Jeremiah 20

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Now the priest Pashhur son of Immer, who was the chief of police in the Temple of Yahweh, heardJeremiah making this prophecy.	1 Jeremiah was heard prophesying these things by the priest Pashhur, son of Immer, chief officer in the house of the LORD.
2 Pashhur struck the prophet Jeremiah and then put him in the stocks, in the Upper Benjamin Gateleading into the Temple of Yahweh.	2 So he had the prophet scourged and placed in the stocks at the upper Gate of Benjamin in the house of the LORD.
3 Next day, Pashhur had Jeremiah taken out of the stocks; Jeremiah then said to him, 'Not Pashhur butTerror-on-every-Side is Yahweh's name for you.	3 The next morning, after Pashhur had released Jeremiah from the stocks, the prophet said to him: Instead of Pashhur, the LORD will name you "Terror on every side."
4 For Yahweh says this, "I am going to hand you over to terror, you and al your friends; they wil fal bythe sword of their enemies, your own eyes wil see it. The whole of Judah, too, I shal hand over to the king ofBabylon; he will carry them off captive to Babylon and put them to the sword.	4 For thus says the LORD: Indeed, I will deliver you to terror, you and all your friends. Your own eyes shall see them fall by the sword of their enemies. All Judah I will deliver to the king of Babylon, who shall take them captive to Babylon or slay them with the sword.
5 And al the wealth of this city, all its stores, al its valuables, al the treasures of the kings of Judah, Ishall hand over to their enemies who wil plunder them, round them up and carry them off to Babylon.	5 All the wealth of this city, all it has toiled for and holds dear, all the treasures of the kings of Judah, I will give as plunder into the hands of their foes, who shall seize it and carry it away to Babylon.
6 As for you, Pashhur, and your whole household, you will go into captivity; you will go to Babylon; thereyou wil die, and there be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies." '	6 You Pashhur, and all the members of your household shall go into exile. To Babylon you shall go, you and all your friends; there you shall die and be buried, because you have prophesied lies to them.
7 You have seduced me, Yahweh, and I have let myself be seduced; you have overpowered me: youwere the stronger. I am a laughing-stock al day long, they al make fun of me.	7 You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed. All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I have to howl and proclaim, 'Violence and ruin!' For me, Yahweh's word hasbeen the cause of insult and derision al day long.	8 Whenever I speak, I must cry out, violence and outrage is my message; The word of the LORD has brought me derision and reproach all the day.
9 I would say to myself, 'I will not think about him, I wil not speak in his name any more,' but then thereseemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones. The effort to restrain it wearied me, I could notdo it.	9 I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.
10 I heard so many disparaging me, 'Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!' Althose who were on good terms with me watched for my downfal , 'Perhaps he wil be seduced into error. Thenwe shal get the better of him and take our revenge!'	10 Yes, I hear the whisperings of many: "Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!" All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. "Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him."
11 But Yahweh is at my side like a mighty hero; my opponents wil stumble, vanquished, confounded bytheir failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace wil be theirs.	11 But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
12 Yahweh Sabaoth, you who test the upright, observer of motives and thoughts, I shall see yourvengeance on them, for I have revealed my cause to you.	12 O LORD of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause.
13 Sing to Yahweh, praise Yahweh, for he has delivered the soul of one in need from the clutches of evildoers.	13 Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, For he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!
14 A curse on the day when I was born! May the day my mother bore me be unblessed!	14 Cursed be the day on which I was born! May the day my mother gave me birth never be blessed!
15 A curse on the man who brought my father the news, 'A son, a boy has been born to you!' making himoverjoyed.	15 Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying, "A child, a son, has been born to you!" filling him with great joy.
16 May this man be like the towns that Yahweh overthrew without mercy; may he hear the warning-cry atdawn and the shout of battle at high noon,	16 Let that man be like the cities which the LORD relentlessly overthrew; Let him hear war cries in the morning, battle alarms at noonday,
17 for not kil ing me in the womb; my mother would have been my grave and her womb pregnant forever.	17 because he did not dispatch me in the womb! Then my mother would have been my grave, her womb confining me forever.
18 Why ever did I come out of the womb to see toil and sorrow and end my days in shame?	18 Why did I come forth from the womb, to see sorrow and pain, to end my days in shame?