Jeremiah 20:8. For since I spake— For as often as I speak, whether I cry out against injustice, or proclaim devastation, the word of JEHOVAH is turned against me into matter of reproach and derision continually. Houbigant renders it, For since I spoke, and cried against iniquity, and denounced desolation, the word of the Lord, &c. read more
8. Rather, "Whenever I speak, I cry out. Concerning violence and spoil, I (am compelled to) cry out," that is, complain [MAURER]. English Version in the last clause is more graphic, "I cried violence and spoil" ( :-)! I could not speak in a calm tone; their desperate wickedness compelled me to "cry out." because—rather, "therefore," the apodosis of the previous sentence; because in discharging my prophetic functions, I not merely spake, but cried; and cried, violence . . . ; therefore the word... read more
Jeremiah’s struggle with his calling 20:7-13This section is another of Jeremiah’s autobiographical "confessions." In literary form it is another individual lament, like many of the psalms (cf. Psalms 6). It is one of Jeremiah’s most significant self-disclosures. The section has two parts: God the antagonist (Jeremiah 20:7-10), and God the protagonist (Jeremiah 20:11-13). read more
Jeremiah felt that he was always shouting messages of impending disaster, and these announcements had resulted in people criticizing and ridiculing him constantly. read more
1-6. Pashur’s act and Jeremiah’s reply.2. Pashur] In chapter Jeremiah 38:1 two Pashurs are mentioned. This one is perhaps the father of Gedaliah there spoken of, while Pashur the son of Malchiah of that v. is probably identical with the Pashur of Jeremiah 21:1. The houses represented by both men were strong in numbers amongst the few priestly courses that returned from Babylon (Ezra 2:36-39).3. Magormissabib] i.e. ’fear is on every side’: see on Jeremiah 6:25. The name is symbolic of his coming... read more
(8) I cried out, I cried.—The two Hebrew words are not, as in the English, alike, the first being the cry of complaint, the second of protest: When I speak (the tense implies from the beginning of his work till now), I complain; I call out (against) violence and spoil. They had formed the burden of his discourses, he had borne his witness against them, and yet “the word of Jehovah” so proclaimed by him had exposed him simply to derision. He had been the champion of the people’s rights, and yet... read more
The Deceptions of God Jeremiah 20:7 I. There are times when we are ready to say that God deceives us. Think of the ideals of our childhood. It is one of the sweet illusions of the child that father or mother has neither fault nor flaw. 1. Think again of the deceptions of the senses. If there is one thing that seems above dispute, it is that this earth of ours is fixed and firm. 2. Think once again of how God fulfils His promises. One thing certain is that when Abraham was called from Ur, he... read more
CHAPTER XIIIJEREMIAH UNDER PERSECUTIONJeremiah 20:1-18THE prophet has now to endure something more than a scornful rejection of his message. "And Pashchur ben Immer the priest" (he was chief officer in the house of Iahvah) "heard Jeremiah prophesying these words. And Pashchur smote Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks, which were in the upper gate of Benjamin in the house of Iahvah." Like the priest of Bethel, who abruptly put an end to the preaching of Amos in the royal sanctuary,... read more
CHAPTER 20 Pashur.-Jeremiah’s Perplexity and Complaint 1. Pashur and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:1-6 ) 2. Jeremiah’s great perplexity and complaint (Jeremiah 20:7-18 ) Jeremiah 20:1-6 . A great scene now follows the message in connection with the broken bottle. The great Pashur, the chief governor in the house of the LORD had heard of the message. He smites Jeremiah and puts him in the stocks, which must have been some form of cruel torture by which the victim was rendered helpless, besides... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 20:7-18
Jeremiah complains again (20:7-18)The prophet feels that God has not been fair to him. God has called him to be a prophet against his personal wishes, then, when he faithfully announces God’s message, the people mock and curse him (7-8). If he decides to keep quiet he finds he cannot, for God’s word burns within him and he must proclaim it. Even his friends have turned against him and now treacherously plot his downfall (9-10). When he remembers that God is on his side, he is assured that his... read more