Jeremiah 20:4-14

4 For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you 1a terror to yourself and to all your friends. 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 strike them down with the sword.
5 Moreover, 2I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its 3prized 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.
6 And you, 4Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, 5to whom you have prophesied falsely."
7 O LORD, 6you have deceived me, and I was deceived; 7you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. 8I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, 9"Violence and destruction!" For 10the word of the LORD has become for me 11a reproach and 12derision all day long.
9 If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," 13there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and 14I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
10 15For I hear many whispering. 16Terror is on every side! "Denounce him! 17Let us denounce him!" say all my 18close friends, 19watching for 20my fall. "Perhaps he will be deceived; then 21we can overcome him and take our revenge on him."
11 But 22the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; 23they will not overcome me. 24They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their 25eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, 26who sees the heart and the mind,[a] let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.
13 27Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.
14 28Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed!

Jeremiah 20:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 20

This chapter gives an account of the usage that Jeremiah met with from many for his prophecies, and the effect it had upon him. He was smitten and put in the stocks by Pashur the priest, who released him the next day, Jer 20:1-3; upon which he prophesies again of the delivery of the city of Jerusalem, with all its riches, and of the whole land, to the Chaldeans; and particularly that Pashur should be a terror to himself and all his friends; and that both he and they should be carried captive into Babylon, and die, and be buried there, Jer 20:4-6; and then he complains of his being mocked at by the people for the word of the Lord; which he therefore determined to make no more mention of, but was obliged to it; and of the defamations of him, and snares that were laid for him, Jer 20:7-10; under which he is supported with the consideration of the Lord's being with him, and that his enemies should not prevail, but be confounded; and appeals to him, and calls for vengeance from him on them; and, in the view of deliverance, not only praises the Lord himself, but calls upon others to join with him in it, Jer 20:11-13; and yet, after all, the chapter is concluded with his cursing the day of his birth, and the man that brought his father the news of it, Jer 20:14-18.

Cross References 28

  • 1. See Jeremiah 6:25
  • 2. [2 Kings 20:17]; See 2 Kings 24:12-16; 2 Kings 25:13-17
  • 3. Job 28:10; Ezekiel 22:25
  • 4. Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 38:1; 1 Chronicles 9:12; [Ezra 2:38]
  • 5. See Jeremiah 14:14
  • 6. [Ezekiel 14:9]
  • 7. [2 Peter 1:21]
  • 8. Psalms 119:51; Lamentations 3:14
  • 9. Jeremiah 6:7
  • 10. Jeremiah 6:10
  • 11. Psalms 44:13; Psalms 79:4
  • 12. Psalms 44:13; Psalms 79:4
  • 13. Job 32:18, 19; Psalms 39:3
  • 14. Jeremiah 6:11
  • 15. Psalms 31:13
  • 16. See Jeremiah 6:25
  • 17. [Jeremiah 36:16, 20]
  • 18. Psalms 41:9; Psalms 55:13; [Jeremiah 9:4; Jeremiah 38:22]
  • 19. [Psalms 56:6]
  • 20. Psalms 35:15
  • 21. Jeremiah 1:19; Jeremiah 5:22
  • 22. See Jeremiah 1:8
  • 23. See Jeremiah 1:8
  • 24. Jeremiah 17:18; Jeremiah 23:40
  • 25. Jeremiah 23:40
  • 26. See Jeremiah 11:20
  • 27. [Psalms 35:9, 10; Psalms 109:30, 31]
  • 28. Jeremiah 15:10; Job 3:3

Footnotes 1

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.