John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 20:6

"And thou, Pashhur, and all that dwell in thy house shall go into captivity; and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and there shalt thou be buried, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied falsely." — Jeremiah 20:6 (ASV)

Now Jeremiah declares that Pashur himself would be a proof that he had truly foretold the destruction of the city and the desolation of the whole land. He had indeed before exposed his vanity; but he now brings the man himself before the public, for it was necessary to exhibit a remarkable instance, so that all might know that God’s judgment ought to have been dreaded.

Though that impostor flattered the people, yet Jeremiah says that he and all his household would be led into captivity; that is, that the whole family would be, as it were, a spectacle, so that all the Jews might see that Pashur would be brought to nothing. “Let all the Jews then know,” he seems to have said, “that he is a false prophet.”

But what follows might have raised a question; for Jeremiah declares as a punishment that Pashur, dying in Babylon, would be buried there. But he had said before, “I will give their carcasses for meat to the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the earth;” and now it is not consistent for the Prophet to represent that as a punishment which is reckoned as one of God’s favors.

In answer to this, let it be especially noted that God does not always punish the ungodly alike, or in the same way.

He would have some to be cast away unburied, as they were unworthy of that common lot of humanity. But He would have others buried, though for a different purpose, for there is weight in the particle there, as Babylon is contrasted with the holy land.

Whoever was buried in the land of Canaan had, even in their death, a pledge of the eternal inheritance. For, as is well known, God wished them while they lived so to enjoy the land that they might look forward to heaven.

Hence, burial in the land of Canaan was, as it were, a visible mark or symbol of God’s adoption, as though all the children of Abraham were gathered into His bosom until they arose into a blessed and immortal life.

Therefore, Pashur, by being buried in Babylon, became an outcast from God’s Church. For it was, in a manner, a repudiation, as though God would thus openly place on him a mark of infamy.

If it is objected and said that the same thing happened to Daniel, and to some of the best servants of God, and that Jeremiah himself was buried in Egypt, which was far worse, the answer we give is this: that temporal punishments which happen to the elect and God’s children for their good do, in a manner, change their nature for them. Though, indeed, it must be held that all punishments are evidences of the wrath and curse of God.

Whatever evils then happen to us in this life ought to be regarded as the fruits of sin, as though God thereby showed Himself openly to be displeased with us. This is one thing. Then, when poverty, famine, diseases, exile, and even death itself are viewed in themselves, we must always say that they are the curses of God—that is, when they are regarded, as I have said, in their own nature.

But God consecrates these punishments for His own children, so that they turn to their benefit and thereby cease to be curses. Whenever then God declares, “You shall be unburied,” it is no wonder that this dishonor should be deemed an evidence of His wrath and a proof of His curse. And further, whenever He formerly said this, “You shall be buried out of the holy land,” it was also an evidence of His curse, that is, with regard to the reprobate. At the same time, God turned to good whatever might otherwise be a curse to His elect; and hence Paul says that all things turn out for good and benefit to the faithful, who love God (Romans 8:28).

Now, then, we understand why the Prophet says that Pashur would be buried in Babylon; nor is there a doubt that there was more disgrace in that burial than if his body were cast out and devoured by wild beasts. For God intended to make him conspicuous, so that all might for a long time turn their eyes to him, according to what is said in Psalm 59:12:

“Slay them not, O God, for Your people may forget them.”

God then intended that the life and death of Pashur should be a memorial, so that the minds of the people might be more impressed. At the same time, if the word burial were taken in a wider sense, there would be nothing wrong, as though it were said, “There shall his carcass lie until it becomes putrefied.”

Then Jeremiah adds, “You and your friends to whom you have prophesied falsely.” This passage teaches us that a just reward is given to the ungodly who wish to be deceived, when they sustain a twofold judgment from God.

Behold, then, what all the wicked who seek flatterers that promise them wonderful things gain for themselves! They thus earn for themselves a heavier vengeance.

The more they strive to put God’s judgment far off, the more, no doubt, they increase and inflame it.

This is the reason why the Prophet denounces a special judgment on the friends of Pashur, to whom he had prophesied. They had willfully laid hold of those false promises by which he had flattered them, so that they boldly despised God.

Since, then, they wished of their own accord to be thus deceived, it was right that these deceptions—through which they slandered the prophetic threatenings and which they usually set up as a shield against them—should bring on them a heavier punishment.