Jeremiah’s Lesson at the Temple
26 This message came from the Lord ·soon after Jehoiakim son of Josiah became [L at the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim] king of Judah [C ruled 605–597 bc]. 2 This is what the Lord said: “Jeremiah, stand in the courtyard of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. ·Give this message [L Say] to all the people of the towns of Judah who are coming to ·worship [bow down] at the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. Tell them everything I tell you to say; don’t leave out a word. 3 Maybe they will listen and ·stop [return/repent from] their evil ways. If they will, I will ·change my mind [relent] about bringing on them the ·disaster [evil; trouble] that I am planning because of the evil they have done. 4 Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord says: You must ·obey [listen to] me and follow my ·teachings [instructions; laws] that I gave you. 5 You must listen to what my servants the prophets [25:4] say to you. I have sent them to you again and again, but you did not ·listen [obey]. 6 If you don’t obey me, I will ·destroy my Temple in Jerusalem as I destroyed my Holy Tent at [L make this house like] Shiloh [7:12–14; 1 Sam. 4:1–22; Ps. 78:60–64]. When I do, ·people all over the world will curse Jerusalem [L I will make this city a curse].’”
7 The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 8 When Jeremiah finished speaking ·everything [L all the words] the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, prophets, and all the people ·grabbed [seized] Jeremiah. They said, “You must die! 9 ·How dare [L Why do…?] you prophesy in the name of the Lord that this ·Temple [L house] will be like the one at Shiloh [C destroyed]! ·How dare [L Why do…?] you say that this city [C Jerusalem] will become a ·desert [ruin] without anyone to live in it!” And all the people ·crowded [assembled] around Jeremiah in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.
10 Now when the officers of Judah heard ·about what was happening [L these things/words], they came out of the king’s ·palace [L house] and went up to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate. 11 Then the priests and prophets said to the officers and all the other people, “·Jeremiah [L This man] ·should be killed [L deserves the death sentence]. He prophesied against this city [C Jerusalem], and you heard him ·yourselves [L with your ears].”
12 Then Jeremiah spoke these words to all the officers of Judah and all the other people: “The Lord sent me to ·say [L prophesy] ·everything [L all these words] you have heard about this ·Temple [L house] and this city. 13 Now ·change [improve; mend] your ·lives and start doing good [L ways and your deeds] and ·obey [L listen to the voice of] the Lord your God. Then he will ·change his mind and not bring on you [relent of] the ·disaster [evil; trouble] he has told you about. 14 As for me, I am in your ·power [L hand]. Do to me what you think is good and right in your eyes. 15 But be sure of one thing. If you kill me, you will be ·guilty of killing an innocent person [L placing innocent blood on yourselves; Ex. 23:7; Deut. 19:10, 13]. ·You will make this city and everyone who lives in it guilty, too [L …and on this city and everyone who lives in it]! The Lord truly sent me to ·you to give you this message [L speak this word in your ears].”
16 Then the officers and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “·Jeremiah must not be killed [L This man does not deserve the death penalty]. ·What he told us comes from [L He has spoken to us in the name of] the Lord our God.”
17 Then some of the elders of the land [C of Judah] stood up and said to all the people, 18 “Micah, from the city of Moresheth [Micah 1:1, 14], was a prophet during the ·time Hezekiah was [L days of Hezekiah] king of Judah. Micah said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says:
·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple] will be plowed like a field.
·It [L Jerusalem] will become a ·pile of rocks [a heap of ruins],
and the ·hill [L mountain] where the ·Temple [L house] stands will be ·covered with bushes [L a forested high place; Mic. 3:12].’
19 “·Hezekiah king of Judah and the people of Judah did not [L Did Hezekiah king of Judah and people of Judah try to…?] kill Micah. ·You know [L Do you not know…?] that Hezekiah feared the Lord [Prov. 1:7] and ·tried to please [sought the favor of] the Lord. So the Lord ·changed his mind [relented] and did not bring on Judah the ·disaster [evil; harm] he had promised. We will bring a terrible ·disaster [evil; harm] on ourselves [C by hurting Jeremiah]!”
20 (Now there was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from the city of Kiriath Jearim. He ·preached [L prophesied] the same things against this city [C Jerusalem] and this land [C Judah] that Jeremiah did. 21 When King Jehoiakim, all his army officers, and all the leaders of Judah heard ·Uriah preach [L his words], King Jehoiakim ·wanted [sought] to kill Uriah. But Uriah heard about it and was afraid. So he escaped to Egypt. 22 Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor and some other men to Egypt, 23 and they brought Uriah back from Egypt. Then they took him to King Jehoiakim, who had Uriah ·killed [L struck] with a sword. His body was thrown into the burial place where ·poor [common] people are buried.)
24 ·Ahikam son of Shaphan supported [L The hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with] Jeremiah [2 Kin. 22:3, 8–10]. So Ahikam did not hand Jeremiah over to be killed by the people.