Jeremias 20

1 Now Paschor the son of Emmer, the priest, who also had been appointed chief of the house of the Lord, heard Jeremias prophesying these words.

Now it came to the ears of Pashhur, the son of Immer the priest, who was chief in authority in the house of the Lord, that Jeremiah was saying these things;

2 And he struck him, and cast him into the dungeon which was by the gate of the upper house that was set apart, which was by the house of the Lord.

And Pashhur gave blows to Jeremiah and had his feet chained in a framework of wood in the higher doorway of Benjamin, which was in the house of the Lord.

3 And Paschor brought Jeremias out of the dungeon: and Jeremias said to him, [The Lord] has not called your name Paschor, but Exile.

Then on the day after, Pashhur let Jeremiah loose. Then Jeremiah said to him, The Lord has given you the name of Magor-missabib (Cause-of-fear-on-every-side), not Pashhur.

4 For thus says the Lord, Behold, I [will] give you up to captivity with all your friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see [it]: and I will give you and all Juda into the hands of the king of Babylon, and they shall carry them captives, and cut them in pieces with swords.

For the Lord has said, See, I will make you a cause of fear to yourself and to all your friends: they will come to their death by the sword of their haters, and your eyes will see it: and I will give all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will take them away prisoners into Babylon and put them to the sword.

5 And I will give all the strength of this city, and all the labors of it, and all the treasures of the king of Juda, into the hands of his enemies, and they shall bring them to Babylon.

And more than this, I will give all the wealth of this town and all its profits and all its things of value, even all the stores of the kings of Judah will I give into the hands of their haters, who will put violent hands on them and take them away to Babylon.

6 And you and all the dwellers in your house shall go into captivity: and you shall die in Babylon, and there you and all your friends shall be buried, to whom you have prophesied lies.

And you, Pashhur, and all who are in your house, will go away prisoners: you will come to Babylon, and there your body will be put to rest, you and all your friends, to whom you said false words.

7 You have deceived me, O Lord, and I have been deceived: you have been strong, and has prevailed: I am become a laughing stock, I am continually mocked every day.

O Lord, you have been false to me, and I was tricked; you are stronger than I, and have overcome me: I have become a thing to be laughed at all the day, everyone makes sport of me.

8 For I will laugh with my bitter speech, I will call upon rebellion and misery: for the word of the Lord is become a reproach to me and a mockery all my days.

For every word I say is a cry for help; I say with a loud voice, Violent behaviour and wasting: because the word of the Lord is made a shame to me and a cause of laughing all the day.

9 Then I said, I will by no means name the name of the Lord, and I will no more at all speak in his name. But it was a burning fire flaming in my bones, and I am utterly weakened on all sides, and can’t bear [up].

And if I say, I will not keep him in mind, I will not say another word in his name; then it is in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am tired of keeping myself in, I am not able to do it.

10 For I have heard the reproach of many gathering round, [saying], Conspire you, and let us conspire together against him, [even] all his friends: watch his intentions, if perhaps he shall be deceived, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall be avenged on him.

For numbers of them say evil secretly in my hearing (there is fear on every side): they say, Come, let us give witness against him; all my nearest friends, who are watching for my fall, say, It may be that he will be taken by deceit, and we will get the better of him and give him punishment.

11 But the Lord was with me as a mighty man of war: therefore they persecuted [me], but could not perceive [anything against me]; they were greatly confounded, for they perceived not their disgrace, which shall never be forgotten.

But the Lord is with me as a great one, greatly to be feared: so my attackers will have a fall, and they will not overcome me: they will be greatly shamed, because they have not done wisely, even with an unending shame, kept in memory for ever.

12 O Lord, that prove just [deeds], understanding the reins and hearts, let me see your vengeance upon them: for to you I have revealed my cause.

But, O Lord of armies, testing the upright and seeing the thoughts and the heart, let me see your punishment come on them; for I have put my cause before you.

13 Sing you to the Lord, sing praise to him: for he has rescued the soul of the poor from the hand of evil-doers.

Make melody to the Lord, give praise to the Lord: for he has made the soul of the poor man free from the hands of the evil-doers.

14 Cursed be the day wherein I was born: the day wherein my mother brought me forth, let it not be blessed.

A curse on the day of my birth: let there be no blessing on the day when my mother had me.

15 Cursed be the man who brought the glad tidings to my father, saying, A male child is born to you.

A curse on the man who gave the news to my father, saying, You have a male child; making him very glad.

16 Let that man rejoice as the cities which the Lord overthrew in wrath, and repented not: let him hear crying in the morning, and loud lamentation at noon;

May that man be like the towns overturned by the Lord without mercy: let a cry for help come to his ears in the morning, and the sound of war in the middle of the day;

17 because he killed me not in the womb, and my mother became not my tomb, and her womb always great with me.

Because he did not put me to death before my birth took place: so my mother's body would have been my last resting-place, and she would have been with child for ever.

18 Why is it that I came forth of the womb to see troubles and distresses, and my days are spent in shame?

Why did I come from my mother's body to see pain and sorrow, so that my days might be wasted with shame?