Ἱερεμίας 20
1 καὶ ἤκουσεν Πασχωρ υἱὸς Εμμηρ ὁ ἱερεύς καὶ οὗτος ἦν καθεσταμένος ἡγούμενος οἴκου κυρίου τοῦ Ιερεμιου προφητεύοντος τοὺς λόγους τούτους
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 καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐνέβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν καταρράκτην ὃς ἦν ἐν πύλῃ οἴκου ἀποτεταγμένου τοῦ ὑπερῴου ὃς ἦν ἐν οἴκῳ κυρίου
he beat Jeremiah the prophet and had him put in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate, near to the Lord's Temple.
3 καὶ ἐξήγαγεν Πασχωρ τὸν Ιερεμιαν ἐκ τοῦ καταρράκτου καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ιερεμιας οὐχὶ Πασχωρ ἐκάλεσεν κύριος τὸ ὄνομά σου ἀλλ’ ἢ μέτοικον
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 διότι τάδε λέγει κύριος ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ δίδωμί σε εἰς μετοικίαν σὺν πᾶσι τοῖς φίλοις σου καὶ πεσοῦνται ἐν μαχαίρᾳ ἐχθρῶν αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὄψονται καὶ σὲ καὶ πάντα Ιουδαν δώσω εἰς χεῖρας βασιλέως Βαβυλῶνος καὶ μετοικιοῦσιν αὐτοὺς καὶ κατακόψουσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν μαχαίραις
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 καὶ δώσω τὴν πᾶσαν ἰσχὺν τῆς πόλεως ταύτης καὶ πάντας τοὺς πόνους αὐτῆς καὶ πάντας τοὺς θησαυροὺς τοῦ βασιλέως Ιουδα εἰς χεῖρας ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἄξουσιν αὐτοὺς εἰς Βαβυλῶνα
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 καὶ σὺ καὶ πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου πορεύσεσθε ἐν αἰχμαλωσίᾳ καὶ ἐν Βαβυλῶνι ἀποθανῇ καὶ ἐκεῖ ταφήσῃ σὺ καὶ πάντες οἱ φίλοι σου οἷς ἐπροφήτευσας αὐτοῖς ψευδῆ
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 ἠπάτησάς με κύριε καὶ ἠπατήθην ἐκράτησας καὶ ἠδυνάσθης ἐγενόμην εἰς γέλωτα πᾶσαν ἡμέραν διετέλεσα μυκτηριζόμενος
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 ὅτι πικρῷ λόγῳ μου γελάσομαι ἀθεσίαν καὶ ταλαιπωρίαν ἐπικαλέσομαι ὅτι ἐγενήθη λόγος κυρίου εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν ἐμοὶ καὶ εἰς χλευασμὸν πᾶσαν ἡμέραν μου
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 καὶ εἶπα οὐ μὴ ὀνομάσω τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου καὶ οὐ μὴ λαλήσω ἔτι ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς πῦρ καιόμενον φλέγον ἐν τοῖς ὀστέοις μου καὶ παρεῖμαι πάντοθεν καὶ οὐ δύναμαι φέρειν
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 ὅτι ἤκουσα ψόγον πολλῶν συναθροιζομένων κυκλόθεν ἐπισύστητε καὶ ἐπισυστῶμεν αὐτῷ πάντες ἄνδρες φίλοι αὐτοῦ τηρήσατε τὴν ἐπίνοιαν αὐτοῦ εἰ ἀπατηθήσεται καὶ δυνησόμεθα αὐτῷ καὶ λημψόμεθα τὴν ἐκδίκησιν ἡμῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ
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 καὶ κύριος μετ’ ἐμοῦ καθὼς μαχητὴς ἰσχύων διὰ τοῦτο ἐδίωξαν καὶ νοῆσαι οὐκ ἠδύναντο ᾐσχύνθησαν σφόδρα ὅτι οὐκ ἐνόησαν ἀτιμίας αὐτῶν αἳ δῑ αἰῶνος οὐκ ἐπιλησθήσονται
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 κύριε δοκιμάζων δίκαια συνίων νεφροὺς καὶ καρδίας ἴδοιμι τὴν παρὰ σοῦ ἐκδίκησιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ὅτι πρὸς σὲ ἀπεκάλυψα τὰ ἀπολογήματά μου
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 ᾄσατε τῷ κυρίῳ αἰνέσατε αὐτῷ ὅτι ἐξείλατο ψυχὴν πένητος ἐκ χειρὸς πονηρευομένων
Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For he saves the poor from the power of the wicked.
14 ἐπικατάρατος ἡ ἡμέρα ἐν ᾗ ἐτέχθην ἐν αὐτῇ ἡ ἡμέρα ἐν ᾗ ἔτεκέν με ἡ μήτηρ μου μὴ ἔστω ἐπευκτή
May the day I was born be cursed! May the day my mother gave birth to me never be blessed!
15 ἐπικατάρατος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ εὐαγγελισάμενος τῷ πατρί μου λέγων ἐτέχθη σοι ἄρσεν εὐφραινόμενος
May the man be cursed who brought my father the news that made him really happy, saying, “You have a son.”
16 ἔστω ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ὡς αἱ πόλεις ἃς κατέστρεψεν κύριος ἐν θυμῷ καὶ οὐ μετεμελήθη ἀκουσάτω κραυγῆς τὸ πρωὶ καὶ ἀλαλαγμοῦ μεσημβρίας
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 ὅτι οὐκ ἀπέκτεινέν με ἐν μήτρᾳ μητρὸς καὶ ἐγένετό μοι ἡ μήτηρ μου τάφος μου καὶ ἡ μήτρα συλλήμψεως αἰωνίας
because he should have killed me in the womb so that my mother would have been my grave, remaining pregnant forever.
18 ἵνα τί τοῦτο ἐξῆλθον ἐκ μήτρας τοῦ βλέπειν κόπους καὶ πόνους καὶ διετέλεσαν ἐν αἰσχύνῃ αἱ ἡμέραι μου
Why was I born only to see trouble and sadness, and to end my life in shame?
