Jeremiah 20

1 When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer and the chief official in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things,

But when Pashchur the son of Immer the priest, who was chief superintendent in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these words:

2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.

Then smote Pashchur Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of the Lord.

3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD does not call you Pashhur, but Magor-missabib.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashchur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. And Jeremiah said unto him, Not Pashchur [Fulness of Freedom] hath the Lord called thy name, but Magor-missabib [[Terror all around]].

4 For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. And I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away to Babylon and put them to the sword.

For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thy eyes shall see it; and all Judah will I give into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall lead them into exile to Babylon, and shall smite them with the sword.

5 I will give away all the wealth of this city—all its products and valuables, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah—to their enemies. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon.

And I will give up all the wealth of this city, and all its acquisitions, and all its precious things; and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them, and take them and carry them away to Babylon.

6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon, and there you will die and be buried—you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied these lies.’”

And thou, Pashchur, and all the inhabitants of thy house, shall go into captivity; and to Babylon shalt thou come, and there thou shalt die, and there shalt thou be buried, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied with falsehood.

7 You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.

Thou didst persuade me, O Lord, and I was persuaded; thou laidst thy [hand] strongly on me, and didst prevail: I am laughed at all the time, every one mocketh me.

8 For whenever I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and destruction. For the word of the LORD has become to me a reproach and derision all day long.

For as often as I speak must I cry out, violence and wasting must I proclaim; because the word of the Lord is become unto me a disgrace, and a derision, all the time.

9 If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.

And I thought, I will not make mention of him, and I will not speak any more in his name. But it became in my heart as a burning fire enclosed within my bones, and I was weary with enduring, and I could not overcome it.

10 For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!” All my trusted friends watch for my fall: “Perhaps he will be deceived so that we may prevail against him and take our vengeance upon him.”

For I heard the defaming of many, angry assemblies on every side, “Tell, and we will tell of him.” All the men who ought to seek my welfare, watch for my fall; saying, “Peradventure he may he enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we will then take our revenge on him.”

11 But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly put to shame, with an everlasting disgrace that will never be forgotten.

But the Lord is with me as a mighty powerful one; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail: they will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper; [it is] an everlasting confusion which will never be forgotten.

12 O LORD of Hosts, who examines the righteous, who sees the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You I have committed my cause.

But, O Lord of hosts, that probest the righteous, seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I laid open my cause.

13 Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord; for he hath delivered the soul of the needy from the hand of evil-doers.

14 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.

Cursed be the day whereon I was born: the day on which my mother bore me shall not be blessed.

15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, saying, “A son is born to you,” bringing him great joy.

Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man-child is born unto thee. How very glad did he make him!

16 May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon,

And may that same man become like the cities which the Lord overthrew, and bethought himself not; and may he hear a cry of anguish in the morning, and a tumultuous noise at noontide;

17 because he did not kill me in the womb so that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb forever enlarged.

Because I was not slain [as I escaped] from the womb; or that my mother might have become unto me my grave, and her womb have been affected with a perpetual pregnancy.

18 Why did I come out of the womb to see only trouble and sorrow, and to end my days in shame?

Wherefore was this that I came forth out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow, that my days should pass away in shame?