you like a fire no man can quench. 13 I will fight against this city of Jerusalem that boasts, ‘We are safe; no one can touch us here!’ 14 And I myself will destroy you for your sinfulness, says the Lord. I will light a fire in the forests that will burn up everything in its path.”
4 And so I solemnly urge you before God and before Christ Jesus—who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom— 2 to preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance, in season and out, when it is convenient and when it is not. Correct and rebuke your people when they need it, encourage them to do right, and all the time be feeding them patiently with God’s Word.
3 For there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. 4 They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas.
5 Stand steady, and don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Bring others to Christ. Leave nothing undone that you ought to do.
6 I say this because I won’t be around to help you very much longer. My time has almost run out. Very soon now I will be on my way to heaven. 7 I have fought long and hard for my Lord, and through it all I have kept true to him. And now the time has come for me to stop fighting and rest. 8 In heaven a crown is waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And not just to me but to all those whose lives show that they are eagerly looking forward to his coming back again.
9 Please come as soon as you can, 10 for Demas has left me. He loved the good things of this life and went to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for I need him. 12 (Tychicus is gone too, as I sent him to Ephesus.) 13 When you come, be sure to bring the coat I left at Troas with Brother Carpus, and also the books, but especially the parchments.
14 Alexander the coppersmith has done me much harm. The Lord will punish him, 15 but be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said.
16 The first time I was brought before the judge, no one was here to help me. Everyone had run away. I hope that they will not be blamed for it. 17 But the Lord stood with me and gave me the opportunity to boldly preach a whole sermon for all the world to hear. And he saved me from being thrown to the lions.[a] 18 Yes, and the Lord will always deliver me from all evil and will bring me into his heavenly Kingdom. To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
19 Please say hello for me to Priscilla and Aquila and those living at the home of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus stayed at Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.
21 Do try to be here before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the others. 22 May the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Farewell, Paul
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.