· Translation: KJV

Jeremiah 20:1Now Pashhur, the son of Immer the priest, who was chief officer in the house of Yahweh, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things.

The setting

Jerusalem temple, ~605 BC. Pashhur, chief temple security officer, hears Jeremiah's message and realizes this threatens the religious establishment's power in modern-day Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Israel.

The emotion here: documenting with growing dread what happened next

The original word

paqid (פָּקִיד) — chief officer, overseer with authority to arrest and punish

Why it matters

Pashhur had the authority to have people beaten with 39 lashes and put in stocks

Read with care

What most readers miss in Jeremiah 20:1

Pashhur wasn't upset about theology — he was protecting his job and the temple's income from religious corruption

Common misconceptionPeople assume Pashhur was defending God's honor, but he was actually defending a corrupt religious system that God wanted to tear down.

Bible Genome reading

Jeremiah 20:1 — Bible Genome reading

Speakernarrator
EraDivided Kingdom
Primary emotionanxious
Literary typenarrative

Emotional genome

Comfort power20%
Quotability40%
Memorability60%
Crisis relevance70%
Standalone60%
Themes:opposition to truthreligious persecution

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Jeremiah 20

Jeremiah 20:1 comes from the book of Jeremiah, written during the Divided Kingdom period. The setting is the Temple. These words are attributed to narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is reflective. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include opposition to truth, religious persecution. Notable phrases: Pashhur heard Jeremiah prophesying.

Your reflection

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