Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur
Jer 20:1 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the official in charge of the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things,
Jer 20:2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD’s temple.
Jer 20:3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD’s name for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.
Jer 20:4 For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies.
I will give all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword.
Jer 20:5 I will deliver all the wealth of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon.
Jer 20:6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.'”
Jer 20:7 You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.
Jer 20:8 Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.
Jer 20:9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
Jer 20:10 I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.”
Jer 20:11 But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.
Jer 20:12 LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause.
Jer 20:13 Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.
Jer 20:14 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
Jer 20:15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, “A child is born to you—a son!”
Jer 20:16 May that man be like the towns the LORD overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon.
Jer 20:17 For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever.
Jer 20:18 Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?
1 Pashur, smiting Jeremiah, receives a new name, and a fearful doom. 7 Jeremiah complains of contempt, 10 of treachery, 14 and of his birth.
Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur
Jer 20:1 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the official in charge of the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things,
1. Son of Immer. This information distinguishes him from “Pashur the son of Melchiah” (ch. 21:1). The son of Immer was possibly the father of the “Gedaliah” mentioned in ch. 38:1–4, who was one of the princes who later opposed Jeremiah’s efforts.
His high position in the Temple would account for his leading in the aggressive actions against Jeremiah (vs. 2, 3), particularly since the prophet had delivered his message to the people “in the court of the Lord’s house” (see ch. 19:14, 15). The events of ch. 20 follow immediately those of ch. 19 (see on ch. 19:1).
Jer 20:2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD’s temple.
This is the first time in the book that Jeremiah’s name and title appear together. The reason is doubtless to highlight the indignity and outrage suffered by Jeremiah.
Stocks. Heb. mahpeketh, “something compelling crooked posture,” that is, an instrument of punishment that put the body in a most uncomfortable and painful position. In this suffering, humiliating condition Jeremiah spent the night in one of the most prominent places in Jerusalem, “the high gate of Benjamin.”
The gate is probably the same as the Sheep Gate (see ch. 37:13), though some think that thes stocks were in another place, and that the high, or upper, gate of Benjamin was an entrance to the Temple enclosure (RSV). The map on p. 490 shows the two possible locations.
Jer 20:3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD’s name for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.
The prophet was freed from the torture of the stocks after one night, but this does not mean that he was released from imprisonment at this time. It is evident that Jeremiah spent much time in prison while writing out his messages for King Jehoiakim (see PK 433; see on ch. 36:5).
Jer 20:4 For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword.
Jer 20:5 I will deliver all the wealth of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon.
Jer 20:6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.'”
You have prophesied lies. This plainly implies that Pashur claimed to be a prophet, and that he was a member of the anti-Chaldean party that urged the people to fight against the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the party that spurned Jeremiah’s warnings not to put dependence for national safety upon an alliance with Egypt (see chs. 2:18, 36; 14:13–15; 37:5–10).
Jer 20:7 You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.
The complaints were probably a reaction to the prophet’s distressful night in the stocks (see vs. 2, 3). In his depressed state Jeremiah seems to have considered his work a failure, a failure made more bitter by a haunting fear that God would not fulfill His promises (see Jer. 1:8–10; cf. Jer. 15:10, 17; Jonah 4:1–4).
Overpowered me.
In his bitter complaint Jeremiah implies that the Lord has employed His greater power to force Jeremiah, against his own desire and will, to take up a mission from which he shrank.
Jer 20:8 Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.
Cry out. Heb. za‘aq, “to utter a cry of complaint.”
Jer 20:9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
I will not make mention. His sense of frustration and failure led the prophet to feel that his only recourse was to refrain from carrying out his commission as God’s spokesman.
Jer 20:10 I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.”
The prophet’s persecutors hoped to secure evidence of Jeremiah’s disloyalty to the nation (see chs. 11:19; 18:18).
The enemies were hoping that Jeremiah would be snared into saying something in his prophetic zeal that would bring condemnation upon him and result in his death.
Jer 20:11 But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonour will never be forgotten.
The Lord is with me. Despite his anxiety and perplexity Jeremiah does not give way to despair; his trust is still firm in God (see Ps. 23; 27; 2 Cor. 4:1, 8, 9). The waters of trouble cannot overflow this trust, nor the fire of persecution burn out this faith (see Isa. 43:1, 2).
Jer 20:12 But, O LORD of hosts, You who test the righteous, And see the mind and heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them; For I have pleaded my cause before You.
Lord of hosts. See on Ps. 24:10; Joshua 5:14. Perhaps a reflection of the thought of v. 11, which depicts God as a warrior.
Jer 20:13 Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.
Sing unto the Lord. The prophet’s distress surrenders to hope; sorrow gives way to joy (see Ps. 30:5).
Jer 20:14 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
Cursed be the day. The rest of the chapter portrays Jeremiah in a depth of despair that reminds us of the patriarch Job (see on Job 3:1–6). We must ever remember that although these Bible characters were strong men of God, they were still human beings “subject to like passions as we are” (James 5:17).
Jer 20:15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, “A child is born to you—a son!”
Jer 20:15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, “A child is born to you—a son!”
Jer 20:15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, “A child is born to you—a son!”
Very glad. The thought of this parental delight added a pang of pain to the prophet’s present sorrow (see ch. 15:10). That which brought gladness to Jeremiah’s parents brought despair to Jeremiah himself.
Jer 20:16 May that man be like the towns the LORD overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon.
A reference to those “cities of the plain” (Gen. 19:29) that were overthrown by fire from God. Their destruction became an example of the divine punishment that is certain to result from human evil (see Deut. 32:32; Isa. 1:9, 10; Jude 7).
Battle cry. Heb. teru‘ah, “an alarm signal,” the war cry of an invading army.
Jer 20:17 For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever.
Jer 20:18 Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame? The chapter closes in a crescendo, as it were, of bold, highly emotional language. The prophet deeply regrets his existence.