Jeremiah 20:1–22:30

Jeremiah and Pashhur

20 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer,v the officialw in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beatenx and put in the stocksy at the Upper Gate of Benjaminz at the Lord’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s namea for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.b 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyesc you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will gived all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carrye them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5 I will deliver all the wealthf of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it awayg as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesiedh lies.’ ”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

7 You deceiveda i me, Lord, and I was deceivedb;

you overpoweredj me and prevailed.

I am ridiculedk all day long;

everyone mocksl me.

8 Whenever I speak, I cry out

proclaiming violence and destruction.m

So the word of the Lord has brought me

insult and reproachn all day long.

9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word

or speak anymore in his name,”o

his word is in my heart like a fire,p

a fire shut up in my bones.

I am weary of holding it in;q

indeed, I cannot.

10 I hear many whispering,

“Terrorr on every side!

Denounces him! Let’s denounce him!”

All my friendst

are waiting for me to slip,u saying,

“Perhaps he will be deceived;

then we will prevailv over him

and take our revengew on him.”

11 But the Lordx is with me like a mighty warrior;

so my persecutorsy will stumble and not prevail.z

They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;a

their dishonor will never be forgotten.

12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous

and probe the heart and mind,b

let me see your vengeancec on them,

for to you I have committedd my cause.

13 Singe to the Lord!

Give praise to the Lord!

He rescuesf the life of the needy

from the hands of the wicked.g

14 Cursed be the day I was born!h

May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!

15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,

who made him very glad, saying,

“A child is born to you—a son!”

16 May that man be like the townsi

the Lord overthrew without pity.

May he hear wailingj in the morning,

a battle cry at noon.

17 For he did not kill me in the womb,k

with my mother as my grave,

her womb enlarged forever.

18 Why did I ever come out of the wombl

to see troublem and sorrow

and to end my days in shame?n

God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request

21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiaho sent to him Pashhurp son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniahq son of Maaseiah. They said: 2 “Inquirer now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzara s king of Babylont is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wondersu for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”

3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turnv against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babyloniansb who are outside the wall besiegingw you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fightx against you with an outstretched handy and a mighty armz in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strikea down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.b 7 After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiahc king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,d sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylone and to their enemiesf who want to kill them.g He will put them to the sword;h he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’i

8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of lifej and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.k But whoever goes out and surrendersl to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.m 10 I have determined to do this city harmn and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the handso of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’p

11 “Moreover, say to the royal houseq of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:

“ ‘Administer justicer every morning;

rescue from the hand of the oppressors

the one who has been robbed,

or my wrath will break out and burn like firet

because of the evilu you have done—

burn with no one to quenchv it.

13 I am againstw you, Jerusalem,

you who live above this valleyx

on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—

you who say, “Who can come against us?

Who can enter our refuge?”y

14 I will punish you as your deedsz deserve,

declares the Lord.

I will kindle a firea in your forestsb

that will consume everything around you.’ ”

Judgment Against Wicked Kings

22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the kingc of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2 ‘Heard the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s thronee—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.f 3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is justg and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressorh the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,i and do not shed innocent bloodj in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kingsk who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obeyl these commands, declares the Lord, I swearm by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’ ”

6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:

“Though you are like Gileadn to me,

like the summit of Lebanon,o

I will surely make you like a wasteland,p

like towns not inhabited.

7 I will send destroyersq against you,

each man with his weapons,

and they will cutr up your fine cedar beams

and throw them into the fire.s

8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’t 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.u’ ”

10 Do not weep for the deadv king or mournw his loss;

rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,

because he will never returnx

nor see his native land again.

11 For this is what the Lord says about Shalluma y son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will diez in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”

13 “Woea to him who buildsb his palace by unrighteousness,

his upper rooms by injustice,

making his own people work for nothing,

not payingc them for their labor.

14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palaced

with spacious upper rooms.’

So he makes large windows in it,

panels it with cedare

and decorates it in red.f

15 “Does it make you a king

to have more and more cedar?

Did not your father have food and drink?

He did what was right and just,g

so all went wellh with him.

16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,i

and so all went well.

Is that not what it means to knowj me?”

declares the Lord.

17 “But your eyes and your heart

are set only on dishonest gain,k

on shedding innocent bloodl

and on oppression and extortion.”m

18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

“They will not mournn for him:

‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’

They will not mourn for him:

‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’

19 He will have the burialo of a donkey—

dragged away and thrownp

outside the gates of Jerusalem.”

20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,q

let your voice be heard in Bashan,r

cry out from Abarim,s

for all your alliest are crushed.

21 I warned you when you felt secure,u

but you said, ‘I will not listen!’

This has been your way from your youth;v

you have not obeyedw me.

22 The windx will drive all your shepherdsy away,

and your alliesz will go into exile.

Then you will be ashamed and disgraceda

because of all your wickedness.

23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,b b’

who are nestled in cedar buildings,

how you will groan when pangs come upon you,

painc like that of a woman in labor!

24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachinc d son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ringe on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliverf you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.d 26 I will hurlg you and the motherh who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to returni to.”

28 Is this man Jehoiachinj a despised, broken pot,k

an object no one wants?

Why will he and his children be hurledl out,

cast into a landm they do not know?

29 O land,n land, land,

hear the word of the Lord!

30 This is what the Lord says:

“Record this man as if childless,o

a man who will not prosperp in his lifetime,

for none of his offspringq will prosper,

none will sit on the throner of David

or rule anymore in Judah.”