Top of Page
Page Style
son of Immer, the priest who was chief officer in the House of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 So Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate at the in the House of the Lord.
3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib. 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will give all of Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away captive to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5 What is more, I will deliver into the hand of their enemies all the wealth of this city, all its products, all its valuables, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon.
6 ‘As for you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, you will all go into captivity. You will go to Babylon, and there you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies’.”
7 O Lord, You deceived me,
and I was deceived;
You have overpowered me,
and You prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all day long;
everyone ridicules me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out;
I shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
constant insult and derision all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not make mention of Him,
or speak in His name anymore,”
His word is a burning fire in my heart,
shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in,
and I cannot.
10 For I hear the whispering of many,
“Terror is on every side!
Report him, let’s report him!”
All my trusted friends
are waiting for me to stumble, saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail against him,
and take our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior,
so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will be greatly ashamed, for they will fail;
their everlasting dishonour will not be forgotten.
12 But You, O Lord of Hosts, test the righteous,
and see the heart and mind;
let me see Your vengeance upon them,
for I have pleaded my cause before You.
13 Sing to the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
For He rescues the life of the needy
from the hands of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the day
on which I was born!
Let not the day be blessed
when my mother gave birth to me.
15 Let the man be cursed
who brought the news to my father,
saying, “A male child has been born to you,”
bringing him much joy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
that the Lord overthrew without pity.
Let him hear an outcry in the morning,
and a battle cry at noon,
17 because he did not kill me in the womb,
so my mother might have been my grave,
and her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I come forth from the womb
to see only toil and sorrow,
and to end my days in shame?