Jeremias 20

BLIVRE · Chapter 20/52

1E Pasur, filho de Imer, o sacerdote, que era o principal supervisor na casa do SENHOR, ouviu a Jeremias enquanto profetizava estas palavras.

2Então Pasur feriu ao profeta Jeremias, e o pôs no tronco que ficava à porta superior de Benjamim, a qual fica na casa do SENHOR.

3E foi no dia seguinte que Pasur tirou a Jeremias do tronco. Disse-lhe então Jeremias: O SENHOR não chama teu nome Pasur, mas sim “Terror por todos os lados”.

4Porque assim diz o SENHOR: Eis que eu farei de ti um terror a ti mesmo, e a todos os teus amigos; e cairão pelo espada de seus inimigos, e teus olhos o verão; e a todo Judá entregarei na mão do rei da Babilônia, e os levará cativos a Babilônia, e os ferirá à espada.

5Entregarei também toda a riqueza desta cidade, e todo seu trabalho, e todas suas coisas preciosas; e entregarei todos os tesouros dos reis de Judá nas mãos de seus inimigos, e os saquearão, e os tomarão, e os levarão a Babilônia.

6E tu, Pasur, e todos os moradores de tua casa ireis ao cativeiro, e entrarás na Babilônia, e ali morrerás; e ali serás sepultado, tu, e todos os teus amigos, aos quais profetizaste falsamente.

7Persuadiste-me, ó SENHOR, e eu fiquei persuadido; mais forte foste que eu, e prevaleceste; sirvo de escárnio o dia todo; cada deles zomba de mim.

8Pois desde que falo, grito; eu clamo violência e destruição; pois a palavra do SENHOR tem me servido de insulto e zombaria o dia todo.

9Então eu disse: Não me lembrarei dele, nem falarei mais em seu nome; porém [ela] foi em meu coração como um fogo ardente contido em meus ossos; resisti até me cansar, mas não pude.

10Porque ouço a murmuração de muitos, temor por todos os lados: Anunciai, e anunciaremos. Todos os meus amigos observam meu manquejar, [dizendo] : Talvez se enganará; então prevaleceremos contra ele, e nos vingaremos dele.

11Mas o SENHOR está comigo como temível guerreiro; por isso meus perseguidores tropeçarão, e não prevalecerão; eles serão muito envergonhados, por não terem agido prudentemente; [terão] humilhação perpétua, que jamais será esquecida.

12Tu, SENHOR dos exércitos, que examinas o justo, que vês os sentimentos e pensamentos, faz-me ver a tua vingança sobre eles; pois a ti revelei a minha causa.

13Cantai ao SENHOR, louvai ao SENHOR; pois ele livra a alma do necessitado da mão dos malfeitores.

14Maldito seja o dia em que nasci! O dia em que minha mãe me teve não seja bendito!

15Maldito seja o homem que deu as novas a meu pai, dizendo, Um filho macho te nasceu, trazendo-lhe assim muita alegria.

16E seja tal homem como as cidades que o SENHOR assolou sem se arrepender; e ouça gritos de manhã, e clamores ao meio dia;

17Por ele não ter me matado no ventre, de modo que minha mãe teria sido minha sepultura, e o ventre uma gravidez perpétua.

18Para que saí do ventre? Para ver trabalho e dor, e meus dias serem gastos com vergonha?

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The priest Pashhur has Jeremiah arrested and beaten for prophesying. After being released, Jeremiah pours out his heart to God in deep anguish, even lamenting the day he was born.

Explanation

This is one of the most rawly human moments in the entire Bible: Jeremiah, after suffering physical violence for obeying God, expresses such deep pain that he goes so far as to curse the very day of his birth — language similar to Job 3. Yet in the middle of this outpouring, he also acknowledges that God's word is like a 'burning fire' he cannot hold back within himself, showing the tension between the desire to give up and the impossibility of silencing the call. This passage reminds us that genuine faith does not require hiding pain or frustration before God — honest lament is also a valid form of prayer.

Fun facts

  • The name 'Magor-missabib,' given by Jeremiah to Pashhur, means 'terror on every side' in Hebrew, a prophetic wordplay on the fate awaiting the priest.
  • The 'stocks' mentioned were a real instrument of torture and public humiliation, used to bind the neck, hands, and feet in an uncomfortable position for long periods.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremias 20:1Pashur was the priest in charge of temple security. Jeremiah’s imprisonment in the stocks, a device that locked the hands, feet, and neck into a twisted position, was a public punishment meant to humiliate, not just detain.
  2. Jeremias 20:2Pashur, a religious leader, reacts to the prophecy by striking Jeremiah and locking him in a wooden device that immobilized his arms, legs, and neck — the first physical punishment against the prophet.
  3. Jeremias 20:3Jeremiah changes Pashur’s name to Magor-missabib, meaning something like terror on every side. A prophetic play on words: the very man who tried to silence him will now live surrounded by the same dread he helped cause.
  4. Jeremias 20:4Jeremiah gives Pashur back a personal prophecy of terror: he himself will witness the disaster that falls on Judah, including the deportation to Babylon.
  5. Jeremias 20:5Extends the prophecy to all the city’s wealth: everything Jerusalem accumulated will be plundered and carried off to Babylon along with the captive people.
  6. Jeremias 20:6The specific punishment against Pashur: he and his family will die in exile, precisely for deceiving the people with false prophecies of peace.
  7. Jeremias 20:7Accusing God of having deceived him is one of Jeremiah’s harshest complaints, almost a charge of being tricked into accepting the prophetic mission. It shows that even the Bible’s firmest figures have genuine moments of anger and despair with God.
  8. Jeremias 20:8Jeremiah pours out that he can only announce destruction, and because of it he has become a constant object of mockery — the message God gave him turned him into a target of scorn.
  9. Jeremias 20:9Jeremiah confesses that he has already tried to give up the mission, worn out by suffering, but God’s message burns inside him like fire — he cannot stay silent even when he tries.
  10. Jeremias 20:10Jeremiah hears rumors of people conspiring against him, even using the very nickname of terror he gave Pashur — even his supposed friends wait to see him stumble so they can get revenge.
  11. Jeremias 20:11Despite the earlier despair, Jeremiah again affirms his confidence in God as a mighty warrior at his side, who will make his persecutors fail.
  12. Jeremias 20:12Repeats a request already made before, in 11:20: that God, the only one truly able to examine the human heart, bring justice against Jeremiah’s persecutors.
  13. Jeremias 20:13A rare moment of praise in the midst of the anguished confession: Jeremiah celebrates his confidence that God will deliver him from the hands of those who wish him harm.
  14. Jeremias 20:14Cursing the very day of his birth is as raw an outpouring as Job’s (Job 3). It is not a theological statement; it is the prophet’s lowest emotional point, right after being publicly humiliated.
  15. Jeremias 20:15At the darkest point of the confession, Jeremiah even curses the man who announced his birth to his father — an extreme outpouring from someone who wishes he had never been born for this mission.
  16. Jeremias 20:16Continues the curse against whoever announced his birth, comparing him to cities utterly destroyed — an extreme image to express the depth of Jeremiah’s despair.
  17. Jeremias 20:17Jeremiah even wishes he had died in the womb, sparing himself all the pain of the prophetic mission — one of the rawest, most honest laments in the whole Bible.
  18. Jeremias 20:18Closes the chapter, and the series of confessions begun in chapter 11, with an unanswered question: why be born at all, only to live a life of constant suffering and confusion?

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