Verse Lens · Context pointer
Jeremiah 20:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The prophetic word through Jeremiah supplies a stated reason through “For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy…” at Jeremiah 20:4 in “Pashur Beats Jeremiah and Receives a New Name.”
Read It With
- Jeremiah 20:1–6
Read Jeremiah 20:4 with 20:1–6. By itself, “For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, imperial horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: The temple official confines Jeremiah, who renames him Terror on Every Side and announces Babylonian defeat and death in exile.
Why It Needs Context
Jeremiah 20:1–6 gives Jeremiah 20:4 its literary owner and outcome. The prophetic word through Jeremiah supplies a stated reason through “For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy…” at Jeremiah 20:4 in “Pashur Beats Jeremiah and Receives a New Name.” Application waits until that movement is understood.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Jeremiah 20:1–6 — Pashur Beats Jeremiah and Receives a New NameSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Jeremiah 20:1–6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 20:1–6
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗