Jeremiah 20:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Paschor listened. Observe the nature of the accusation: it was the priest who brought charges against both the priest and the prophet. He ought to have been troubled, for he was aware of their moral decay in both speech and action, so that he would not be taken aback by the impending captivity.

Paschor served as a priest within the builders' rank, yet he harbored animosity towards Jeremiah due to the prophet's criticisms directed at his peers. It troubled Paschor that Jeremiah openly taught in the royal city in defiance of the priests who had prohibited such actions. In a similar manner, the priests and high priests of Judah rose in opposition to John, to our Lord, and to His disciples.

And Phasuerus, the son of Emmer, appointed as governor in the Lord's house, encountered Jeremiah proclaiming these words. Phasuerus struck the prophet Jeremiah and confined him to the stocks at the upper gate of Benjamin within the house of the Lord. The Seventy translated Phasurus as Faskor, which conveys the meaning of darkness of countenance, and regarding the stocks, the Seventy and Theodotion rendered it as a lock, while Simmachus used terms indicating torture, such as ϐασανιστήριον or στρεβλωτήριον, implying affliction. However, we have translated it as the stocks according to common usage, mirroring a form of suffering as noted in the Acts of the Apostles, when Paul and Silas were imprisoned (Acts 16).

Upon hearing this message, Paschor, the high priest, not only assaulted the prophet but also imprisoned him. This is recorded in Jeremiah 20:2, which states, "And Paschor struck Jeremiah the Prophet, and cast him into the treasure." This refers to a hidden chamber, of which there were many in the temple constructed by Solomon. The next day, after Jeremiah had been released from his confinement, Paschor once more listened to what Jeremiah had to say.