What Does Jeremiah 20:1 Mean in the King James?

Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.
Jeremiah 20:1 · KJV
The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

Prophecy reaches the official charged with the LORD’s house, but being heard by authority does not yet mean being received.

The message reaches the person carrying oversight within the LORD’s house. In you, hearing marks the instant a truth comes into awareness; contact alone does not make it welcome.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

Hearing a truth means you have already accepted it; this verse separates exposure from response.

וַיִּשְׁמַע

wayyishmaʿ

GROWS FROM

שמע

Hear, listen, heed, or respond.

“heard” in this verse is wayyishmaʿ. The root ⁨שמע⁩ holds hearing close to attending and responding, though this form names the act of hearing. The next verse shows the gap between hearing the prophetic word and receiving it.

ALSO GROWS

shema: Hear and respond.

שְׁמַע

This branch makes audible the response carried within the Hebrew language of hearing.

shemuʿah: A report or news, something heard.

שְׁמוּעָה

The report that Jeremiah prophesied is itself something received by hearing.

פָּקִיד

paqīd

GROWS FROM

פקד

Attend to, appoint, visit, or take account.

“chief governor” in this verse is paqīd. The official’s title grows from a root of attending to and taking account. His role in the LORD’s house carries responsibility as well as rank, placing the prophetic word before someone charged with its oversight.

ALSO GROWS

paqad: Attend to, appoint, visit, or take account.

פָּקַד

The root links his office to attending to what has been entrusted to him.

pequddah: Oversight, charge, or appointed responsibility.

פְּקֻדָּה

This branch brings out the weight of the responsibility held by an official in the LORD’s house.

Hearing places a word before someone, but its arrival does not determine whether it is welcomed or resisted.

And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
1 Samuel 3:10 · KJVSamuel’s hearing becomes a response: he is ready to receive the word.
And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
Ezekiel 2:5 · KJVThe word reaches its hearers even while their response remains uncertain.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22 · KJVHearing alone does not complete the movement from word to response.
Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
Jeremiah 20:2 · KJV

The next verse shows what follows Pashur’s hearing: he strikes Jeremiah and puts him in the stocks. The sequence makes the distinction plain, hearing brings the word near, but does not mean it has been welcomed.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us

Jeremiah 20:1 KJV Meaning