T4T JER Chapter 20

Pashhur arrested Jeremiah

20 Pashhur, the son of Immer, was a priest who supervised the temple guards. He heard those things that I had prophesied. 2 So he arrested me. Then he commanded guards to whip me and fasten my feet in ◄stocks/a wooden frame► at the Benjamin Gate of Yahweh’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released me, I said to him, “Pashhur, Yahweh is giving you a new name. From now on, your name will be ‘Surrounded by Terror’, 4 because Yahweh says this to you: ‘I will cause you and your friends to be terrified. You will watch them being killed by your enemies’ swords. I will enable the army of the king of Babylon to capture the people of Judah. Those soldiers will take some of the people to Babylon, and they will kill others with their swords. 5 And I will enable their soldiers to take away other things in Jerusalem. They will take to Babylon all the very valuable things that belonged to your kings. 6 And as for you, Pashhur, they will take you and all your family to Babylon. You and your family and all your friends who have prophesied things that are lies will die there and be buried there.’ ”

Jeremiah complained to Yahweh again

7 One day I said this to Yahweh:

“Yahweh, when you chose me to be a prophet,you deceived me, and I allowed you to deceive me.

You insisted that I become a prophet and you are stronger than I am.

And now everyone [HYP] ridicules me.

They make fun of me all the day.

8 When I tell people your messages, I shout saying,

‘Yahweh is going to cause you to experience violence and destruction!’

So because I tell them those messages from you,

they insult me and scoff at me all day long.

9 But if I would say, ‘I will never mention Yahweh or say anything about him, [MTY]’

it would be as though your message would burn in my inner being like [SIM] a fire;

it would be like a fire in my bones.

Sometimes I try to remain silent and not proclaim your messages,

but I am not able to do that.

10 I hear many people whispering about me,

saying ‘He is the man who proclaims that there will be things that cause us to be terrified everywhere.

We must tell the authorities what he is saying! We must denounce him!’

Even my best friends are waiting for me to say something that is wrong.

They are saying, ‘Perhaps we can cause him to say something wrong,

and if he does, we will be able to discredit him.’

11 But you, Yahweh, are helping me like [SIM] a strong warrior,

so it is as though you will cause those who persecute me to stumble, and they will not defeat me.

They will be completely disgraced because of being unable to defeat me;

and other people will never forget that they were disgraced.

12 Commander of the armies of angels,

you examine all those who are righteous;

you know all that is in their inner beings and what they think.

Allow me to see you getting revenge on those who want to harm me,

because I trust that you will do for me what is right.”

13 Sing to Yahweh!

Praise Yahweh!

He rescues poor and needy people,

from those [SYN] who are wicked.

14 But I hope/desire that the day that I was born will be cursed.

I do not want anyone to celebrate that day.

15 And as for that man who brought to my father the news,

and caused him to be very happy, by saying

“You wife has given birth to a son for you”,

I hope/desire that he also will be cursed.

16 Allow him to be destroyed like the cities that Yahweh destroyed long ago,

without acting mercifully toward them.

Cause that man to hear the people wailing in the morning,

and to hear the enemy soldiers shout their battle cries at noon.

17 I want that to happen to him because he did not kill me before I was born.

I wish that I had died in my mother’s womb,

and that my mother’s body would have been like [MET] my grave.

18 I have continually experienced much trouble and sorrow,

and I am disgraced now when I am about to die;

why was it necessary [RHQ] for me to me born?