1. Pashhur son of Immer was a priest. He was the highest officer in the Temple of the Lord. He heard Jeremiah prophesying in the Temple courtyard.
2. So he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten. And he had Jeremiah’s hands and feet locked between large blocks of wood. This was at the Upper Gate of Benjamin of the Lord’s Temple.
3. The next day Pashhur took Jeremiah out from between the blocks of wood. Then Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name for you is not Pashhur. Now the Lord’s name for you is Terror on Every Side.
4. That is your name because this is what the Lord says: ‘I will soon make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. You will watch enemies killing your friends with swords. And I will give all the people of Judah to the king of Babylon. He will take them away as captives to Babylon. Then his army will kill them with swords.
5. I will give all the wealth of this city to its enemies. I will give them its goods and its valuables. I will give the treasures of the kings of Judah to their enemies. The enemies will carry Judah and all its valuables off to Babylon.
6. And Pashhur, you and everyone in your house will be taken away. You will be forced to go as a captive to Babylon. You will die and be buried there. Your friends you have prophesied lies to will also die and be buried in Babylon!’”
7. Lord, you tricked me, and I was fooled.You are stronger than I am. So you won.I have become a joke.Everyone makes fun of me all day long.
8. Every time I speak, I shout.I am always shouting about violence and destruction.I tell the people about the message I received from the Lord.But this only brings me insults. The people make fun of me all day long.
9. Sometimes I say to myself,“I will forget about the Lord.I will not speak anymore in his name.”But then the Lord’s message becomes like a burning fire inside me.It feels like it burns deep within my bones.I get tired of trying to hold the Lord’s message inside of me.And finally, I cannot hold it in.
10. I hear many people whispering about me:“Terror on every side!Let’s tell the rulers about him.”My friends are all just waiting for me to make some mistake.They are saying,“Maybe we can trick Jeremiah.Then we can defeat him.Then we can pay him back.”