Jeremiah 20 4

Jeremiah 20:4 kjv

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.

Jeremiah 20:4 nkjv

For thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it. I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay them with the sword.

Jeremiah 20:4 niv

For this is what the LORD says: 'I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword.

Jeremiah 20:4 esv

For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword.

Jeremiah 20:4 nlt

For this is what the LORD says: 'I will send terror upon you and all your friends, and you will watch as they are slaughtered by the swords of the enemy. I will hand the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will take them captive to Babylon or run them through with the sword.

Jeremiah 20 verses

Jeremiah 20 4 Meaning

Jeremiah 20:4 delivers a stark divine prophecy of judgment through Jeremiah against Pashhur, the chief priest who had persecuted him. The LORD declares that Pashhur will become an embodiment and experience of terror, both internally to himself and externally to his closest associates. His "friends" will face violent death by the sword of their enemies, a harrowing spectacle Pashhur himself will be forced to witness. This personal judgment expands to encompass the entire nation of Judah, which God, in His sovereign will, will surrender into the full control of the king of Babylon. The Babylonian forces will then lead the people into forced exile in Babylon and indiscriminately strike them down with the sword, confirming the depth of Judah's impending destruction and captivity.

Jeremiah 20 4 Context

Jeremiah 20 is a pivotal moment in the prophet's ministry, marking the first recorded instance of his direct physical persecution. The verse immediately follows Jeremiah's arrest and public humiliation by Pashhur, a chief priest and overseer in the temple, who had him struck and put in the stocks overnight (Jer 20:1-3). This action by Pashhur was a direct response to Jeremiah's prophecies of Jerusalem's impending destruction and capture by Babylon (Jer 19). Upon Jeremiah's release the next morning, he pronounces this severe, divinely ordained judgment specifically against Pashhur and his associates, but also extending to the entirety of Judah. The historical context is that of Judah's last kings (likely Jehoiakim or Zedekiah) struggling between Egyptian and Babylonian power, while internal spiritual corruption, false prophets promising peace, and rejection of Jeremiah's prophetic warnings accelerated the nation towards the foretold Babylonian conquest and exile. This prophecy underscores the severe consequences of opposing God's revealed will through His chosen messengers.

Jeremiah 20 4 Word analysis

• "For thus says the LORD" (כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה, koh amar Yahweh):

  • Word: "thus says" (koh amar).
  • Significance: This is a definitive prophetic formula, unequivocally attributing the following message to divine authority. It establishes that the pronouncement is not Jeremiah's opinion but the direct word of the covenant God, Yahweh. It silences any potential human dismissal or argument.

• "Behold," (הִנֵּה, hinneh):

  • Word: "Behold" (hinneh).
  • Significance: An emphatic interjection. It functions as an exclamation mark, calling for immediate and focused attention, signaling that what follows is profoundly significant, certain, and often imminent.

• "I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends." (אֶתֵּנְךָ מָּגוֹר מִסָּבִיב לָּךְ וּלְכָל־אֹהֲבֶיךָ, ettencha magor mis-sabib lach ulechol-oheveykha):

  • Words-group: "I will make you a terror."
  • Significance: This directly ties to Pashhur's new, symbolic name, "Magor-Missabib" (Terror on Every Side), which Jeremiah had given him (Jer 20:3). God's active agency ("I will make you" - ettencha, "I will give/set you") is emphasized. The term "terror" (magor) implies both becoming an object of dread to others and experiencing profound internal dread. Pashhur becomes the living embodiment of the impending disaster he had foolishly resisted.
  • Words-group: "to yourself and to all your friends."
  • Significance: The judgment is both internal (psychological, existential dread upon Pashhur himself) and external (affecting his social circle and political allies). His personal fate becomes intertwined with the suffering of those who aligned with him in his opposition to Jeremiah and the Lord.

• "And they shall fall by the sword of their enemies," (וְנָפְלוּ בְּחֶרֶב אֹיְבֵיהֶם, venafelu becherev oyvehem):

  • Words-group: "they shall fall by the sword."
  • Significance: "Fall" (nafelu) is a euphemism for death, specifically violent death in battle. "Sword" (cherev) highlights the brutal reality of warfare and execution, a common divine judgment. This indicates the fate of Pashhur's allies, linking their demise directly to the ongoing conflict.
  • Word: "enemies" (oyvehem).
  • Significance: Clearly identifies the agents of their destruction—the Babylonians—who are depicted as God's instrument for judgment against the rebellious.

• "and your eyes shall see it." (וְעֵינֶיךָ תִּרְאֶינָה, ve'eineykha tire'ena):

  • Words-group: "your eyes shall see it."
  • Significance: This clause is a potent enhancer of Pashhur's personal punishment. He will not merely suffer but be forced to witness the devastating consequences—the death of his friends—with his own eyes. This adds a layer of psychological torment and unavoidable accountability, ensuring he fully experiences the horror of the divine judgment he once dismissed.

• "I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon;" (וְאֶת־כָּל־יְהוּדָה אֶתֵּן בְּיַד מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל, ve'et-kol-Yehudah etten beyad Melech Babel):

  • Word: "I will give" (etten).
  • Significance: Reasserts the active divine control, emphasizing that this calamity is not mere historical accident but God's deliberate act of surrender. He actively delivers His chosen nation for judgment.
  • Words-group: "all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon."
  • Significance: Expands the scope of judgment from Pashhur's immediate circle to the entire kingdom. "Into the hand of" signifies complete subjugation and loss of autonomy. It directly names Babylon as the divinely appointed instrument of judgment, making clear that resisting Jeremiah's message (which included submission to Babylon) was resisting God's sovereign plan.

• "he shall carry them captive to Babylon and shall strike them down with the sword." (וְהִגְלָם בָּבֶל וְהִכָּם בַּחֶרֶב, vehiglam Babel vehikkam bachaerev):

  • Words-group: "he shall carry them captive to Babylon."
  • Significance: Higla (to go into exile, deport) defines a primary punishment: forced removal from the promised land, a cornerstone of God's covenant blessings. It confirms the long-prophesied destination of exile.
  • Words-group: "and shall strike them down with the sword."
  • Significance: This reiterates the dual nature of the judgment for Judah—exile for some, violent death for others. It emphasizes the absolute devastation that the Babylonian conquest would bring, further validating Jeremiah's unwelcome prophetic message.

Jeremiah 20 4 Bonus section

The naming of Pashhur as "Magor-Missabib" is a prophetic action, a symbolic act that functions as a living parable for the fate of Jerusalem and Judah. By changing his name, Jeremiah divinely redefines Pashhur's identity to reflect his true spiritual condition and impending doom. Pashhur, who had been a symbol of Jerusalem's confident (but false) security against Jeremiah's prophecies, is now forced to embody the "terror on every side" that will engulf the city. This particular phrase, magor mis-sabib, found elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Ps 31:13; Lam 2:22), resonates with a deep sense of inescapable peril, where threats surround and penetrate one's being. The intensity of "your eyes shall see it" highlights the active and often prolonged suffering involved in divine judgment. In ancient Near Eastern conquest, leaders or dignitaries were sometimes deliberately spared immediate death precisely so they could witness the destruction of their families and cities, thus maximizing their torment and humiliation. This detailed aspect of the prophecy against Pashhur points to an agonizing fate that is not just physical but psychological and existential, confirming God's thoroughness in judgment against those who mock His messengers and messages.

Jeremiah 20 4 Commentary

Jeremiah 20:4 is a concise yet devastating pronouncement of divine retribution. It seamlessly connects Pashhur's personal persecution of Jeremiah with the national catastrophe facing Judah, asserting God's absolute sovereignty over both individual destinies and geopolitical events. Pashhur, ironically renamed "Terror on Every Side" (Magor-Missabib) by Jeremiah, is prophesied to experience deep, encompassing dread—an internal anguish amplified by the forced witnessing of his friends' violent deaths. This judgment then expands to Judah, whom God actively "gives" into the brutal hands of the king of Babylon for exile and execution. The verse powerfully demonstrates that defiance of God's truth through His prophet directly incurs His judgment, transforming the instruments of human opposition (like Pashhur) into epitomes of the very doom they foolishly sought to deny and prevent.