Jeremiah 20:1-6

A Message for Pashhur

1 Now Pashhur, the son of Immer, the priest [who was] officer in charge in the temple of Yahweh, heard Jeremiah prophesying 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 temple of Yahweh.
3 {And then} on the next day, when Pashhur brought Jeremiah out from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "Yahweh will not call your name Pashhur, {but} Terror From All Around.
4 For thus says Yahweh, 'Look, I [am] making you a terror to yourself and to all your friends, and they will fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes [will be] seeing [it]. And all Judah I will give into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will deport them [to] Babylon, and he will strike them with the sword.
5 And I will give all the wealth of this city, and all its acquisitions, and all its precious items, and all of the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them, and they will seize them, and they will bring them [to] Babylon.
6 And you, Pashhur, and all [those who] live [in] your house will go into captivity, and you will go [to] Babylon, and there you will die, and there you will be buried, you, and all your friends to whom you have prophesied {falsely}.'"

Jeremiah 20:1-6 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.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Literally "And it was"
  • [b]. Literally "but if"
  • [c]. Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [d]. Literally "in the lie"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.