Jeremiah 20:3

3 And it came to pass the next day, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks; and Jeremiah said unto him, Jehovah hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib.

Jeremiah 20:3 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 20:3

And it came to pass on the morrow
After the prophet was put into the stocks; so that he was there all night: that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks;
either to bring him before the priests, or the sanhedrim, to be examined; or in order to dismiss him, being either admonished by his friends, or convicted in his own conscience that he had done a wrong thing; then said Jeremiah unto him;
when he had brought him out, not being at all intimidated by him, and having a word from the Lord for him: the Lord hath not called thy name Pashur;
which, according to Jerom, signifies "blackness of mouth"; and, according to others, "diffusing paleness"; one that terrified others, and made their faces look pale; but now it should be otherwise, and he himself should be filled with terror, and have paleness of thee: but, according to a late etymologist, it signifies one abounding or "increased in liberty" F24, who in a little time would become a captive; for it is not suggested hereby that he should no more be called by this name, but that he should be in a condition which would not answer to it, but to another, as follows: but Magormissabib;
or, "fear round about"; signifying that terrors should be all around him, and he in the utmost fright and consternation. The Septuagint version renders it "one removing"; changing from place to place; that is, going into captivity; a stranger and wanderer, as the Syriac version. The Targum is,

``but there shall be gathered together against thee those that kill with the sword round about;''
meaning the Chaldeans, which would make him a "Magormissabib".
FOOTNOTES:

F24 (vp) "abundantiam" , & (rwx) liberum sonat", Hiller. Onomast. Sacr. p. 302. Paschchur, "auctus libertate", ib. p. 904.

Jeremiah 20:3 In-Context

1 And Pashur the son of Immer, the priest -- and he was chief officer in the house of Jehovah -- heard Jeremiah prophesy these things.
2 And Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Jehovah.
3 And it came to pass the next day, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks; and Jeremiah said unto him, Jehovah hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib.
4 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I 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 see [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 smite them with the sword.
5 And, I will give all the wealth of this city, and all its gains, and all its precious things, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah, will I give into the hand of their enemies; and they shall make them a prey, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Meaning, 'Terror on every side,' as ver. 10; chs. 6.25; 46.5; 49.29; Ps. 31.13; and Lam. 2.22.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.