John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 20:10

"For I have heard the defaming of many, terror on every side. Denounce, and we will denounce him, [say] all my familiar friends, they that watch for my fall; peradventure he will be persuaded, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him." — Jeremiah 20:10 (ASV)

Jeremiah proceeds with the same subject and, before God, accuses his enemies of disgracefully contending with him, though he deserved no such treatment, for he had endeavored, as far as he could, to secure their safety. He then says that he had heard the slander of many, or as it may be rendered, of the great. However, the former rendering is more suitable, because it immediately follows that there was terror on every side, as though all assailed him with one accord.

Consequently, he says he was surrounded with terror on every side, because he saw that everyone was opposed and hostile to him, and that he stood alone. He also says that his enemies lay in wait for him and sought opportunities to destroy him.

You report, and we will report to him. Here he speaks from their perspective and relates what they conspired to do. He, no doubt, presents the chief men and the priests here as the speakers, who were devising means to form an accusation against the holy man. For we know what is commonly done in conspiracies of this kind: worthless men run here and there and hunt for every little thing; then they bring their report, and from this the accusation is formed.

As, then, it did not befit the dignity of the chief men and of the priests to run here and there and to inquire from anyone they might meet what Jeremiah had said, they sat still and sent others, saying, “Go and report to us, and we shall then report to the king.” For the word “king” must be understood here, as the pronoun “him” is used without an antecedent. Come then and report, and we will report to him. We now perceive what Jeremiah complained of: not only that he had many enemies who slandered him, but also that he had those who wished to entrap him insidiously.

And he adds what was still worse: that he was thus unjustly treated, not only by strangers or those who were openly his enemies, but by his own friends or relations. For the Hebrews called household members and those connected by relationship men of peace;

“the man of my peace, in whom I trusted,”

is an expression used in Psalm 41:9, but it is a phrase that often occurs. In short, Jeremiah means that he was not only, in a way, overwhelmed by a vast number of enemies, but he was also without any friends, for they treacherously betrayed him. He says that they watched his side, or his halting. Some render “halting” as “breaking,” but “halting” or “debility” is more suitable. The metaphor is most appropriate: it is taken from the side, and those who halt or totter due to weakness lean first to one side, then to the other. So Jeremiah says that they watched him; if by chance he goes astray, he again speaks in their name: “Let us then watch whether he will halt or go astray from the path; and then we shall prevail against him.”

In short, we may gather from these words that this holy servant of God was not only harassed openly by declared enemies but was also insidiously watched, and perfidiously too, by men who pretended to be his friends, even though they were his worst enemies. If, then, deceitful men today assail us by secret means, and others oppose us openly, let us know that nothing new has happened to us, for God tested Jeremiah in these two ways.

We also see that it was common for the ungodly to seize upon some pretext for slander. As soon as the Prophets opened their mouths, they could say nothing that was not immediately misrepresented. Hence, Micah complained that he was assailed by a similar scheme; for when he spoke with severity, they all cried out that he was causing a disturbance among the people and sought nothing but new things, so that by disrupting the order of the city and kingdom, he would bring everything to ruin (Micah 2:6). If, then, God allows us to be tested by such intrigues, let us bear such indignity with calm and resigned minds, for no Prophet has been exempt from this kind of trouble and annoyance.

They said further, Let us take our revenge on him, as if they actually had a reason for revenge! For what had Jeremiah done? In what had he offended them? Though they had suffered no wrong, they still wanted to take revenge! But it is no wonder that the ungodly and the despisers of God spoke this way. For we know that they considered themselves severely injured whenever their faults were exposed; for they regarded reproofs, however just and necessary, as reproaches. Thus, their rage kindled in them a desire for revenge, even though no wrong had been done to them. He afterwards adds: