The big picture
Jeremiah has announced ruin in the temple court, the public area of God's house in Jerusalem. The city is Judah's capital, and its leaders resent his warning. Pashur, a priest and senior temple official, strikes the prophet and confines him in stocks. Release brings another severe message, not a retraction. Jeremiah then speaks of the cost of his calling in starkly personal terms. Trust and praise stand beside an accusation against God and a wish that he had never been born.
In this chapter
- A Temple Official Receives a Name of Terror Jeremiah 20:1-6
Pashur, son of Immer, another priest, hears Jeremiah's warning and has him struck and put in stocks near the temple.
- Silence Becomes as Unbearable as Speaking Jeremiah 20:7-10
Jeremiah tells God that he feels deceived and overpowered.
- Confidence in the Defender Becomes Praise Jeremiah 20:11-13
The prophet declares that the Lord stands with him like a fearsome warrior.
- The Day of Birth Becomes a Curse Jeremiah 20:14-18
Jeremiah curses his day of birth.
Central truth
Jeremiah cannot keep God's word silent despite punishment and mockery, yet his confidence in divine help does not remove his anguish.
Scripture beside the summary
Jeremiah · King James Version · 18Jeremiah 20:1-6
A Temple Official Receives a Name of Terror
Pashur, son of Immer, another priest, hears Jeremiah's warning and has him struck and put in stocks near the temple. The next day he releases him. Jeremiah says God has given him a name meaning terror on every side. He will watch friends die, and Judah will fall to Babylon, the invading kingdom. The city's wealth and royal treasures will be taken away. Pashur and his household will go into exile there, where he will die and be buried. His false prophecies will not save the friends who trusted them.
In everyday life
A detention visitor records the name of an official who punished a witness for an unwelcome statement. Once released, the witness repeats the account and adds the official's actions to it. Confinement has not withdrawn the evidence. Jeremiah announces a judgement received from God, including death and exile, rather than filing a human complaint.
Notice
Jeremiah 20:6 Pashur's friends are identified as people who heard his false prophecies. The coming exile exposes the failure of his assurances as well as his treatment of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 20:1-6
King James Version1Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.
2Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
3And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib.
4For thus saith 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 thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
5Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.
6And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.
Jeremiah 20:7-10
Silence Becomes as Unbearable as Speaking
Jeremiah tells God that he feels deceived and overpowered. His warnings of violence and plunder have made him an object of daily ridicule. He decides to stop mentioning God or speaking in his name. Yet the word burns within him like fire enclosed in his bones, and holding it back wears him out. Around him he hears slander and plans to report him. Even trusted acquaintances watch for a stumble they can exploit. He is caught between the pain of speaking and an inward pressure that will not permit silence.
In everyday life
A hospital whistleblower closes a draft report after another round of mockery from colleagues. She tries to return to ordinary work, but the unsafe practice she witnessed keeps forcing itself into her thoughts. She reopens the document, knowing the cost. Jeremiah describes God's word as an inward fire, not only a troubling human memory.
Notice
Jeremiah 20:9 Jeremiah first chooses silence, then finds he cannot sustain it. The fire describes the word's pressure within him rather than comfort or public enthusiasm for his message.
Jeremiah 20:7-10
King James Version7O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
8For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
9Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
10For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.
Jeremiah 20:11-13
Confidence in the Defender Becomes Praise
The prophet declares that the Lord stands with him like a fearsome warrior. His persecutors will stumble and fail, and their disgrace will endure. He appeals to the God who tests the righteous and sees hidden thoughts. Having laid his case before him, he asks to see vengeance on his enemies. He then calls for praise because God has rescued the vulnerable from evildoers. The words express real confidence in help without erasing the bitterness already spoken or the further anguish that follows. His prayer holds these sharply different notes together.
In everyday life
A threatened tenant leaves a support hearing with a trusted advocate at her side. The threats have not vanished, but she can speak of help after presenting her case. She thanks those who stood with her. Jeremiah trusts God to defeat his persecutors and asks for vengeance; an advocate works through limited human remedies.
Notice
Jeremiah 20:12 Jeremiah asks to see vengeance after entrusting his case to God. Confidence in God's defence remains joined to his desire for an answer to personal persecution.
Jeremiah 20:11-13
King James Version11But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
12But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.
13Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
Jeremiah 20:14-18
The Day of Birth Becomes a Curse
Jeremiah curses his day of birth. He also curses the man who brought his father the glad news of a son. He wishes the messenger would hear cries of disaster like those in cities God overthrew. His words then reach a terrible wish: that he had died before birth and his mother's womb had remained his grave. He asks why he came into life only to meet toil, sorrow, and shame. This lament stands beside his earlier praise. The chapter does not resolve the prophet's distress.
In everyday life
A grief counsellor sits quietly with a client who says every part of life now feels marked by loss. She does not answer the pain with a cheerful recollection of better moments. She remains present and listens. Jeremiah curses his birth and its messenger before God; the scene compares only the weight of despair.
Notice
Jeremiah 20:18 The final question looks back over life through present suffering. Its position after praise shows how abruptly confidence and despair coexist in the prophet's words.
Jeremiah 20:14-18
King James Version14Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.
15Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.
16And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;
17Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.
18Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Jeremiah 20:1 begins with “Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.”
Where the chapter turns
Jeremiah 20:9 forms a natural hinge: “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I…”
The final note
Jeremiah 20:18 leaves the reader with “Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, Pashur, Babylon, Jeremiah, hand, house help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- stocks
- A wooden restraint that holds a prisoner in a fixed position.
- Magor-missabib
- A name meaning terror on every side, used to announce coming disaster.
- halting
- A stumble or failure that opponents hope to exploit.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
