Bible Strands
Jeremiah 20:6
And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon, and there you will die and be buried—you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied these lies.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah pronounces this judgment directly to Pashhur and his household during a period of open conflict with Judah’s religious leadership. The declaration follows immediately after a statement that the city’s wealth and royal treasures will be seized and carried off to Babylon.
The words — The Hebrew תֵּלְכ֖וּ (te.le.Khu) literally means "you will go," while בַּ/שֶּׁ֑בִי (ba./She.vi) denotes "in captivity." These terms ground the oracle in a concrete, physical movement toward exile rather than a metaphorical warning.
The thread — This condemnation of false prophecy aligns with Jeremiah 14:14, which identifies prophets speaking lies in God’s name, and Lamentations 2:14, which notes that deceptive visions failed to expose guilt and avert captivity. The pattern of institutional assurances collapsing into Babylonian exile recurs throughout the book.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that religious authority promoting false hope bears direct responsibility for national ruin. It demands a clear-eyed assessment that institutional privilege offers no protection when its leadership substitutes deception for truth.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 14:14 “The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds.
- Lamentations 2:14 The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.
- Jeremiah 20:4 For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. And I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away to Babylon and put them to the sword.
- Ezekiel 22:28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
- Leviticus 26:17 And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.
- Deuteronomy 28:25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Isaiah 9:15 The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.
- Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
- Jeremiah 6:13 “For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
- Jeremiah 8:10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.