Jeremiah 20
1 Now Phassur the son of Emmur, the priest, who was appointed chief in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremias prophesying these words.
Pashhur, son of Immer, was a priest and the official in charge of the Lord's Temple. When he heard Jeremiah prophesying these things,
2 And Phassur struck Jeremias the prophet, and put him in the stocks, that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, in the house of the Lord.
he beat Jeremiah the prophet and had him put in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate, near to the Lord's Temple.
3 And when it was light the next day, Phassur brought Jeremias out of the stocks. And Jeremias said to him: The Lord hath not called thy name Phassur, but fear on every side.
The following day, when Pashhur had Jeremiah released from the stocks, Jeremiah told him, “The Lord doesn't call you Pashhur (tear in pieces), but Magor-missabib (terror is everywhere).
4 For thus saith the Lord: Behold I will deliver thee up to fear, thee and all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thy eyes shall see it, and I will give all Juda into the hand of the king of Babylon: and he shall strike them with the sword.
For this is what the Lord says: I'm going to make you terrified—you and all those you love. Enemies will kill them as you watch. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will kill some, and the rest he will take away into exile in Babylon.
5 And I will give all the substance of this city, and all its labour, and every precious thing thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Juda will I give into the hands of their enemies: and they shall pillage them, and take them away, and carry them to Babylon.
I'm going to give it all away. All the wealth of this city, all the results of hard work, all the valuables, all the crown jewels of Judah's kings—I'm going to hand it over to their enemies, who will take it as plunder and carry it off to Babylon.
6 But thou, Phassur, and all that dwell in thy house, shall go into captivity, and thou shalt go to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and there thou shalt be buried, thou and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied a lie.
You, Pashhur, and everyone who lives with you, will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon. You will die there and be buried—you and all those you love, those to whom you prophesied lies.”
7 Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I am deceived: thou hast been stronger than I, and thou hast prevailed. I am become a laughing-stock all the day, all scoff at me.
You fooled me, Lord, and I let myself be fooled! You're stronger than me—you've won! I've become a joke people laugh at all day long. Everyone is mocking me.
8 For I am speaking now this long time, crying out against iniquity, and I often proclaim devastation: and the word of the Lord is made a reproach to me, and a derision all the day.
This is because every time I open my mouth I have to shout out warnings of violence and destruction. The Lord's message has become the reason people criticize and ridicule me the whole time.
9 Then I said: I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name: and there came in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was wearied, not being able to bear it.
If I tell myself, “I won't talk about him anymore, I won't even mention his name,” then his message is like a fire trapped within me, burning me from the inside out. I'm getting tired of holding it in. I just can't win.
10 For I heard the reproaches of many, and terror on every side: Persecute him, and let us persecute him: from all the men that were my familiars, and continued at my side: if by any means he may be deceived, and we may prevail against him, and be revenged on him.
I've heard many people gossiping: “He's the one who says, ‘terror is everywhere!’ He has to be reported! Report what he's doing!” All my good friends are waiting for me to slip up. “Maybe he'll make a mistake so we can defeat him and get our revenge on him,” they say.
11 But the Lord is with me as a strong warrior: therefore they that persecute me shall fall, and shall be weak: they shall be greatly confounded, because they have not understood the everlasting reproach, which never shall be effaced.
But the Lord stands beside me like a powerful warrior. So those who are attacking me will fall. They won't win! Because they're not successful they will be totally disgraced. Their shame won't ever be forgotten.
12 And thou, O Lord of hosts, prover of the just, who seest the reins and the heart: let me see, I beseech thee, thy vengeance on them: for to thee I have laid open my cause.
Lord Almighty, you know without question who is living right. You examine people's thoughts and feelings. So let me see your punishment fall on them, because I've trusted you to judge my case.
13 Sing ye to the Lord, praise the Lord: because he hath delivered the soul of the poor out of the hand of the wicked.
Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For he saves the poor from the power of the wicked.
14 Cursed be the day wherein I was borne: let not the day in which my mother bore me, be blessed.
May the day I was born be cursed! May the day my mother gave birth to me never be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man that brought the tidings to my father, saying: A man child is born to thee: and made him greatly rejoice.
May the man be cursed who brought my father the news that made him really happy, saying, “You have a son.”
16 Let that man be as the cities that the Lord hath overthrown, and hath not repented: let him hear a cry in the morning, and howling at noontide:
May that man be like the towns that the Lord destroyed without mercy. May he hear shouts of alarm in the morning and war-cries at noon,
17 Who slew me not from the womb, that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb an everlasting conception.
because he should have killed me in the womb so that my mother would have been my grave, remaining pregnant forever.
18 Why came I out of the womb, to see labour and sorrow, and that my days should be spent in confusion?
Why was I born only to see trouble and sadness, and to end my life in shame?
