Jeremiah 20:2
in Jeremiah 20he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Pashhur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Jehovah.
KJV
Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.
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This verse in Jeremiah 20
Commentary
11 notes on this verse(Chapter 20 — Verses 1, 2) And Phasur, the son of Emmer, a priest who was appointed as the chief in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these words. And Phasur struck the prophet Jeremiah and sent him into the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. For Phasur, the Septuagint translated as Phascor, which means "blackness of the mouth," and for the stocks, which we have mentioned, the Septuagint and Theodotion translated as "cataract," Symmachus as "instrument of torture" or "torture device," both of which signify torment.
This site's exposition
When Pashhur the priest, the son
on Jeremiah 20:1-3
Pashhur the priest hears Jeremiah preach the Topheth sign and moves against him himself. He has Jeremiah “beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin,” a public restraint beside the temple. Released the next day, Jeremiah gives him a new name, “Magor-missabib,” terror on every side.
This site's exposition
he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten
Albert Barnes notes Jeremiah is called the prophet here for the first time, since Pashhur's blow broke the respect owed to that office. Barnes traces the word for the stocks to a root meaning to twist, so the body was held bent. Pashhur, Matthew Henry notes, was a fellow priest.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
…The enchanters of the Egyptians also had rods, rods that wished to slander the rod of Moses and that of Aaron as though they were not from God. But those from God overturn those of the sophists and enchanters: "the rod of Aaron swallowed them up"; for this rod sufficed for this even without the rod of Moses. So Paschor "struck Jeremiah the prophet," and with emphasis: "and he struck Jeremiah the prophet." "The prophet" is added. Here, then, the one who struck struck Jeremiah the prophet.
…of the mind of the Scripture, which comes to be present to an eye that has room for the clarity of the sacred writings. These things I have said by way of preface, rousing and awakening both myself and my hearers to attend to what has been read, so that we may ask Jesus to come and to appear to us and to teach us now the things written here. "Jeremiah prophesied; and Paschor son of Emmer the priest heard the words of the prophecy." And although in all likelihood many, so far as the mere sequence of the prophecy goes, had heard Jeremiah, no other hearer is quickly recorded except Paschor. But the Scripture took care to say also whose son he was, that he was son of Emmer, and that he held the office of priest, and what rank he had among the people—that he had been appointed governor of the house of the Lord at the time when Jeremiah was prophesying these words. And it is recorded that, having heard the words of this prophecy, Paschor struck Jeremiah; and he was not content with having struck him, but he also cast him into a certain dungeon (katarraktēs). The Scripture took care to say also where this dungeon was—at the gate of Benjamin—and that the dungeon was in a place where there was an upper chamber, and an upper chamber of nothing else than of the house of the Lord. These things the Holy Spirit recorded to have come upon Jeremiah in connection with the prophecy, and to have come from Paschor. Then it says: on the next day Paschor brought Jeremiah out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah, having been brought out, said to Paschor that the Lord had not called your name this name, Paschor; another name has been laid upon you—as to Jacob Israel, as to Abram Abraham, as to Sarai Sarah, so upon you he has laid the name Exile (Metoikos). And for this reason he has called you Exile, since the Lord says: behold, I give you into exile with all—with whom? […]
The Reformation1 voice
(Deuteronomy 17:12.) "Since, then, it was God's will to endue the priests with so much authority and power, why therefore did he not guide them by his grace, that they might faithfully execute the office committed to them?" Nor was Jeremiah alone moved and shaken by this trial, but all who then truly worshipped God.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet,.... Either with his fist, or with a rod, while he was prophesying, to stop his mouth, and hinder him from going on, and to show his resentment, and influence, the people not to believe him; or he ordered him to be smitten and scourged by some inferior officer.
This Pashur was a priest, and therefore, one would think, should have protected Jeremiah, who was of his own order, a priest too, and the more because he was a prophet of the Lord, whose interests the priests, his ministers, ought to consult.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Put him in the stocks - Probably such a place near the gate as we term the lock-up, the coal-hole; or it may mean a sort of dungeon.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
From a Hebrew root, to "turn," or "rack." This marks Pashur's cruelty. high--that is, the upper gate (2Ki 15:35). gate of Benjamin--a gate in the temple wall, corresponding to the gate of Benjamin, properly so called, in the city wall, in the direction of the territory of Benjamin (Jer 7:2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Jeremiah the prophet - Jeremiah is nowhere so called in the first 19 chapters. In this place he thus characterizes himself, because Pashur’s conduct was a violation of the respect due to the prophetic office. The stocks - This instrument of torture comes from a root signifying to “twist.” It thus implies that the body was kept in a distorted position. Compare Act 16:24. The high gate ... - Rather, “the upper gate of Benjamin in the house of Yahweh (compare 2Ki 15:35);” to be distinguished from the city gate of Benjamin leading toward the north.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּכֶּ֣ה | vaiyakeh | and he struck | H5221 → | 499 times |
| פַשְׁח֔וּר | fashchur | Pashhur | H6583 → | 14 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִרְמְיָ֣הוּ | yirmeyahu | Jeremiah | H3414 → | 147 times |
| הַנָּבִ֑יא | hanavi' | the prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| וַיִּתֵּ֨ן | vaiyiten | and he put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֹת֜וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמַּהְפֶּ֗כֶת | hamahpekhet | the stock[s] | H4115 → | 4 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּשַׁ֤עַר | beshaar | [was] at [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| בִּנְיָמִן֙ | binyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| הָֽעֶלְי֔וֹן | haelyon | <the> upper | H5945 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּבֵ֥ית | beveit | [was] in [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיַּכֶּ֣הand he struck
vaiyakehH5221 →499 times
פַשְׁח֔וּרPashhur
fashchurH6583 →14 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
יִרְמְיָ֣הוּJeremiah
yirmeyahuH3414 →147 times
הַנָּבִ֑יאthe prophet
hanavi'H5030 →314 times
וַיִּתֵּ֨ןand he put
vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times
אֹת֜וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַמַּהְפֶּ֗כֶתthe stock[s]
hamahpekhetH4115 →4 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּשַׁ֤עַר[was] at [the] gate of
beshaarH8179 →374 times
בִּנְיָמִן֙Benjamin
binyaminH1144 →166 times
הָֽעֶלְי֔וֹן<the> upper
haelyonH5945 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּבֵ֥ית[was] in [the] house of
beveitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 1:19They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Jeremiah 1:8
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 20:11
But the LORD is with me like a fearsome warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly put to shame, with an everlasting…
- Psalms 129:2
many a time they have persecuted me from my youth, but they have not prevailed against me.
- Jeremiah 29:25–32
this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah,…
- Joshua 1:9
Through
Zechariah 14:10All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the…
it leads to
- Joshua 15:32
Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages.
- Joshua 15:32
Through
Jeremiah 36:26Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 19:1–3
Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
- 1 Kings 19:10
“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am…
- 1 Kings 19:1–3
Where this verse is studied
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About Jeremiah

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 19.
