New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Jeremiah 20
1
The priest Pashhur was chief officer in the Lord's temple. He was the son of Immer. Pashhur heard me prophesying that Jerusalem would be destroyed.
Reference
2
So he had me beaten. Then he put me in prison at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord's temple.
Reference
📍 Benjamin Gate
Parallel theme
Zechariah 14:10
2 Chronicles 16:10
1 Kings 22:27
Prophecy
Jeremiah 37:13
Jeremiah 36:26
Jeremiah 29:26
References Lord
Jeremiah 1:19
2 Chronicles 24:21
3
The next day Pashhur set me free. I said to him, "The Lord's name for you isn't Pashhur. It's Magor-Missabib. That name means Terror on Every Side.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 20:10
Psalm 31:13
Jeremiah 6:25
References Lord
Jeremiah 46:5
Lamentations 2:22
Isaiah 8:3
4
"The Lord says to you, 'I will make you a terror to yourself. You will also be a terror to all of your friends. With your own eyes you will see them die. Their enemies will kill them with swords. I will hand all of the people of Judah over to the king of Babylonia. He will carry them away to Babylonia or kill them with swords.
Reference
5
" 'I will hand all of the wealth of this city over to Judah's enemies. I will give them all of its products and everything of value. I will turn over to them all of the treasures that belonged to the kings of Judah. They will take those things and carry them off to Babylon.
Reference
Kingdom
2 Chronicles 36:10
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 15:13
Ezekiel 22:25
Jeremiah 17:3
Lamentations 1:10
6
" 'Pashhur, you and everyone who lives in your house will also be forced to go there. You have prophesied lies to all of your friends. So all of you will die in Babylonia. And that's where your bodies will be buried.' "
Reference
7
Lord, you tricked me, and I was tricked. You overpowered me and won. People make fun of me all day long. Everyone laughs at me.
Reference
8
Every time I speak, I cry out. All you ever tell me to talk about is fighting and trouble. Your message has brought me nothing but dishonor. It has made me suffer shame all day long.
Reference
9
Sometimes I think, "I won't talk about him anymore. I'll never speak in his name again." But then your message burns in my heart. It's like a fire inside my very bones. I'm tired of holding it in. In fact, I can't.
Reference
10
I hear many people whispering, "There is terror on every side! Report Jeremiah! Let's report him to the authorities!" All of my friends are waiting for me to slip. They are saying, "Perhaps he will be tricked into making a mistake. Then we'll win out over him. We'll get even with him."
Reference
11
But you are with me like a mighty warrior. So those who are trying to harm me will trip and fall. They won't win out over me. They will fail. They'll be totally put to shame. Their dishonor will never be forgotten.
Reference
Eternal Life
Jeremiah 23:40
Parallel theme
Isaiah 41:10
Jeremiah 17:18
Psalm 6:10
Psalm 40:14
Psalm 35:26
Isaiah 45:16
References Lord
Jeremiah 1:19
Jeremiah 1:8
Jeremiah 15:20
12
Lord, you rule over all. You test those who do what is right. You see what is in people's hearts and minds. So pay them back for what they've done. I've committed my cause to you.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 62:8
Psalm 54:7
Psalm 59:10
Psalm 139:23
Psalm 17:3
References Lord
Jeremiah 17:10
Isaiah 37:14
Righteousness
Jeremiah 11:20
Psalm 7:9
Psalm 11:5
13
Sing to the Lord, you people! Give praise to him! He saves the lives of those who are in need. He saves them from the powerful hands of sinful people.
Reference
14
May the day I was born be under a curse! May the day I was born to my mother not be blessed!
Reference
Curse
Jeremiah 15:10
15
May the man who brought my father the news be under a curse! He's the one who made my father very glad. He said, "You have had a baby! It's a boy!"
16
May that man be like the towns the Lord destroyed without pity. May that man hear loud sobs in the morning. May he hear a battle cry at noon.
Reference
17
He should have killed me in my mother's body. He should have made my mother my grave. He should have let her body stay large forever.
Reference
Summary of Jeremiah 20
Jeremiah 20 shows the personal cost of faithfully delivering an unpopular message, beginning when Pashhur, a senior priest and Temple official, has Jeremiah beaten and placed in the stocks because he refuses to soften his warnings about Jerusalem's coming destruction.
After Jeremiah is released, he announces that Pashhur himself will experience the fear and judgment he has rejected, including captivity in Babylon, because he has encouraged the people to believe messages that were not truly from God, while Jeremiah continues to insist that Babylonian conquest is coming and that Judah's wealth, leadership, and security will not survive it.
The chapter then becomes deeply personal as Jeremiah turns to God and admits that his prophetic calling has brought him humiliation, ridicule, loneliness, and constant opposition, yet he cannot simply stop speaking because God's message has become like a fire burning within him, something he tries to suppress but ultimately cannot contain.
Jeremiah knows that people are watching him, whispering about him, and waiting for him to fail, but in the middle of his fear he reminds himself that God is with him like a powerful warrior who will ultimately defeat those who attack him, leading Jeremiah briefly into praise and confidence that God rescues those who are oppressed.
However, the emotional movement does not remain positive, because Jeremiah immediately falls back into profound despair and wishes that he had never been born, revealing how exhausting it can be to carry a difficult calling while experiencing rejection, threats, and apparently little visible success.
The chapter's power comes from this unresolved tension between faith and exhaustion, because Jeremiah can simultaneously believe that God is his protector and still feel overwhelmed by the suffering associated with his mission, demonstrating that spiritual faithfulness does not mean a person will never experience fear, anger, loneliness, or emotional exhaustion.
The central message is that Jeremiah's faithfulness to God's message places him in direct conflict with powerful religious authorities and exposes him to physical punishment, public humiliation, rejection, and constant threats, yet he continues speaking because God's word has become an inner fire that he cannot silence, and although he repeatedly reminds himself that God is his powerful protector and will ultimately bring justice, the chapter honestly preserves his moments of profound despair, showing that even a faithful servant can become exhausted by suffering and question the circumstances of his own existence without abandoning the deeper conviction that God sees his struggle and remains with him.
After Jeremiah is released, he announces that Pashhur himself will experience the fear and judgment he has rejected, including captivity in Babylon, because he has encouraged the people to believe messages that were not truly from God, while Jeremiah continues to insist that Babylonian conquest is coming and that Judah's wealth, leadership, and security will not survive it.
The chapter then becomes deeply personal as Jeremiah turns to God and admits that his prophetic calling has brought him humiliation, ridicule, loneliness, and constant opposition, yet he cannot simply stop speaking because God's message has become like a fire burning within him, something he tries to suppress but ultimately cannot contain.
Jeremiah knows that people are watching him, whispering about him, and waiting for him to fail, but in the middle of his fear he reminds himself that God is with him like a powerful warrior who will ultimately defeat those who attack him, leading Jeremiah briefly into praise and confidence that God rescues those who are oppressed.
However, the emotional movement does not remain positive, because Jeremiah immediately falls back into profound despair and wishes that he had never been born, revealing how exhausting it can be to carry a difficult calling while experiencing rejection, threats, and apparently little visible success.
The chapter's power comes from this unresolved tension between faith and exhaustion, because Jeremiah can simultaneously believe that God is his protector and still feel overwhelmed by the suffering associated with his mission, demonstrating that spiritual faithfulness does not mean a person will never experience fear, anger, loneliness, or emotional exhaustion.
The central message is that Jeremiah's faithfulness to God's message places him in direct conflict with powerful religious authorities and exposes him to physical punishment, public humiliation, rejection, and constant threats, yet he continues speaking because God's word has become an inner fire that he cannot silence, and although he repeatedly reminds himself that God is his powerful protector and will ultimately bring justice, the chapter honestly preserves his moments of profound despair, showing that even a faithful servant can become exhausted by suffering and question the circumstances of his own existence without abandoning the deeper conviction that God sees his struggle and remains with him.