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Jeremiah 20

KJV · Chapter 20/52

1Now 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.

7O 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.

11But 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.

14Cursed 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?

📖 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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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