Old/New Testament
Jeremiah Beaten by Pashhur
20 Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer(A) and chief official in the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 So Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate in the Lord’s temple. 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,[a] 4 for this is what the Lord says, ‘I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love.(B) They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon and put them to the sword. 5 I will give away all the wealth of this city, all its products(C) and valuables. Indeed, I will hand all the treasures of the kings of Judah over to their enemies. 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 go into captivity. You will go to Babylon. There you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends that you prophesied falsely(D) to.’”
Jeremiah Compelled to Preach
7 You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived.
You seized me and prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all the time;(E)
everyone ridicules me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I proclaim, “Violence and destruction!”(F)
because the word of the Lord has become for me
constant disgrace and derision.
9 If I say, “I won’t mention Him
or speak any longer in His name,”
His message becomes a fire burning in my heart,(G)
shut up in my bones.
I become tired of holding it in,
and I cannot prevail.
10 For I have heard the gossip of many people,
“Terror is on every side
Report him; let’s report him!”
Everyone I trusted[c] watches for my fall.(I)
“Perhaps he will be deceived
so that we might prevail against him
and take our vengeance on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me like a violent warrior.(J)
Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed,
an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten.
12 Lord of Hosts, testing the righteous
and seeing the heart[d] and mind,
let me see Your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to You.(K)
13 Sing to the Lord!
Praise the Lord,
for He rescues the life of the needy
from the hand of evil people.
Jeremiah’s Lament
14 May the day I was born
be cursed.(L)
May the day my mother bore me
never be blessed.
15 May the man be cursed
who brought the news to my father, saying,
“A male child is born to you,”
bringing him great joy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
the Lord demolished without compassion.(M)
Let him hear an outcry in the morning(N)
and a war cry at noontime
17 because he didn’t kill me in the womb(O)
so that my mother might have been my grave,
her womb eternally pregnant.
18 Why did I come out of the womb
to see only struggle and sorrow,(P)
to end my life in shame?
Zedekiah’s Request Denied
21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur(Q) son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah(R) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, asking, 2 “Ask the Lord on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar[e](S) king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all His past wonderful works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah answered, “This is what you are to say to Zedekiah: 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will repel the weapons of war in your hands,(T) those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans[f] who are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city.(U) 5 I will fight against you(V) with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm,(W) with anger, rage, and great wrath. 6 I will strike the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a great plague. 7 Afterward’”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“‘King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people—those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine—I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,(X) to their enemies, yes, to those who want to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won’t spare them or show pity or compassion.’(Y)
A Warning for the People
8 “But you must say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, I am presenting to you the way of life and the way of death.(Z) 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils of war.(AA) 10 For I have turned[g] against this city to bring disaster(AB) and not good’”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “‘It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it down.’(AC)
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say this: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 12 House of David, this is what the Lord says:
Administer justice every morning,
and rescue the victim of robbery
from the hand of his oppressor,(AD)
or My anger will flare up like fire
and burn unquenchably
because of their evil deeds.
13 Beware! I am against you,(AE)
you who sit above the valley,
you atop the rocky plateau—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
you who say, “Who can come down against us?(AF)
Who can enter our hiding places?”
14 I will punish you according to what you have done(AG)—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
I will kindle a fire in its forest(AH)
that will consume everything around it.’”(AI)
Fulfill Your Ministry
4 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge(A) the living and the dead,(B) and because of His appearing and His kingdom:(C) 2 Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine,(D) but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new.[a] 4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.(E) 5 But as for you, be serious about everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist,(F) fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering,(G) and the time for my departure is close. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 There is reserved for me in the future the crown(H) of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,(I) will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.(J)
Final Instructions
9 Make every effort to come to me soon,(K) 10 for Demas(L) has deserted me,(M) because he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica.(N) Crescens has gone to Galatia,(O) Titus(P) to Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke(Q) is with me. Bring Mark(R) with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry. 12 I have sent Tychicus(S) to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak I left in Troas(T) with Carpus, as well as the scrolls, especially the parchments. 14 Alexander(U) the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works. 15 Watch out(V) for him yourself because he strongly opposed our words.
16 At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me.(W) May it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the proclamation might be fully made through me and all the Gentiles might hear. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom.(X) To Him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
Benediction
19 Greet Prisca and Aquila,(Y) and the household of Onesiphorus.(Z) 20 Erastus(AA) has remained at Corinth; I left Trophimus(AB) sick at Miletus.(AC) 21 Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.
22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
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