Jeremiah 20 · Grade 4
A Burning Fire
Read and Think
Pashhur the priest heard Jeremiah's warnings. He struck Jeremiah and put him in the stocks, a wooden frame that held his feet and hands, at the upper gate of Benjamin. On the next day he released him. Jeremiah calmly told him that Yahweh had called him Magormissabib, which means terror on every side, because of the trouble coming to him and his friends.
Then Jeremiah poured out his heart to God. He said God had persuaded him and was stronger than he. He had become a laughingstock all day. Whenever he spoke, he had to warn of violence and destruction, and people mocked him for it. He decided he would stop speaking God's name.
But he could not. God's word was in his heart like a burning fire shut up in his bones. He was weary with holding it in. Jeremiah said that Yahweh was with him as an awesome mighty one. He sang, Sing to Yahweh! Praise Yahweh, for he has delivered the soul of the needy. Even after this, his sorrow returned, and he wished he had never been born. Faith and sorrow both appear in his honest prayers.
Show What You Know
What were the stocks?
What does Magormissabib mean?
Why couldn't Jeremiah stop speaking?
What did Jeremiah remember about Yahweh?
Word Bank Fill-In
Use the word bank to fill in each blank.
- He struck and put him in the stocks, a wooden frame that held his feet and hands, at the upper gate of Benjamin.
- Then Jeremiah poured out his heart to .
- Jeremiah said that Yahweh was with him as an awesome one.
Think About It
Jeremiah's feelings went up and down in one chapter. How does that encourage people who struggle?
Have you ever felt you had to tell the truth even when it was hard? What happened?
Memory Verse
“If I say that I will not make mention of him, or speak any more in his name, then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am weary with holding it in. I can’t.”
Jeremiah 20:9 (WEB)
Copy It
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for Your word that burns in my heart. Help me . Amen.
Take It Home
For families: talk about these together.
- How can we tell God our feelings?
- What does committing our cause to God mean?
Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org. © 2026 The Daily Rooted. Free to print and copy for church and home use; not for resale. Original line art.