Jeremiah 11:20-23

11:20 So I said to the Lord, ¹ 

“O Lord who rules over all, ²  you are a just judge!

You examine people’s hearts and minds. ³ 

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

because I trust you to vindicate my cause.” ⁴ 

11:21 Then the Lord told me about ⁵  some men from Anathoth ⁶  who were threatening to kill me. ⁷  They had threatened, ⁸  “Stop prophesying in the name of the Lord or we will kill you!” ⁹  11:22 So the Lord who rules over all ¹⁰  said, “I will surely ¹¹  punish them! Their young men will be killed in battle. ¹²  Their sons and daughters will die of starvation. 11:23 Not one of them will survive. ¹³  I will bring disaster on those men from Anathoth who threatened you. ¹⁴  A day of reckoning is coming for them.” ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 12:3

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

You watch me and test my devotion to you. ¹⁶ 

Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered!

Appoint a time when they will be killed! ¹⁷ 

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 ¹⁸  in the Lord’s temple. 20:2 When he heard Jeremiah’s prophecy, he had the prophet flogged. ¹⁹  Then he put him in the stocks ²⁰  which were at the Upper Gate of Benjamin in the Lord’s temple. ²¹  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.’ ²²  20:4 For the Lord says, ‘I will make both you and your friends terrified of what will happen to you. ²³  You will see all of them die by the swords of their enemies. ²⁴  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 ²⁵  and carry it off to Babylon. 20:6 You, Pashhur, and all your household ²⁶  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.’” ²⁷ 

Jeremiah 20:11-12

20:11 But the Lord is with me to help me like an awe-inspiring warrior. ²⁸ 

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, ²⁹  you test and prove the righteous.

You see into people’s hearts and minds. ³⁰ 

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 ³¹  be fatherless,

and his wife a widow!

109:10 May his children ³²  roam around begging,

asking for handouts as they leave their ruined home! ³³ 

109:11 May the creditor seize ³⁴  all he owns!

May strangers loot his property! ³⁵ 

109:12 May no one show him kindness! ³⁶ 

May no one have compassion ³⁷  on his fatherless children!

109:13 May his descendants ³⁸  be cut off! ³⁹ 

May the memory of them be wiped out by the time the next generation arrives! ⁴⁰ 

109:14 May his ancestors’ ⁴¹  sins be remembered by the Lord!

May his mother’s sin not be forgotten! ⁴² 

109:15 May the Lord be constantly aware of them, ⁴³ 

and cut off the memory of his children ⁴⁴  from the earth!

109:16 For he never bothered to show kindness; ⁴⁵ 

he harassed the oppressed and needy,

and killed the disheartened. ⁴⁶ 

109:17 He loved to curse ⁴⁷  others, so those curses have come upon him. ⁴⁸ 

He had no desire to bless anyone, so he has experienced no blessings. ⁴⁹ 

109:18 He made cursing a way of life, ⁵⁰ 

so curses poured into his stomach like water

and seeped into his bones like oil. ⁵¹ 

109:19 May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on, ⁵² 

or a belt ⁵³  one wears continually!

109:20 May the Lord repay my accusers in this way, ⁵⁴ 

those who say evil things about ⁵⁵  me! ⁵⁶ 

Psalms 109:2

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

they lie to me. ⁵⁷ 

Psalms 4:1

Psalm 4 ⁵⁸ 

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! ⁵⁹ 

Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place. ⁶⁰ 

Have mercy on me ⁶¹  and respond to ⁶²  my prayer!

[11:20]  ¹ tn The words “So I said to the Lord” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity to show the shift in address.

[11:20]  ² tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[11:20]  ³ tn Heb “Lord of armies, just judge, tester of kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style. In Hebrew thought the “kidneys” were thought of as the seat of the emotions and passions and the “heart” was viewed as the seat of intellect, conscience, and will. The “heart” and the “kidneys” are often used figuratively for the thoughts, emotions, motives, and drives that are thought to be seated in them.

[11:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “Let me see your retribution [i.e., see you exact retribution] from them because I reveal my cause [i.e., plea for justice] to you.”

[11:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “Therefore thus says the Lord.” This phrase is anticipatory of the same phrase at the beginning of v. 22 and is introductory to what the Lord says about them. The translation seeks to show the connection of the “therefore” which is sometimes rather loose (cf. BDB 487 s.v. כֵּן 3.d[b]) with the actual response which is not given until v. 22.

[11:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “the men of Anathoth.” However, this does not involve all of the people, only the conspirators. The literal might lead to confusion later since v. 21 mentions that there will not be any of them left alive. However, it is known from Ezra 2:23 that there were survivors.

[11:21]  ⁷ tc The MT reads the 2nd person masculine singular suffix “your life,” but LXX reflects an alternative reading of the 1st person common singular suffix “my life.”

[11:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “who were seeking my life, saying…” The sentence is broken up in conformity with contemporary English style.

[11:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “or you will die by our hand.”

[11:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[11:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Behold I will.” For the function of this particle see the translator’s note on 1:6.

[11:22]  ¹² tn Heb “will die by the sword.” Here “sword” stands contextually for “battle” while “starvation” stands for death by starvation during siege.

[11:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “There will be no survivors for/among them.”

[11:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the men of Anathoth.” For the rationale for adding the qualification see the notes on v. 21.

[11:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will bring disaster on…, the year of their punishment.”

[12:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “You, Lord, know me. You watch me and you test my heart toward you.”

[12:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “set aside for them a day of killing.”

[20:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “chief overseer/officer.” The translation follows the suggestion of P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, J. F. Drinkard, Jeremiah 1-25 (WBC), 267, based on the parallel passage in 29:26-27 where this official appears to have been in charge of maintaining order in the temple.

[20:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “And Pashhur son of Immer, the priest and he [= who] was chief overseer [or officer] in the house of the Lord heard Jeremiah prophesying these words/things 20:2 and Pashhur had the prophet Jeremiah flogged.” This verse and the previous one has been restructured in the translation to better conform with contemporary English style.

[20:2]  ²⁰ tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. It occurs only here, in 29:26 where it is followed by a parallel word that occurs only there and is generally translated “collar,” and in 2 Chr 16:10 where it is preceded by the word “house of.” It is most often translated “stocks” and explained as an instrument of confinement for keeping prisoners in a crooked position (from its relation to a root meaning “to turn.” See BDB 246 s.v. מַהְפֶּכֶת and KBL 500 s.v. מַהְפֶּכֶת for definition and discussion.) For a full discussion including the interpretation of the ancient versions see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:542-43.

[20:2]  ²¹ sn A comparison of Ezek 8:3 and 9:2 in their contexts will show that this probably refers to the northern gate to the inner court of the temple. It is called Upper because it was on higher ground above the gate in the outer court. It is qualified by “in the Lord’s temple” to distinguish it from the Benjamin Gate in the city wall (cf. 37:13; 38:7). Like the Benjamin Gate in the city wall it faced north toward the territory of the tribe of Benjamin.

[20:3]  ²² tn This name is translated rather than transliterated to aid the reader in understanding this name and connect it clearly with the explanation that follows in the next verse. For a rather complete discussion on the significance of this name and an attempt to explain it as a pun on the name “Pashhur” see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 455, n. 35.

[20:4]  ²³ tn Heb “I will make you an object of terror to both you and your friends.”

[20:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “And they will fall by the sword of their enemies and [with] your eyes seeing [it].”

[20:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Take them [the goods, etc.] as plunder and seize them.”

[20:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “all who live in your house.” This included his family and his servants.

[20:6]  ²⁷ sn As a member of the priesthood and the protector of order in the temple, Pashhur was undoubtedly one of those who promulgated the deceptive belief that the Lord’s presence in the temple was a guarantee of Judah’s safety (cf. 7:4, 8). Judging from the fact that two other men held the same office after the leading men in the city were carried into exile in 597 b.c. (see Jer 29:25-26 and compare 29:1-2 for the date and 2 Kgs 24:12-16 for the facts), this prophecy was probably fulfilled in 597. For a similar kind of oracle of judgment see Amos 7:10-17.

[20:11]  ²⁸ sn This line has some interesting ties with Jer 15:20-21 where Jeremiah is assured by God that he is indeed with him as he promised him when he called him (1:8, 19) and will deliver him from the clutches of wicked and violent people. The word translated here “awe-inspiring” is the same as the word “violent people” there. Jeremiah is confident that his “awe-inspiring” warrior will overcome “violent people.” The statement of confidence here is, by the way, a common element in the psalms of petition in the Psalter. The common elements of that type of psalm are all here: invocation (v. 7), lament (vv. 7-10), confession of trust/confidence in being heard (v. 11), petition (v. 12), thanksgiving or praise (v. 13). For some examples of this type of psalm see Pss 3, 7, 26.

[20:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[20:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Lord of armies, the one who tests the righteous, who sees kidneys and heart.” The sentence has been broken up to avoid a long and complex English sentence. The translation is more in keeping with contemporary English style.

[109:9]  ³¹ tn Or “sons.”

[109:10]  ³² tn Or “sons.”

[109:10]  ³³ tn Heb “and roaming, may his children roam and beg, and seek from their ruins.” Some, following the LXX, emend the term וְדָרְשׁוּ (vÿdoreshu, “and seek”) to יְגֹרְשׁוּ (yÿgoreshu; a Pual jussive, “may they be driven away” [see Job 30:5; cf. NIV, NRSV]), but דָּרַשׁ (darash) nicely parallels שִׁאֵלוּ (shi’elu, “and beg”) in the preceding line.

[109:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “lay snares for” (see Ps 38:12).

[109:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the product of his labor.”

[109:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “may there not be for him one who extends loyal love.”

[109:12]  ³⁷ tn Perhaps this refers to being generous (see Ps 37:21).

[109:13]  ³⁸ tn Or “offspring.”

[109:13]  ³⁹ sn On the expression cut off see Ps 37:28.

[109:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in another generation may their name be wiped out.”

[109:14]  ⁴¹ tn Or “fathers’ sins.”

[109:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “not be wiped out.”

[109:15]  ⁴³ tn Heb “may they [that is, the sins mentioned in v. 14] be before the Lord continually.”

[109:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “their memory.” The plural pronominal suffix probably refers back to the children mentioned in v. 13, and for clarity this has been specified in the translation.

[109:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “he did not remember to do loyal love.”

[109:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and he chased an oppressed and needy man, and one timid of heart to put [him] to death.”

[109:17]  ⁴⁷ sn A curse in OT times consists of a formal appeal to God to bring judgment down upon another. Curses were sometimes justified (such as the one spoken by the psalmist here in vv. 6-19), but when they were not, the one pronouncing the curse was in danger of bringing the anticipated judgment down upon himself.

[109:17]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and he loved a curse and it came [upon] him.” A reference to the evil man experiencing a curse seems premature here, for the psalmist is asking God to bring judgment on his enemies. For this reason some (cf. NIV, NRSV) prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” as conjunctive and translate the verb as a jussive of prayer (“may it come upon him!”). The prefixed form with vav consecutive in the next line is emended in the same way and translated, “may it be far from him.” However, the psalmist may be indicating that the evil man’s lifestyle has already begun to yield its destructive fruit.

[109:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and he did not delight in a blessing and it is far from him.”

[109:18]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “he put on a curse as [if it were] his garment.”

[109:18]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and it came like water into his inner being, and like oil into his bones.” This may refer to this individual’s appetite for cursing. For him cursing was as refreshing as drinking water or massaging oneself with oil. Another option is that the destructive effects of a curse are in view. In this case a destructive curse invades his very being, like water or oil. Some who interpret the verse this way prefer to repoint the vav (ו) on “it came” to a conjunctive vav and interpret the prefixed verb as a jussive, “may it come!”

[109:19]  ⁵² tn Heb “may it be for him like a garment one puts on.”

[109:19]  ⁵³ tn The Hebrew noun מֵזַח (mezakh, “belt; waistband”) occurs only here in the OT. The form apparently occurs in Isa 23:10 as well, but an emendation is necessary there.

[109:20]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “[may] this [be] the repayment to my accusers from the Lord.”

[109:20]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “against.”

[109:20]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being; soul”) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).

[109:2]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”

[4:1]  ⁵⁸ sn Psalm 4. The psalmist asks God to hear his prayer, expresses his confidence that the Lord will intervene, and urges his enemies to change their ways and place their trust in God. He concludes with another prayer for divine intervention and again affirms his absolute confidence in God’s protection.

[4:1]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “God of my righteousness.”

[4:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “in distress (or “a narrow place”) you make (a place) large for me.” The function of the Hebrew perfect verbal form here is uncertain. The translation above assumes that the psalmist is expressing his certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God’s positive response to his prayer, he can describe God’s deliverance as if it had already happened. Such confidence is consistent with the mood of the psalm (vv. 3, 8). Another option is to take the perfects as precative, expressing a wish or request (“lead me”). See IBHS 494-95 §30.5.4c, d. However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

[4:1]  ⁶¹ tn Or “show me favor.”

[4:1]  ⁶² tn Heb “hear.”