Jeremiah 20:3
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib.
Jeremiah 20:3 belongs to the account of Jeremiah's own persecutions in Judah amid false prophets and the utter repudiation of the law of God and the principles of righteousness, left to show the awful enormity of sin and its sure consequences. From chapter 20 onward the chapters of Jeremiah are not in chronological order. The chronological story of his experiences in Judah after chapter 20 is given by reading in the order 22, 23, 25, 26, 35, 36, 45, 24, 29, 30, 31, 27, 28, 21, 34, 37, 32, 33, 38, placing chapter 20 before chapter 22 and the following chapters.
This rearrangement does not change the chapter's teaching, and the chapter itself generally makes its chronology clear. The verse records what Jeremiah said to the persecuting priest Pashur after Pashur released him from the stocks, that the Lord had given Pashur a new name. His former name, Pashur, meant prosperity everywhere. The new name, Magor-missabib, means fear round about or terror on every side.
The new name revealed Pashur's sinful character and foretold the fear that would surround him in the future. The new name marked a change in his condition. Magor-missabib is a name and sign of judgment, denoting the terror surrounding those who face coming judgment. Here it is linked with the worldwide destruction and fear of the final plagues.
As with Solomon, whose peace ended after he forsook the Lord so that adversaries rose against him from abroad and at home and he faced fear on every side with God against him, the new condition of fear contrasted with the peace associated with his name.