John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 20:4

"For thus saith Jehovah, 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 to Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword." — Jeremiah 20:4 (ASV)

Here Jeremiah explains in more detail why he said that Pashur would be a terror on every side: specifically because he and his friends would be terrified. For Pashur would find himself overwhelmed by God’s vengeance and would become a spectacle to everyone else.

In short, Jeremiah means that God’s vengeance would be so great that it would fill Pashur and everyone else with fear. Pashur himself would be forced to acknowledge God’s hand without being able to escape, and everyone else would also perceive the same.

He then became a spectacle both to himself and to others because, however hardened he might have been, he could not help but feel God’s vengeance, and this also became apparent to everyone else.

Behold, he says, I will make thee a terror to thyself and to all thy friends; and fall shall they by the sword of their enemies, thine eyes seeing it; and all Judah will I deliver into the hand, etc. He repeats what he had said, for Pashur wished to be considered the patron of the whole land, and especially of the city of Jerusalem.

Since, then, Pashur had taken up the cause of the people, as though he were the patron and defender of them all, Jeremiah says that all the Jews would be taken captive. And not only that, but something more grievous was near.

For when the king of Babylon led them into exile, he would also strike them with the sword—though not all of them. We know that he severely punished the king, his children, and the chief men, so that the common people escaped only because of their obscurity.

Those of this class who did escape owed their survival to their humble condition, because they were not noble or renowned.