Jeremiah — Chapter 20
Synopsis: Pashhur the chief priest imprisons Jeremiah; Jeremiah is released and predicts Pashhur's captivity in Babylon. Then Jeremiah's most anguished confession: he curses the day of his birth, complains of being deceived by God, yet cannot stop prophesying. The great paradox: 'The word of the Lord is made a reproach to me, and a derision all the day. And I said, I will not make mention of him... but it became in my heart as a burning fire.'
Verse 7
Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I am deceived: thou art stronger than I, and thou hast prevailed: I am become a laughingstock all the day, all scoff at me. Jeremiah's complaint that God 'deceived' him — used as a proof-text by some against divine reliability. Lapide's careful exegesis: God 'enticed' (Hebrew pathah = persuaded/drew) Jeremiah to the prophetic vocation by revealing only the consoling aspects, not the full weight of persecution; this is not deception but divine pedagogy (luring the free will with sweetness before the full burden is known, as with all vocations).
Verse 9
And I said: I will not make mention of him, and I will speak no more in his name: and there came in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was wearied, not being able to bear it. The irresistible fire of prophetic vocation: Jeremiah cannot suppress it. Lapide: this is the model of all genuine supernatural calling — it cannot be permanently suppressed; the grace of vocation 'becomes as a burning fire.' Applied to the martyrs who tried to deny their faith but found they could not.