Jeremiah Chapter 20 Summary - Key Points & Themes

Read Jeremiah Chapter 20 Summary

Pashhur the priest, temple overseer, strikes Jeremiah and puts him in stocks. Released, Jeremiah renames him 'Terror on Every Side,' prophesying his exile to Babylon. Jeremiah then laments: God deceived him; he is mocked daily. He cannot stop speaking God's word—it burns like fire in his bones. Yet he curses the day he was born.

Original

Characters in This Chapter

Jeremiah

The weeping prophet who faithfully proclaimed judgment and hope

Baruch

Jeremiah's secretary who wrote down his prophecies

Benjamin

Youngest Son of Jacob

Judah

Son of Jacob, Ancestor of David and Christ

Places in This Chapter

Jerusalem

City Jeremiah loved and warned, which fell to Babylon

Babylon

Empire that conquered Judah as God's instrument of judgment

Position in Book

Call and Early MinistryChapters 1-6

Conflict and PersecutionChapters 7-29

Temple sermon, symbolic acts, opposition from leaders, false prophets.

Hope and RestorationChapters 30-33

Fall of JerusalemChapters 34-45

Oracles Against NationsChapters 46-51

Historical AppendixChapters 52

Bible Bites

The Longest Book by Word Count

While Psalms has more chapters, Jeremiah is actually the longest book in the Bible by total word count. The weeping prophet's 52 chapters contain approximately 33,000 words in Hebrew, chronicling Judah's final days before exile.

Jeremiah