Jeremiah, 20

¹ Now Pashʹhur the son of Imʹmer, the priest, who was also the leading commissioner in the house of Jehovah, kept listening to Jeremiah while prophesying these words.

² Then Pashʹhur struck Jeremiah the prophet and put him into the stocks that were in the Upper Gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Jehovah.

³ But it came about on the following day that Pashʹhur proceeded to let Jeremiah out from the stocks, and Jeremiah now said to him: “Jehovah has called your name, not Pashʹhur,^*1 but Fright all around.^*2

⁴ For this is what Jehovah has said, ‘Here I am making you a fright to yourself and to all your lovers,^*1 and they will certainly fall by the sword of their enemies while your eyes will be looking on; and all Judah I shall give into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will actually take them into exile in Babylon and strike them down with the sword.

⁵ And I will give all the stored-up things of this city and all its product and all its precious things; and all the treasures of the kings of Judah I am going to give into the hand of their enemies. And they will certainly plunder them and take them and bring them to Babylon.^*1

⁶ And as for you, O Pashʹhur, and all the inhabitants of your house, YOU will go into captivity; and to Babylon you will come and there you will die and there you yourself will be buried with all your lovers, because you have prophesied to them in falsehood.’”

⁷ You have fooled me, O Jehovah, so that I was fooled. You used your strength against me, so that you prevailed. I became an object of laughter all day long; everyone is holding me in derision.

⁸ For as often as I speak, I cry out. Violence and despoiling are what I call out. For the word of Jehovah became for me a cause for reproach and for jeering all day long.

⁹ And I said: “I am not going to make mention of him, and I shall speak no more in his name.” And in my heart it proved to be like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I got tired of holding in, and I was unable [to endure it].^*1

¹⁰ For I heard the bad report of many. There was fright all around.^*1 “TELL out, that we may tell out about him.” Every mortal man bidding me “Peace!”^*2—they are watching for my limping: “Perhaps he will be fooled, so that we may prevail against him and take our revenge upon him.”

¹¹ But Jehovah was with me like a terrible mighty one. That is why the very ones persecuting me will stumble and not prevail. They will certainly be put to much shame, because they will not have prospered. [Their] indefinitely lasting humiliation will be one that will not be forgotten.

¹² But you, O Jehovah of armies, are examining the righteous one; you are seeing the kidneys^*1 and the heart. May I see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have revealed my case at law.

¹³ Sing to Jehovah, YOU people! Praise Jehovah! For he has delivered the soul of the poor one out of the hand of evildoers.

¹⁴ Cursed be the day on which I was born! May the day that my mother gave me birth not become blessed!

¹⁵ Cursed be the man^*1 that brought good news to my father, saying: “There has been born to you a son, a male!” He positively made him rejoice.

¹⁶ And that very man must become like cities that Jehovah has overthrown while He has felt no regret. And he must hear an outcry in the morning and an alarm signal at the time of midday.

¹⁷ Why did he not definitely put me to death from the womb, that my mother should become to me my burial place and her womb be pregnant to time indefinite?

¹⁸ Why is it that I have come forth from the very womb in order to see hard work and grief and that my days should come to their end in mere shame?