Jeremiah 20
1 And when Pashhur son of Immer, the priest, who also was deputy-overseer in the house of Yahweh, heard that Jeremiah had prophesied these things,
Pashhur, the son of Immer, was a priest who supervised the temple guards. He heard those things that I had prophesied.
2 then Pashhur smote Jeremiah the prophet, —and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Yahweh.
[So he arrested me]. Then he [commanded guards to] whip me and fasten my feet in (stocks/a wooden frame) at the Benjamin Gate of Yahweh’s temple.
3 And it came to pass on the morrow, when Pashhur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks, —that Jeremiah said unto him—Not Pashhur, hath Yahweh called thy name, But Magor-missaviv["Terror-round-about"].
The next day, when Pashhur released me, I said to him, “Pashhur, Yahweh is giving you a new name. From now on, your name will be ‘Surrounded by Terror’,
4 For, Thus, saith Yahweh—Behold me! making thee a ["magor" i. e. a] terror to thyself and to all who love thee, and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, thine own eyes also, beholding, And all Judah, will I deliver into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them captive to Babylon and smite them with the sword.
because Yahweh says this [to you]: ‘I will cause you and your friends to be terrified. You will watch them being killed by your enemies’ swords. I will enable the [army of the] king of Babylon to capture the people of Judah. Those soldiers will take some of the people to Babylon, and they will kill others with their swords.
5 And I will deliver up—All the wealth of this city, and All her labour, and All her precious things, —And all the treasures of the kings of Judah, will I deliver up into the hands of their enemies, and they will make of them a prey, and take them, and carry them into Babylon.
And I will enable their soldiers to take away [other things in] Jerusalem. They will take to Babylon all the very valuable things that belonged to your kings.
6 And, thou, Pashhur and all who are dwelling in thy house, shall go into captivity, —Yea into Babylon, shalt thou enter And there, shalt thou die And there, shalt thou be buried Thou and all who love thee, to whom thou hast prophesied falsely.
And [as for] you, Pashhur, they will take you and all your family to Babylon. You and your family and all your friends who have prophesied things that are lies will die there and be buried there.’”
7 Thou didst persuade me, O Yahweh and I was persuaded, Thou didst lay firm hold on me and didst prevail, —I am become a mockery, all the day, Every one, is laughing at me.
[One day I said this to Yahweh]: “Yahweh, [when you chose me to be a prophet, ] deceived me, and I allowed you to deceive me. You insisted that I [become a prophet] and you are stronger than I am. And now everyone [HYP] ridicules me. They make fun of me all the day.
8 For, as often as I speak, I make outcry, Violence and wasting, I proclaim, —Yea the word of Yahweh hath become to me a reproach and derision all the day
When I tell [people your messages], I shout saying, ‘[Yahweh is going to cause you to experience] violence and destruction!’ So because I tell them those messages from you, they insult me and scoff at me all day long.
9 Therefore I say—I will not mention him Neither will I speak any more in his name, But then it becometh in my heart as a fire that burneth, Shut up in my bones, —And I am weary of restraint and cannot refrain.
But if I would say, ‘I will never mention Yahweh or say anything about him, [MTY]’ [it would be as though] your message would burn in my inner being like [SIM] a fire; it would be like a fire in my bones. Sometimes I try to remain silent and not proclaim your messages, but I am not able to do that.
10 Because I have heard the whispering of many—"A terror round about!" Tell ye [say they], that we may tell of him, All the men I am wont to salute do watch for my halting, —Peradventure he will be persuaded, and we shall prevail over him, and take our vengeance upon him.
I hear many people whispering [about me], saying ‘[He is the man who proclaims that there will be things that cause us to] be terrified everywhere. We must tell [the authorities what he is saying]! We must denounce him!’ [Even] my best friends are waiting for me to say something that is wrong. [They are saying], ‘Perhaps we can cause him to say something wrong, and if he does, we will be able to discredit him.’
11 But, Yahweh, is with me, as a mighty one striking terror, For this cause, shall my persecutors stumble and not prevail, —They have turned very pale, For they have not prospered, Confusion age-abiding, it shall not be forgotten!
But [you], Yahweh, are helping me like [SIM] a strong warrior, so [it is as though] you will cause those who persecute me to stumble, and they will not defeat me. They will be completely disgraced because of being unable to defeat me; and other people will never forget that they were disgraced.
12 But O Yahweh of hosts—Testing the righteous Beholding the affections and the heart, —Let me see thine avenging upon them, For unto thee, have I laid bare my cause.
Commander of the armies of angels, you examine [all] those who are righteous; you know [all that is in] their inner beings and what they think. Allow me to see you getting revenge on those [who want to harm me], because I trust that you will do for me what is right.”
13 Sing ye to Yahweh! Praise ye Yahweh! For he hath delivered the soul of the needy, out of the hand of evildoers.
Sing to Yahweh! Praise Yahweh! He rescues [poor and] needy people, from those [SYN] who are wicked.
14 Accursed, be the day on which I was born, —The day when my mother bare me, let it not be blessed!
But I hope/desire that the day that I was born will be cursed. I do not want [anyone to] celebrate that day.
15 Accursed, be the man who carried tidings to my father saying, There is born to thee a man-child!
And [as for] that man who brought to my father the news, and caused him to be very happy, by saying “[You wife] has given birth to a son for you”, I hope/desire that he [also] will be cursed.
16 Making him very glad: Yea let that man be—as the cities which Yahweh overthrew and repented not, —And let him hear An outcry in the morning, and A war-shout at broad noon!
Allow him to be destroyed like the cities that Yahweh destroyed [long ago], without acting mercifully [toward them]. Cause that man to hear the people wailing in the morning, and [to hear the enemy soldiers shout their] battle cries at noon.
17 Because I was not slain from the womb, —Nor did my mother become my grave, Nor was her womb great for ever!
[I want that to happen to him] because he did not kill me before I was born. I wish that I had died in my mother’s womb, and that my mother’s body would have been [like] [MET] my grave.
18 Wherefore was it—That from the womb, I came forth, to see labour and pain; and That in shame should my days be consumed!
I have continually experienced much trouble and sorrow, and I am disgraced now when I am about to die; why was it necessary [RHQ] for me to me born?
