The Leaders Threaten to Kill Jeremiah
Jeremiah 26In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from YHWH: “YHWH says: ‘Stand in the court of the house of YHWH, and speak to all the cities of Judah which come to worship in the house of YHWH, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Don’t omit a word. It may be they will listen, and every man turn from his evil way, that I may relent from the evil which I intend to do to them because of the evil of their doings.’” You are to tell them, “YHWH says: ‘If y’all will not listen to me and walk in my law which I have set before y’all, and listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to y’all, again and again—but y’all have not listened— then I will make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.’”
The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of YHWH. When Jeremiah had finished speaking all that YHWH had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die-die! Why have you prophesied in the name of YHWH, saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be desolate, without inhabitant?’” All the people were crowded around Jeremiah in the house of YHWH.
When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of YHWH, and they sat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of YHWH. Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “This man is worthy of death, for he has prophesied against this city, as y’all have heard with your* own ears.”
Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying, “YHWH sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that y’all have heard. Now y’all must reform your* ways and your* deeds, and obey the voice of YHWH y’all’s God. Then YHWH will relent from the disaster ʜᴇ has pronounced against y’all. But as for me, look around, I am in y’all’s hand. Y’all can do with me what is good and right in your* eyes. But know y’all must know-know that if y’all put me to death, y’all will bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city, and on its inhabitants. For in truth YHWH has sent me to y’all to speak all these words in y’all’s ears.”
Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets: “This man is not worthy of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of YHWH our God.”
Then certain of the elders of the land rose up, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, “Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘YHWH Almighty says:
“‘Zion will be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.’Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear YHWH, and entreat the favor of YHWH, and YHWH relented from the disaster that ʜᴇ had pronounced against them? But we are committing great disaster on own souls!”
There was also a man who prophesied in the name of YHWH, 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. When Jehoiakim the king, with all his warriors and all the officers heard his words, the king tried to put him to death. But when Uriah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt. Then Jehoiakim the king sent Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him into Egypt. They fetched Uriah out of Egypt and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.
But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they didn’t give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.