Jeremiah 20
1 Now Paschor the son of Emmer, the
priest, who also had been appointed chief of the house of the Lord, heard
Jeremiah prophesying these words.
2 And he smote 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.
3 And Paschor brought Jeremiah out of
the dungeon: and Jeremiah said to him, The Lord has
not called thy name Paschor, but Exile.
4 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I
will give thee up to captivity with all thy friends:
and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall see
it: and I will give thee and all Juda into the hands
of the king of Babylon, and they shall carry them captives, and cut them in
pieces with swords. 5 And I will give
all the strength of this city, and all the labours of it, and all the
treasures of the king of Juda, into the hands of his enemies, and they shall
bring them to Babylon. 6 And thou and
all the dwellers in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt die in
Babylon, and there thou and all thy friends shall be buried, to whom thou hast
prophesied lies.
7 Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I
have been deceived: thou hast been strong, and hast prevailed: I am become a
laughing-stock, I am continually mocked every day.
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.
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
as burning fire flaming in my bones, and I am utterly weakened on all sides,
and cannot bear up.
10 For I have heard the reproach of
many gathering round, saying, Conspire ye, 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.
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.
12 O Lord, that provest just
deeds, understanding the reins and hearts, let me see
thy vengeance upon them: for to thee I have revealed my cause.
13 Sing ye to the Lord, sing praise
to him: for he has rescued the soul of the poor from the hand of evil-doers.
14 Cursed be the day wherein I was
born: the day wherein my mother brought me forth, let it not be blessed.
15 Cursed be the man who brought the
glad tidings to my father, saying, A male child is born to thee.
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;
17 because he slew me not in the
womb, and my mother became not my tomb, and her womb always great with me.
18 Why is it that I came forth of the
womb to see troubles and distresses, and my days are spent in shame?