Why does Jeremiah hear many whispering “Terror is on every side," and why do all his close friends say “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”?

Jeremiah now complains about his enemies. He hears them whispering: "Terror is on every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” The Hebrew phrase magor-missabi, translated as terror on every side, is the name the Lord gave to Pashhur in Jeremiah 20:3. It is used here to mock Jeremiah, almost as though it is his nickname.¹ It is a reference to Jeremiah’s message of judgment that he has consistently preached, much to the dislike of those who oppose him.

They are speaking words of slander, possibly against both Jeremiah and the Lord. They use the phrase Terror on every side that was spoken of Pashhur (Jeremiah 20:3) and they are seeking to find some sort of accusation against Jeremiah.² The Hebrew word dibba translated as whispering describes speech, whether quiet or loud, that is intended to slander and defame someone.³ The cry to denounce him is probably an attempt to discredit him before the authorities for his message that is seen as anti-Judah. They want to us these accusations to take revenge on him for his preaching. The reference to close friends could either indicate that even those who were supposedly close to him have turned on him (Jeremiah 11:21–23;  Jeremiah 12:6), or Jeremiah may be using it sarcastically to refer to his enemies.⁴ The word overcome is the same word used in Jeremiah 20:7 where it is the Lord who has prevailed over Jeremiah. Jeremiah feels as though he is caught between the Lord and his opponents; both want to have the final say in his life.⁵