Jeremiah 11:20-23

11:20 So I said to the Lord,

“O Lord who rules over all, you are a just judge!

You examine people’s hearts and minds.

I want to see you pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.”

11:21 Then the Lord told me about some men from Anathoth who were threatening to kill me. They had threatened, “Stop prophesying in the name of the Lord or we will kill you!” 11:22 So the Lord who rules over all said, “I will surely punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle. Their sons and daughters will die of starvation. 11:23 Not one of them will survive. I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you. A day of reckoning is coming for them.”

Jeremiah 12:3

12:3 But you, Lord, know all about me.

You watch me and test my devotion to you.

Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!

Appoint a time when they will be killed!

Jeremiah 20:1-6

Jeremiah is Flogged and Put in A Cell

20:1 Now Pashhur son of Immer heard Jeremiah prophesy these things. He was the priest who was chief of security in the Lord’s temple. 20:2 When he heard Jeremiah’s prophecy, he had the prophet flogged. Then he put him in the stocks which were at the Upper Gate of Benjamin in the Lord’s temple. 20:3 But the next day Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks. When he did, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name for you is not ‘Pashhur’ but ‘Terror is Everywhere.’ 20:4 For the Lord says, ‘I will make both you and your friends terrified of what will happen to you. You will see all of them die by the swords of their enemies. I will hand all the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will carry some of them away into exile in Babylon and he will kill others of them with the sword. 20:5 I will hand over all the wealth of this city to their enemies. I will hand over to them all the fruits of the labor of the people of this city and all their prized possessions, as well as all the treasures of the kings of Judah. Their enemies will seize it all as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 20:6 You, Pashhur, and all your household will go into exile in Babylon. You will die there and you will be buried there. The same thing will happen to all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’”

Jeremiah 20:11-12

20:11 But the Lord is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior.

Therefore those who persecute me will fail and will not prevail over me.

They will be thoroughly disgraced because they did not succeed.

Their disgrace will never be forgotten.

20:12 O Lord who rules over all, you test and prove the righteous.

You see into people’s hearts and minds.

Pay them back for what they have done

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

Psalms 109:9-20

109:9 May his children be fatherless,

and his wife a widow!

109:10 May his children roam around begging,

asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home!

109:11 May the creditor seize all he owns!

May strangers loot his property!

109:12 May no one show him kindness!

May no one have compassion on his fatherless children!

109:13 May his descendants be cut off!

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives!

109:14 May his ancestors’ sins be remembered by the Lord!

May his mother’s sin not be forgotten!

109:15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them,

and cut off the memory of his children from the earth!

109:16 For he never bothered to show kindness;

he harassed the oppressed and needy,

and killed the disheartened.

109:17 He loved to curse others, so those curses have come upon him.

He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings.

109:18 He made cursing a way of life,

so curses poured into his stomach like water

and seeped into his bones like oil.

109:19 May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on,

or a belt one wears continually!

109:20 May the Lord repay my accusers in this way,

those who say evil things about me!

Psalms 109:2

109:2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;

they lie to me.

Psalms 4:1

Psalm 4

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.

4:1 When I call out, answer me,

O God who vindicates me!

Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place.

Have mercy on me and respond to my prayer!