Jeremiah 20:3

3 And when it was clear in the morrow, Pashur led Jeremy out of the stocks. And Jeremy said to him, The Lord called not Pashur thy name, but Dread on each side. (And when the morning came, Pashur led Jeremiah out of the stocks. And Jeremiah said to him, The Lord calleth thy name not Pashur, but Magormissabib, that is, Terror let loose.)

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, that was ordained prince in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremy prophesying these words. (And Pashur, the son of Immer, the priest, who was ordained the leader, or the chief official, in the House of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these words.)
2 And Pashur smote Jeremy, the prophet, and sent him into the stocks, that were in the higher gate of Benjamin, in the house of the Lord. (And Pashur struck the prophet Jeremiah, and then sent him into the stocks, that were at the Upper Gate of Benjamin, in the House of the Lord.)
3 And when it was clear in the morrow, Pashur led Jeremy out of the stocks. And Jeremy said to him, The Lord called not Pashur thy name, but Dread on each side. (And when the morning came, Pashur led Jeremiah out of the stocks. And Jeremiah said to him, The Lord calleth thy name not Pashur, but Magormissabib, that is, Terror let loose.)
4 For the Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall give thee and all thy friends into dread, and they shall fall down by the sword of their enemies; and thine eyes shall see; and I shall give all Judah in the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall lead them over into Babylon, and he shall smite them with sword. (For the Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall give thee and all thy friends unto terror, and they shall fall down by the sword of their enemies; and thy eyes shall see it; and I shall give all Judah into the hands, or into the power, of the king of Babylon, and he shall lead them over to Babylon, and he shall strike them down with the sword.)
5 And I shall give (them) all the chattel of this city, and all the travail thereof, and all the price; and I shall give all the treasures of the kings of Judah in(to) the hand of their enemies; and they shall ravish them, and shall take, and lead [them] forth into Babylon. (And I shall give all the substance of this city, and all the fruits of its labours, and all its things of value, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hands of their enemies; yea, they shall rob them, and then they shall take these people, and lead them forth to Babylon.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.