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Jeremiah 26

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Jeremiah's Temple Sermon 1–6

1
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from Jehovah, saying, ​
2
Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the court of Jehovah’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in Jehovah’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word. ​
3
It may be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way; that I may repent me of the evil which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. ​
4
And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
5
to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send unto you, even rising up early and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
6
then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. ​

The Demand for Jeremiah's Death 7–9

7
And the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Jehovah. ​
8
And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that Jehovah had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. ​
9
Why hast thou prophesied in the name of Jehovah, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant? And all the people were gathered unto Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah.

Jeremiah's Defense Before the Court 10–15

10
And when the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house unto the house of Jehovah; and they sat in the entry of the new gate of Jehovah’s house. ​
11
Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy of death; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
12
Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, Jehovah sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. ​
13
Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of Jehovah your God; and Jehovah will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.
14
But as for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as is good and right in your eyes.
15
Only know ye for certain that, if ye put me to death, ye will bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof; for of a truth Jehovah hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. ​

The Verdict and Historical Precedent 16–19

16
Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets: This man is not worthy of death; for he hath spoken to us in the name of Jehovah our God. ​
17
Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
18
Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. ​
19
Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? did he not fear Jehovah, and entreat the favor of Jehovah, and Jehovah repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus should we commit great evil against our own souls. ​

The Execution of Urijah 20–24

20
And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of Jehovah, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah. ​
21
And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt.
22
And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt;
23
and they fetched forth Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king, who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. ​
24
But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 26

Verse 1

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim — The date is his accession, when Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim king and 'turned his name to Jehoiakim' (2 Chr 36:4). The same dating opens ch.27 (Jer 27:1). The Shiloh warning given here (v.6) is the one set out in Jer 7:12–14.

Verse 2

diminish not a word — Gara' means to scrape off or withhold, the verb of Moses' charge, 'neither shall ye diminish ought from it' (Deut 4:2). The message is to be spoken in the court of the LORD'S house to people from 'all the cities of Judah' who 'come to worship', and none of it is to be softened.

Verse 3

I may repent me of the evil — Nacham, to relent, is the LORD's own word for turning from announced judgment, as stated in Jer 18:7–8: if the nation 'turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.' The condition is to 'hearken' and turn 'every man from his evil way'.

Verse 6

like Shiloh — Shiloh was the place 'where I set my name at the first' (Jer 7:12), and its tabernacle was forsaken (Ps 78:60). The temple is told it will share that fate. The city becomes 'a curse to all the nations of the earth'; Jer 7:14 speaks of 'this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust'.

Verse 7

the priests and the prophets and all the people — The three groups named here are the same that seize him in v.8; in v.11 the priests and the prophets bring the charge of death to the princes and all the people. Jeremiah had already said of them, 'The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so' (Jer 5:31).

Verse 8

Thou shalt surely die — The Hebrew doubles the verb muth, die, so that it is a sentence and not a threat. The law of Deut 18:20 set death for a prophet who spoke in the LORD'S name what he had 'not commanded'. Here the LORD had commanded every word, and Jeremiah had 'made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him'.

Verse 10

the princes of Judah — Royal officials who came up 'from the king's house' and sat 'in the entry of the new gate of the LORD'S house', the gate by which Baruch later read Jeremiah's scroll 'in the ears of all the people' (Jer 36:10). With their arrival the matter goes before the state's officers, who clear him in v.16.

Verse 12

The LORD sent me — Jeremiah's whole defence is his commission, and he withdraws nothing: 'all the words that ye have heard' keeps the order of v.2, 'diminish not a word'. The apostles answered their council the same way: 'We ought to obey God rather than men' (Acts 5:29).

Verse 15

innocent blood — Naqi is clean, free from guilt. Blood shed without cause 'defileth the land' (Num 35:33), and the LORD had forbidden shedding it 'in this place' (Jer 22:3). Jeremiah warns that killing him would bring it 'upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof'.

Verse 16

not worthy to die — The princes and people answer the priests and prophets in the same words as v.11, 'worthy to die', with a reason: 'he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.' 'Worthy' is mishpat, a judicial verdict; the court finds no ground for a sentence of death.

Verse 18

Micah the Morasthite — The elders cite a precedent from Mic 3:12: 'Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.' Micah's book dates him to Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (Mic 1:1); the elders name Hezekiah.

Verse 19

besought the LORD — Hezekiah answered Micah's word with fear and prayer, not execution; the idiom is to entreat the LORD'S face (chalah with panim). Then 'the LORD repented him of the evil', as he had when Moses prayed (Ex 32:14). That is the pattern of v.3, and the elders warn that killing Jeremiah brings 'great evil against our souls'.

Verse 20

Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim — A second prophet who spoke 'according to all the words of Jeremiah'. Kirjathjearim is the town where the ark 'abode' twenty years (1 Sam 7:2). Urijah is named in Jeremiah only here; his fate (vv.21–23) shows what Jeremiah risked.

Verse 23

the graves of the common people — Brought back from Egypt, Urijah was slain 'with the sword' by Jehoiakim and his body cast among the graves of 'the sons of the people', as the Hebrew has it. The killing of a prophet in Jerusalem is the charge of Matt 23:34–35: 'some of them ye shall kill and crucify'.

Verse 24

Ahikam the son of Shaphan — The royal officer, one of those sent to Huldah the prophetess in Josiah's reign (2 Kgs 22:12–14), stood by Jeremiah so that he was not given 'into the hand of the people'. His son Gedaliah, whom Babylon made governor, later sheltered the prophet at Mizpah (Jer 40:5–6).