For Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes will see it. I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them captive to Babylon, and will kill them with the sword. Moreover I will give all the riches of this city, and all its gains, and all its precious things, yes, I will give all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies. They will make them captives, take them, and carry them to Babylon.
You, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house will go into captivity. You will come to Babylon, and there you will die, and there you will be buried, you, and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.’ ”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Here Jeremiah explains more at large why he said…
Here Jeremiah explains more at large why he said that Pashur would be terror on every side, even because he and his friends would be in fear; for he would find himself overwhelmed by God’s vengeance, and would become a spectacle to all others. In short, Jeremiah means, that such would be God’s vengeance as would fill Pashur and all others with fear; for Pashur himself would be constrained to acknowledge God’s hand without being able to escape, and all others would also perceive the same. He then became a spectacle to himself and to others, because he could not, however hardened he might have been, do otherwise than feel God’s vengeance; and this became also apparent to all others.
Behold, he says, I will make thee a terror to thyself and to all thy friends; and fall shall they by the sword of their enemies, thine eyes seeing it; and all Judah will I deliver into the hand, etc. He repeats what he had said; for Pashur wished to be deemed the patron of the whole land, and especially of the city Jerusalem. As, then, he had undertaken the cause of the people, as though he was the patron and defender of them all, Jeremiah says, that all the Jews would be taken captives, and not only so, but that something more grievous was nigh at hand, for when the king of Babylon led them into exile, he would also smite them with the sword, not indeed all; but we know that he severely punished the king, his children, and the chief men, so that the lower orders on account of their obscurity alone escaped; and those of this class who did escape, because they were not noble nor renowned, were indebted to their own humble condition. It follows, —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v6 Which have suffered themselves to be abused by thy…
Which have suffered themselves to be abused by thy false prophecies.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv4–6 Jer 20:4 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I…
Jer 20:4 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.
Ver. 4. I will make thee a terror.] Heb., I will give thee unto a terror - i.e., I will frighten thy conscience, and then turn it loose upon thee, so that thou shalt be a corde tuo fugitivus, and thy friends shall have small joy of thee, or thou help by them. See on Jer 20:3.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv4–6 God now expoundeth the name of Magor-missabib, threatening to…
God now expoundeth the name of Magor-missabib, threatening to fill this wicked priest with terrors, that he and all his friends should be affrighted, reflecting upon his most miserable state and condition; and his friends, from whom he might possibly expect some relief, should be as miserable as he; and it should be an addition to his misery, that his eyes should see it, and see his whole country ruined, some being slain by the sword of the king of Babylon, others by him carried into captivity.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv4–6 For thus saith the, Lord, behold, I will make…
For thus saith the, Lord, behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends,.... This is an interpretation of the name given, "Magormissabib": and shows that it was not a mere name he had, but that he should be in fact what that signifies; his conscience should be filled with terror at the judgments of God coming upon him for his sins; and which could not be concealed in his own breast from others, but he should be seized with such tremblings and shakings, and be such a spectacle of horror, that his own familiar friends, instead of delighting in his company, would shun it, and run away from him: unless this terror is to be understood of the Chaldean army, which should not only terrify him, but his friends, in whom he placed his confidence; these would be thrown into such a consternation, as not to be able to help him or themselves; to which the following words agree:
and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it; which would be an aggravation of the calamity, that not only he should be deprived of their assistance, but that they should fall into and by the hands of the Babylonians, and in his sight also:
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and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon; the whole land, and the inhabitants of it:
and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword; being in his hands, he shall do as he pleases with them, either carry them captive, or slay them; and some he will dispose of one way, and some another.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v6 Verse 6. And thou, Pashur - shall go into…
Verse 6. And thou, Pashur - shall go into captivity] Thou shalt suffer for the false prophecies which thou hast delivered, and for thy insults to my prophet.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv4–6 A terror to thyself, and to all thy friends…
A terror to thyself, and to all thy friends - Jeremiah plays upon the meaning of Magormissabib saying that Pusbur would be a terror to all around. It is remarkable that he prophesies no evil of Pashur Jer 20:6. His was to be the milder fate of being carried into captivity with Jehoiachin, and dying peaceably at Babylon Jer 20:6, whereas his successor Zephaniah was put to death at Riblah Jer 52:24, Jer 52:27. His punishment probably consisted in this. He had prophesied “lies.” When then he saw the dreadful slaughter of his countrymen, Jehoiakim put to death, his young son dragged into captivity, and the land stripped of all that was best, his conscience so condemned him as the guilty cause of such great misery that in the agonies of remorse he became a terror to himself and his friends.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v6 Lie. He was therefore a false prophet, and vexed…
Lie. He was therefore a false prophet, and vexed that Jeremias should contradict him. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4–6 terror . . . to all thy friends--who have…
terror . . . to all thy friends--who have believed thy false promises (Jer 20:6). The sense must be in order to accord with "fear round about" (Jer 20:3). I will bring terror on thee and on all thy friends, that terror arising from thyself, namely, thy false prophecies. Thou and thy prophecies will be seen, to the dismay both of thee and thy dupes, to have caused their ruin and thine. MAURER'S translation is therefore not needed, "I will give up thee and all thy friends to terror."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv5–6 5. Strength of this city — Its stores and…
5. Strength of this city — Its stores and resources.
Labours thereof — The fruits of labour, the great works of the city.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v6 6. prophesied falsely] He thus would appear to have…
6. prophesied falsely] He thus would appear to have assumed the functions of a prophet, and to have insisted that the warnings of Jeremiah were absurd. See Jer_14:13 ff.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv4–6 (4) I will make thee a terror to thyself,…
(4) I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends.—We should have looked for a different explanation, indicating that terrors from without should gather round the cruel and relentless persecutor, but the prophet’s words go deeper. He should be an object of self-loathing, outer fears intensifying his inward terror and acting through him on others. He is the centre from which terrors radiate as well as that to which they converge.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv5–6 The strength; rather, the stores. The labors; rather, the…
The strength; rather, the stores. The labors; rather, the fruits of labor; i.e. the profits.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v5 I will give him
I will give him
Here the word "him" refers to the king of Babylon.
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all the wealth ... all of its riches, all of its precious items and all the treasures
Yahweh repeats the same basic idea four times for emphasis. Babylon will take away all the wealth of Israel, including the king's possessions. (See: Parallelism)
I will place these things in the hand of your enemies
Placing things in people's hands represents giving thing to the people or allowing the people to take the things. AT: "I will give these things to your enemies" or "I will allow your enemies to take possession of these things" (See: Metonymy)
You and all of your loved ones to whom you prophesied deceitful things will be buried there
This can be stated in active form. AT: "There, people will bury you and all of your loved ones to whom you prophesied deceitful things" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
precious
seize
house
die
deceive
bury
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 6 20:4-5 This is the first instance in which Jeremiah…
20:4-5 This is the first instance in which Jeremiah names Babylon as the country whose armies would invade Judah and take the people into exile. The invaders would take the precious jewels and gold and silver, leaving Judah without resources.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.