Who is Pashur in this passage and why does he attack Jeremiah?

Pashur is a priest and chief governor in the house of the Lord. He has religious authority and should guard God’s worship, but instead he uses his power to silence God’s true prophet. When he hears Jeremiah’s warnings about judgment and Babylon, he hits Jeremiah and puts him in the stocks by the temple gate to shame him. His reaction shows how spiritual leaders can resist God’s truth when it confronts their comfort and position, and how opposition to God’s word can come from inside religious circles, not just from open enemies.

What does the name Magor-missabib, or “fear on every side,” mean for Pashur?

When Jeremiah is released, he tells Pashur that the Lord has changed his name to Magor-missabib, which means “terror on every side” or “fear on every side.” This is not just a nickname; it is a picture of Pashur’s future. Instead of being a man of safety and authority, he himself will be surrounded by fear. He will see his friends fall by the sword, his city plundered, and he will go into captivity and die in Babylon. The name shows that opposing God’s word brings real and personal judgment.

Why does Jeremiah say God deceived him, and how should we understand this?

Jeremiah’s words about God deceiving him come out of deep hurt. He feels pushed into a calling that brings him constant mockery and pain. It sounds like he expected honor but instead faces shame. When he says, “Thou hast deceived me,” he is pouring out his feelings, not accusing God of lying. The wording here is strong and has been read in more than one way, but the sense is that God overpowered his reluctance. Jeremiah is honest about his confusion, yet he still turns to God and keeps speaking in God’s name.

What does it mean that God’s word was like a burning fire in Jeremiah’s bones?

Jeremiah, tired of mockery and threats, decides he will stop speaking in God’s name. But he finds that he cannot. He says God’s word was in his heart like a burning fire shut up in his bones. It is an inner pressure he cannot ignore. Even though speaking brings trouble, staying silent feels worse. This picture shows how God’s message can grip a person so strongly that they must speak, even when it costs them comfort, friendships, or safety. It also shows Jeremiah’s deep, honest struggle with his calling.

Why are Jeremiah’s friends and familiar people watching for his fall?

Jeremiah hears people whispering, “Report, and we will report it.” Even those who know him are waiting for him to slip so they can accuse him and take revenge. They hope he will say something they can twist or use against him. This shows how lonely faithful service can be when people around you dislike God’s message. Jeremiah is not only facing open enemies; he also feels betrayed by those close to him. Yet in that setting he still trusts that the Lord is with him like a mighty warrior and that his persecutors will not finally succeed.

What does this passage teach about God’s judgment on Judah and false prophets?

Through Jeremiah, God announces that all Judah, its strength, wealth, and treasures, will be handed over to the king of Babylon. The people will be carried away and many will fall by the sword. Pashur, who used his position to support lies instead of truth, will share that fate and die in Babylon with those who trusted his false prophecies. This shows that God’s judgment reaches both the nation that ignores his warnings and the leaders who twist or soften his word to please people. In the end, God’s word, not human power, decides what happens.

Why does Jeremiah move from praise to cursing the day of his birth?

In this chapter Jeremiah swings strongly between trust and despair. After saying, “Sing unto the Lord,” and praising God for rescuing the poor from evildoers, he suddenly curses the day he was born and wishes the messenger who told his father the news had never spoken. This shows how torn he is inside. He loves God and knows God saves, yet he is worn down by shame, sorrow, and constant scorn. His words remind us that even faithful servants can feel overwhelmed. God does not hide this struggle but lets us hear it in Scripture.

How can Jeremiah’s struggle and honesty in this passage help believers today?

Jeremiah shows that real faith includes real feelings. He is mocked, beaten, and watched by enemies, and he tells God plainly that he is tired and confused. At the same time, he cannot let go of God’s word, and he still believes the Lord is with him and will judge rightly. For believers today, this passage gives room to bring pain, anger, and questions to God without pretending. It also calls us to keep trusting and speaking truth, even when it is costly, believing that God sees the heart and will not forget those who suffer for his name.

Jer.20.1

Jeremiah 20:1

KJV

Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.

Pashhur Persecutes Jeremiah

1 Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.

2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.

3 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib.

4 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.

5 Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.

6 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.

Jeremiah’s Complaint

7 ¶ O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.

8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.

9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

10 ¶ For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.

11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.

12 But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.

13 Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.

14 ¶ Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.

15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.

16 And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;

17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.

18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?

Cross References

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