Chapter 20 of Sefer Yirmiyahu is one of the most difficult and intensely personal chapters in the book. After delivering the prophecies of doom in the House of Hashem, the prophet is publicly punished by one of the leading Kohanim, beaten, and placed in the stocks (the "mahpechet") before everyone's eyes. Out of this disgrace and torment, a painful personal cry bursts forth from him toward Heaven. We will follow the order of the pesukim, explaining them according to Rashi, Radak, and the Malbim.
Pashchur Strikes Yirmiyahu
וַיִּשְׁמַע פַּשְׁחוּר בֶּן־אִמֵּר הַכֹּהֵן וְהוּא־פָקִיד נָגִיד בְּבֵית יְהֹוָה אֶת־יִרְמְיָהוּ נִבָּא אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה׃ וַיַּכֶּה פַשְׁחוּר אֵת יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא וַיִּתֵּן אֹתוֹ עַל־הַמַּהְפֶּכֶת אֲשֶׁר בְּשַׁעַר בִּנְיָמִן הָעֶלְיוֹן אֲשֶׁר בְּבֵית יְהֹוָה׃ - Now Pashchur son of Immer the Kohen, who was chief officer in the House of Hashem, heard Yirmiyahu prophesying these words. And Pashchur struck Yirmiyahu the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the Upper Gate of Binyamin, which was in the House of Hashem.
Notice a recurring detail: Yirmiyahu always had trouble specifically with the Kohanim - the Kohanim of Anatot. They were the troublesome ones. Here too, the persecutor is a Kohen: Pashchur son of Immer the Kohen. "An overseer and ruler" (pakid nagid) means the chief officer, who was ruler over all of them. Targum Yonatan translates this as "appointed as the deputy of the Kohanim" (memuneh segan kahanya). That is, we are dealing with a Kohen of very high rank. He hears Yirmiyahu prophesying these things in the House of Hashem, and reacts with physical blows and public punishment.
What is the "mahpechet"? Rashi explains: it is the name of a prison, "kifta" as Targum Yonatan renders it - a "kipah" in the language of Chazal being a vaulted cell where prisoners were confined. According to this, he placed him in the prison chamber. That is one explanation.
Radak brings another explanation in the name of his father: this refers to a type of large pillory or stocks. Anyone who has seen depictions from the Middle Ages recognizes this: the pillory has a large semicircular cutout in the center and two smaller semicircles on the sides, with matching cutouts on the upper beam. They raise the upper beam, insert the person's head into the large semicircle and their two hands into the smaller ones, and then lower the top beam over them and lock it. The person remains with their head in the center and hands on both sides, unable to move their head. Typically, passersby in the street would taunt them, slap them, and mock them. This was a common punishment in the Middle Ages. In some places, there were also stocks for the feet, locking the legs in the same manner. It was thus an extraordinarily humiliating confinement, turning the person into an object of scorn and ridicule for all onlookers.
Some explain that the "mahpechet" refers to an apparatus where they would place a person on their back, tie them to a large wheel, and turn it. The dizziness and violent churning caused severe agony - an excruciating ordeal. According to this, the punishment is called "mahpechet" from the term for overturning and rotating. The Inquisition later refined this cruelty even further by placing boiling water beneath, and as they rotated the victim - there is no need to describe what he endured, may the Merciful One save us. At any rate, this was a form of torture known as mahpechet.
And this mahpechet was located "in the Upper Gate of Binyamin, which was in the House of Hashem." This gate was situated in the territory of Binyamin, as the Beit HaMikdash was divided - part of it stood in the territory of Yehudah, and part in the territory of Binyamin.
"Hashem Has Not Called Your Name Pashchur"
וַיְהִי מִמׇּחֳרָת וַיֹּצֵא פַשְׁחוּר אֶת־יִרְמְיָהוּ מִן־הַמַּהְפָּכֶת וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו יִרְמְיָהוּ לֹא פַשְׁחוּר קָרָא יְהֹוָה שְׁמֶךָ כִּי אִם־מָגוֹר מִסָּבִיב׃ - And it came to pass on the morrow that Pashchur brought Yirmiyahu out of the stocks; and Yirmiyahu said to him: Hashem has not called your name Pashchur, but Magor-Missaviv [Terror All Around].
The next day, Pashchur releases Yirmiyahu from the stocks, whereupon Yirmiyahu gives him a "blessing," in quotation marks: "Hashem has not called your name Pashchur, but Magor-Missaviv." There are several explanations for this, and we will begin with Rashi.
The first explanation in Rashi is that Yirmiyahu expounds his name homiletically. It was not for nothing that your name was called Pashchur - rather, it is like pashach shachor, like a tree that has been broken off (nifshach). What does lifsho'ach mean? To tear a branch away from the trunk where it connects, tearing it out completely so that it leaves an indentation or "knot." That is, Yirmiyahu is hinting at his punishment for what he did to him: you will be torn apart. And what is the meaning of shachor (black)? Rashi does not elaborate. It is very likely connected to "their appearance became darker than blackness" (Eichah 4:8), denoting something dreadful and bleak, as people colloquially say, "his face darkened." Thus: you will be torn apart and your countenance will be darkened - combining both expressions into pashach shachor.
Rashi offers another interpretation: "Pashchur" denotes a great man and a nobleman (ben chorin). Pash in Aramaic means abundant and great, as in nafish, nafishei, and pash gaban l'varurei; and chur refers to an important person, like "the nobles (chorei) of the land" - distinguished, prominent men. Yirmiyahu says to him: Do not think that your name signifies an abundance of greatness and importance; on the contrary, your name signifies ruin, for Hashem will tear you apart (yifshach) and your appearance will be blackened (yushchar).
Rashi brings yet another interpretation: "Pashchur" stands for pash sechor - pash meaning many, and sechor meaning around. That is, there will be many surrounding him on all sides, coming to kill him. According to this, the continuation of the verse, "but rather Magor Missaviv," fits very well. For magor admits of two meanings: one from the root of gathering, as in "he who gathers (oger) in summer" and "gathered (megurei) to the sword"; and the second from the root of dread, which is how Rashi explains it in his first interpretation. According to the meaning of gathering, this matches pash sechor - that those surrounding you will multiply and gather against you to kill you. And the Malbim, as we will see immediately, harmonizes this gathering with dread.
The Malbim explains: "Pashchur" expresses expansion and freedom, joy and success. "Magor" is the exact opposite - gathering together and shrinking back out of fear and siege. For when a person is afraid, he cringes and contracts rather than expands. This is the aspect of magor: contracting out of terror. And magor is also an expression of gathering, as in "he who gathers in summer," meaning the tight encirclement of a siege. Yirmiyahu tells him: Your name expresses expansion and freedom - know that the opposite will happen to you, Magor Missaviv, a withdrawal and tightening in that is the very antithesis of Pashchur.
The Malbim elaborates on this (and he writes similarly in chapter 6, verse 25): Magor refers both to dread and to gathering, and the two facets are fundamentally one. Regarding fear, it does not mean fear alone, but the fact that a person retreats inward, fleeing from inner chamber to inner chamber out of dread. As Chazal expounded on "You shall not dread (lo taguru) any man" - do not hold back your words because of any man, do not bottle up (tagru) your words before any man. Likewise, gur as gathering refers to enemies gathering around and surrounding someone - that is magor missaviv. Therefore, he tells him: You represent expansion and freedom, but it will not be so for you; rather, there will be a shrinking inward that expresses dread.
The Prophecy Regarding Pashchur and Yehudah
כִּי כֹה אָמַר יְהֹוָה הִנְנִי נֹתֶנְךָ לְמָגוֹר לְךָ וּלְכׇל־אֹהֲבֶיךָ וְנָפְלוּ בְּחֶרֶב אֹיְבֵיהֶם וְעֵינֶיךָ רֹאוֹת וְאֶת־כׇּל־יְהוּדָה אֶתֵּן בְּיַד מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל וְהִגְלָם בָּבֶלָה וְהִכָּם בֶּחָרֶב׃ - For thus said Hashem: Behold, I am making you a terror to yourself and to all your loved ones, and they will fall by the sword of their enemies while your eyes behold it; and all of Yehudah I will deliver into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will exile them to Babylon and strike them down with the sword.
"Behold, I am making you a terror (magor)" - according to the meaning of gathering, like "you shall not dread (taguru) any man," which implies holding in or gathering, and like "she gathers (agrah) her bread in the summer." Metzudat David explains: All the military forces will gather against you. And the Malbim explains it in terms of fear: When they hear what happened to you, everyone will dread and be afraid. "And they will fall by the sword" - in the midst of battle. "And all of Yehudah I will deliver into the hand of the king of Babylon" - when they conquer them, and he will either exile them or strike them down with the sword, exiling some and putting others to the sword.
וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־כׇּל־חֹסֶן הָעִיר הַזֹּאת וְאֶת־כׇּל־יְגִיעָהּ וְאֶת־כׇּל־יְקָרָהּ וְאֵת כׇּל־אוֹצְרוֹת מַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה אֶתֵּן בְּיַד אֹיְבֵיהֶם וּבְזָזוּם וּלְקָחוּם וֶהֱבִיאוּם בָּבֶלָה׃ - And I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all its toil, and all its precious things, and all the treasures of the kings of Yehudah I will deliver into the hand of their enemies; and they will plunder them, and seize them, and carry them off to Babylon.
The Malbim breaks the verse down into four types of property and four corresponding expressions. Chosen ("strength") - the fortified structures of the city, such as its fortresses. Yegi'ah ("toil") - the silver, gold, and produce, everything they labored to acquire. Yekarah ("precious things") - valuables, such as precious stones and pearls. Otzrot malchei Yehudah ("treasures of the kings of Yehudah") - the royal treasuries that the kings stored up and amassed throughout all the years of their reigns.
The verse now addresses each of these in turn: Corresponding to chosen, the fortresses, it says: "I will deliver into the hand of their enemies" - the enemies will conquer the strongholds. Corresponding to yegi'ah and yekarah, their silver, gold, and precious gems, it says: "and they will plunder them" - the rank-and-file soldiers, each looting and taking for himself. And corresponding to the royal treasures, it says: "and seize them" - for royal treasures are not taken by ordinary soldiers; rather, they are taken officially for the royal treasury, into the storehouses of the king of Babylon.
The Malbim adds: The word chosen always denotes something strong and enduring, as in "he was as strong (chason) as the oaks." It is also used metaphorically for wealth, because wealth sets a person on his feet and gives him stature and strength, as in "a rich man's wealth is his strong city" - when a person has wealth, he possesses might; he has financial resources and resilience (chosen). It turns out, then, that everything a person relies upon, all of his strength and security, will fall into the hands of the enemy.
וְאַתָּה פַשְׁחוּר וְכֹל יֹשְׁבֵי בֵיתֶךָ תֵּלְכוּ בַּשֶּׁבִי וּבָבֶל תָּבוֹא וְשָׁם תָּמוּת וְשָׁם תִּקָּבֵר אַתָּה וְכׇל־אֹהֲבֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר־נִבֵּאתָ לָהֶם בַּשָּׁקֶר׃ - And you, Pashchur, and all who dwell in your house, will go into captivity; and you will come to Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your loved ones to whom you prophesied falsely.
The Radak asks: earlier it was said of his friends that they would fall by the sword of their enemies, yet here it says that they will be taken captive and buried in Babylon? He resolves this: the intention is that there will be those who flee and escape the sword, and they will go into captivity and die there.
And if they will "die there," what does the word "and there you shall be buried" add? The Radak explains: that you will be buried in an impure land, which is an additional curse. The Malbim explains similarly: do not think that after your death your body will be brought up to the Land of Israel - no, rather "and there you shall be buried," in that impure land shall be your burial place. Seemingly, after a person dies, what difference does it make to him where he is buried? Rather, he is being told: know that there is an added curse here, that not only will you be exiled there, but your burial will also be in an impure land.
The Malbim further adds: what is stated, "you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied falsely," does not mean literally every single one of them, for we know that some remained here and some died. Rather, "all" here means "many," just as it is said, "And all the earth came to Egypt," which means many. Here too: and many of your friends to whom you have prophesied falsely.
The Cry of the Prophet: "You Have Enticed Me, Hashem, and I Was Enticed"
פִּתִּיתַנִי יְהֹוָה וָאֶפָּת חֲזַקְתַּנִי וַתּוּכָל הָיִיתִי לִשְׂחוֹק כׇּל־הַיּוֹם כֻּלֹּה לֹעֵג לִי׃ - You have enticed me, Hashem, and I was enticed; You overpowered me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
The Radak explains: since Pashchur placed him in the stocks, Yirmiyahu now cries out from his pain and sorrow. He says: Master of the Universe, "You have enticed me" - like a person who entices his fellow, for on my own I had no interest in this mission; "and I was enticed" - You persuaded me and I yielded. That is, from the very beginning I did not want to be a prophet.
The Malbim elaborates on this from two angles. The first angle: Yirmiyahu feared he would become an object of ridicule and mockery, as he had argued, "I am but a youth" - who will accept my words? Everyone will laugh at me. And how did I go anyway? "You enticed me" - You said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' for wherever I send you, you shall go." You persuaded me, "and I was enticed" - I was persuaded and went.
The second angle: I feared that even if I were not laughed at, something worse would happen - that they would take me seriously. For when someone is treated as a joke, people dismiss him entirely: "He is just a boy talking nonsense," and no one seeks revenge against him. But once they take me seriously, the words will sting and hurt them, and they will want to silence me - and how? By attempting to kill me; their anger will burn against me. Against this fear, it is said, "You overpowered me and prevailed": You strengthened me and said, "Do not fear them," You gave me strength and assured me that You would protect me; "and prevailed" - You succeeded in convincing me to go.
And now, Yirmiyahu says, "That which I feared has come upon me." First, what I dreaded - that I would be a laughingstock: "I have become a laughingstock all day long." Second, not just a portion of the people, but "everyone mocks me" - the entire populace derides me. The Malbim explains the distinction between laughingstock (*sechok*) and mockery (*la'ag*): mockery is more severe than laughter. Sometimes a person laughs at his fellow without despising him. For example, if someone slips on a banana peel, some find it funny (not to debate their personal taste), but they are not mocking him, merely laughing. But one who despises another mocks him and treats him with derision. Thus, there is an escalation here: "I have become a laughingstock," and even more so, "all day long everyone mocks me" - mockery that carries contempt and disgrace.
כִּי־מִדֵּי אֲדַבֵּר אֶזְעָק חָמָס וָשֹׁד אֶקְרָא כִּי־הָיָה דְבַר־יְהֹוָה לִי לְחֶרְפָּה וּלְקֶלֶס כׇּל־הַיּוֹם׃ - For whenever I speak, I cry out; I proclaim, "Violence and plunder!" For the word of Hashem has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.
And addressing the second concern, his fear that they would harm him: I am not regarded by them as an insane or foolish man whose words are simply ignored. Rather, whenever I speak a prophetic message - whether I cry out against the evils they commit, monetary violence and the like, or proclaim the plunder by which they rob one another - "the word of Hashem has become for me a reproach." They assume I speak all this of my own accord, and therefore they revile me: you wish evil upon us! And as for the harsh prophecies I utter, they claim I invent them out of the malice of my heart, and because of this I am subjected to reproach and derision all day long.
And what is the difference between reproach (*cherpah*) and derision (*keles*)? The Malbim explains: *keles* refers to the mocking remarks by which a person is turned into a laughingstock and the derogatory names attached to him, as in "and they jeered at him" - what did they say? "Go up, baldhead! Go up, baldhead!" They affix a label to him and mock him. Thus, there is more here than mere insults: there is ridicule and derogatory name-calling as well.
Were Yirmiyahu's Words Considered a Sin?
The Radak notes: Pay attention that even though Yirmiyahu says harsh words here - "You have enticed me, Hashem, and I was enticed," "You overpowered me and prevailed," "The word of Hashem has become a reproach to me" - and even though he spoke sharply, this is not counted against Yirmiyahu as a sin. Nor is it considered a disgrace to him as if he spoke disrespectfully toward Hashem, may He be blessed. He was speaking out of personal anguish. His situation was dire, he was suffering, and out of his pain he uttered these words - and further on we will see that he speaks even more sharply.
Therefore, you will see that we do not find here the response seen earlier when he said, "Will You be to me like a deceitful brook?" There, the Radak explained that it was held against Yirmiyahu, for that was a harsh expression and a sin toward Hashem, which is why the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him there, "If you return, then I will restore you" - demanding that he repent for that severe expression. But here we do not see Hashem demanding this of him, because here he is turning to Hashem out of his outcry and grief.
"And It Was in My Heart Like a Burning Fire"
וְאָמַרְתִּי לֹא־אֶזְכְּרֶנּוּ וְלֹא־אֲדַבֵּר עוֹד בִּשְׁמוֹ וְהָיָה בְלִבִּי כְּאֵשׁ בֹּעֶרֶת עָצֻר בְּעַצְמֹתָי וְנִלְאֵיתִי כַּלְכֵל וְלֹא אוּכָל׃ - And I said, "I will not mention Him, nor speak any more in His Name," but it was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I grew weary of enduring it, and I could not.
I said to myself: I will no longer mention His Name nor speak in His Name; I will not prophesy prophecies in Hashem's Name, for I see that it only brings me more disgrace. But "it was in my heart like a burning fire" - the words inside me were like a raging fire that I am forced to release, a fire in my bones that I must discharge with all my might. "I grew weary of holding it in" - I cannot contain and endure the prophecy within me, and I am compelled to bring the words out. Thus, I do not even have the privilege of refusing, for if I try to resist, the words virtually burst forth from me by force.
The Malbim explains the duplicate phrasing: Seeing the terrible plight brought upon me by Hashem's prophecies, I resolved in my heart never to prophesy again. "I will not mention Him" refers to the past: the prophecies and words that Hashem spoke to me until today, which I remember, I will forget and not mention. "Nor speak any more in His Name" refers to the future: if Hashem wishes to send me on a mission, I will refuse and not go.
And corresponding to both comes the answer. Against "I will not mention Him" - I cannot, for all the words transmitted to me until today are in my heart like a burning fire. And against "Nor speak any more in His Name" regarding the future - "and I grew weary of holding it in, and I could not": I cannot contain the words; "I could not" is from the language of weariness, I grew faint and exhausted, and I lack the strength to keep the prophecy inside me even for a short time. And "contain" (kalkel), as the Radak explains, is an expression of endurance - I cannot bear this burden upon myself, and the moment I receive a prophecy, I immediately feel the urge and the need to go and deliver it.
Grammar: "A Burning Fire... Shut Up"
The Radak notes: The verse says, "ke'esh bo'eret atzur be'atzmotai" ("like a fire, burning [fem.] shut up [masc.] in my bones") - bo'eret is feminine, while atzur is masculine. Is fire feminine (bo'eret) or is fire masculine (atzur)? The Radak says: Do not be surprised, for "fire" (esh) is found in both masculine and feminine forms. "For a fire went out of Cheshbon" is feminine, while in another verse it is masculine. And even within the very same verse: "A fire not blown shall consume him" (te'okhlehu esh lo nupach) - te'okhlehu is feminine, whereas lo nupach (and not lo nupechah) is masculine. Thus, masculine and feminine appear together in the exact same verse.
There are other words like this as well, such as "wind" or "spirit" (ru'ach, used both as feminine and masculine), "well" (be'er), and others. Indeed, the Ibn Ezra formulated a rule, stating: Anything that does not possess the spirit of life - treat it as masculine and treat it as feminine. That is, an inanimate object, which is neither human nor animal, can be referred to in either masculine or feminine terms. In practice, we do not follow this in conversational Hebrew, for we maintain strict gender distinctions for most things, and no one would say "hashulchan gedolah" (the table is big, using a feminine adjective) even though it lacks life. But the meaning of this rule is that when you see the verses not adhering to a single grammatical gender, do not question it, for this is the way of the biblical verses.
In summary: Pashchur the kohen, the deputy high priest and chief officer in the House of Hashem, strikes Yirmiyahu and puts him in the stocks - a punishment of public disgrace and torment. The next day, Yirmiyahu responds to him by expounding his name: your name expresses expansion, greatness, and nobility, yet Hashem has called your name "Magor MiSaviv" (Terror All Around) - cowering in fear and the gathering of enemies around you. Then comes the prophecy: you, your loved ones, and all of Yehudah will fall into the hands of the king of Babylon; the city's strength, its labor, its precious things, and the treasures of the kings will be given to the enemy - this conquered, this plundered, and this taken into the royal treasury; and you will go into exile to Babylon, where you will die and where you will be buried in an unclean land. From this point onward, the prophet's personal outcry erupts: "You have enticed me, Hashem, and I was enticed" - both of my fears came true, the mockery and derision as well as the reproach and scorn. And although I resolved in my heart to forget the past prophecies and refuse future ones, I cannot: the words are in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I grew weary of bearing this burden within me.