Jeremiah 20

Chapter 20 of Jeremiah belongs to the prophetic section in the first half of the book, which warns of judgment on Judah. In Jeremiah 19, Jeremiah performs the symbolic act of breaking a potter's vessel and proclaims disaster in the temple court. This chapter opens with the reaction of a man who heard that prophecy.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 Pashur the son of Immer, a priest, is "chief governor in the house of the LORD" (the official in charge of the temple). On hearing Jeremiah's prophecy, he strikes Jeremiah and puts him in the stocks (a wooden frame that held the feet fast) at the high gate of Benjamin in the temple.
• Verses 3–6 Released the next day, Jeremiah declares that the LORD has named Pashur "Magor-missabib" ("fear round about"). He then proclaims that Judah will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and that the wealth of the city and the treasures of its kings will be plundered. Pashur, his household, and the friends to whom he prophesied falsely, he says, will be carried off to Babylon and will die and be buried there.
• Verses 7–10 Jeremiah laments before God. He complains that because he proclaims the word, he is mocked and reproached all day long. When he resolves to speak no more, it is as though a fire burns within him, and he cannot bear it; even his close friends watch for him to stumble.
• Verses 11–13 He confesses his trust that, because the LORD is with him like a mighty and terrible warrior, his persecutors will stumble. He breaks into song, calling for praise to the LORD, who has delivered the life of the poor.
• Verses 14–18 Abruptly he curses the day of his birth and the man who brought his father the news that a son had been born. He laments that he ever came forth from the womb, only to spend his days in labor, sorrow, and shame.

Key Verses

• Jeremiah 20:9 "But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones" — reveals the inner compulsion of a prophet who cannot keep from proclaiming the word.
• Jeremiah 20:11 "But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one" — a confession of trust that arises in the very midst of lament.
• Jeremiah 20:14 "Cursed be the day wherein I was born" — expresses the deepest despair found in Jeremiah's laments.

People and Places

• Jeremiah: The speaker of the chapter, who is beaten and confined.
• Pashur: The son of Immer, a priest and the official in charge of the temple. He is not the same person as Pashur the son of Melchiah, who appears in Jeremiah 21.
• Immer: Pashur's father; the name of a priestly family.
• Temple in Jerusalem: Called "the house of the LORD" in the text. The high gate of Benjamin, where Jeremiah was confined, was part of this temple.
• Babylon: Mentioned as the nation that would take Judah captive and carry off its wealth.

Points for Reflection

• Verses 7–18 are usually counted as the last of the prayer passages commonly called the "Confessions (Laments) of Jeremiah." Other such passages are scattered through chapters 11, 15, 17, and 18, among others.
• The Hebrew verb in verse 7, rendered "persuaded" in some Korean translations, can also mean "entice" or "deceive," so translations vary in their wording. The Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version render it as "persuade," while the New Korean Standard Version renders it closer to "deceive."
• The curse of verse 14 immediately follows the praise of verse 13. Interpreters differ on this sequence: some regard it as the product of editorial arrangement, while others see it as a faithful record of genuine emotional swings.
• Verses 14–18 are often compared with Job 3, in which Job curses the day of his birth.
• The phrase "fear on every side" in verse 10 is the same expression as "Magor-missabib" in verse 3. Similar wording also appears in Psalm 31:13.
• The description in verse 12 of God as the one "that seest the reins and the heart" echoes Jeremiah 17:5–10.
• Verse 9 is often read alongside two New Testament verses. One is 1 Corinthians 9:16, "woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" The other is Acts 4:20, "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."

In the Korean Church

Verse 9 is frequently cited in sermons on calling and on the mission of proclaiming the word.