1 When the priest Pashur, son of Immer, who was the chief of ficer in the House of Yahweh, heard Jeremiah prophesying like this,
2 he ordered his people to beat Jeremiah and put him in chains at the Gate of Benjamin, the upper gate at the House of Yahweh.
3 The next day, after Pashur ordered the release of Jeremiah, the latter told the former, “Yahweh has already changed your name. It is not Pashur anymore but ‘Terror on every side.’
4 For Yah weh says: I am going to hand you over to terror, you and your friends. They will fall under the sword of their enemies while you look on.
I will deliver the people of Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon who will deport them to Babylon or slay them by the sword.
5 I will likewise allow the enemies plunder all the wealth of this city. All the possessions and treasures of the kings of Judah will be seized and carried off to Babylonia.
6 As for you, Pashur, you and your entire family will be taken as captives to Babylon where you will die and be buried – you and all your friends whom you deceived with lies.”
You have seduced me
7 Yahweh, you have seduced me
and I let myself be seduced.
You have taken me by force and prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
they all make fun of me,
8 for every time I speak
I have to shout, “Violence! Devastation!”
Yahweh’s word has brought me
insult and derision all day long.
9 So I decided to forget about him
and speak no more in his name.
But his word in my heart becomes like a fire
burning deep within my bones.
I try so hard to hold it in,
but I cannot do it.
10 I hear many people whispering,
“Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Yes, denounce him!”
All my friends watch me to see if I will slip:
“Perhaps he can be deceived,” they say;
“then we can get the better of him
and have our revenge.”
11 But Yahweh, a mighty warrior, is with me.
My persecutors will stumble and not prevail;
that failure will be their shame
and their disgrace will never be forgotten.
12 Yahweh, God of hosts, you test the just
and probe the heart and mind.
Let me see your revenge on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
13 Sing to Yahweh! Praise Yahweh and say:
he has rescued the poor from the clutches of the wicked!
14 Cursed be the day I was born!
Bless not the day my mother brought me to light!
15 Cursed be the man who broke the news to my father: ‘It’s a boy!’
and it made him joyful!
16 Let him be like the towns that Yahweh destroyed without mercy.
Let him hear a warning shout in the morning
and a battle cry at noon!
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,
that my mother would have been my grave,
and have carried me forever.
18 Why did I ever leave the womb
to live in trouble and sorrow,
and spend my days in shame?
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Comments Jeremiah, Chapter 20
• 20.7 This “confession” recalls the one in chapter 15. The Bearer of the Truth is rejected and mocked simply because he speaks by virtue of a personal mission which the people do not accept. Let us not forget that Jeremiah lived six centuries before Jesus, long before there was any thought of the beyond, so we will have a better understanding of why he cries for divine justice.
You have taken me by force: is there anything more understandable if God is Love?
But his word is like a fire in my bones. What is really amazing is the irresistible power of God’s Word. It is more difficult to resist it than to face human opposition. Paul will declare, in a fairly similar way, that he cannot evade the responsibility of preaching the Gospel (1 Cor 9:16). This text forces us to revise and deepen the very simplistic ideas we have concerning our freedom: being faithful to the most demanding mission is also to be free.
The curse which follows in verses 14-18 will be picked up and developed in the third chapter of Job.