Jeremiah 26

¹In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiʹakim the son of Josiʹah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord, ²“Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah which come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. ³It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the evil which I intend to do to them because of their evil doings. ⁴You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you, ⁵and to heed the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not heeded, ⁶then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’ ”

⁷The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. ⁸And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! ⁹Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. ¹¹Then the priests and the prophets said to the princes and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

¹²Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. ¹³Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will repent of the evil which he has pronounced against you. ¹⁴But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. ¹⁵Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

¹⁶Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” ¹⁷And certain of the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, ¹⁸“Micah of Moreʹsheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiʹah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

Zion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,

and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’

¹⁹Did Hezekiʹah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, and did not the Lord repent of the evil which he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great evil upon ourselves.”

²⁰There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriʹah the son of Shemaiʹah from Kirʹiath-jeʹarim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. ²¹And when King Jehoiʹakim, with all his warriors and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriʹah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. ²²Then King Jehoiʹakim sent to Egypt certain men, Elnaʹthan the son of Achbor and others with him, ²³and they fetched Uriʹah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiʹakim, who slew him with the sword and cast his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

²⁴But the hand of Ahiʹkam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.