Jeremiah 26
26
1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, 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 Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah 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 Hezekiah 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, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. 21And when King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. 22Then King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, Elnathan the son of Achbor and others with him, 23and they fetched Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who slew him with the sword and cast his dead body into the burial place of the common people.
24But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Jeremiah 26
26
Jeremiah’s Lesson at the Temple
1This message came from the Lord. It was during the first year Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah. 2This is what the Lord said: “Jeremiah, stand in the courtyard of the Temple of the Lord. Give this message to all the people of the towns of Judah. They are coming to worship at the Temple of the Lord. Tell them everything I tell you to say. Don’t leave out any part of my message. 3Maybe they will listen and stop their evil ways. I have plans to bring disaster on them because of the evil they have done. But if they change, I will change my mind about bringing disaster on them. 4Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord says: I gave my teachings to you. You must obey me and follow my teachings. 5You must listen to what my servants the prophets say to you. I have sent prophets to you again and again. But you did not listen to them. 6If you don’t obey me, I will destroy my Temple in Jerusalem. I will destroy it as I destroyed my Holy Tent at Shiloh. People all over the world will curse Jerusalem.’”
7The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah. He said all of these words in the Temple of the Lord. 8Jeremiah finished speaking everything the Lord had commanded him to say. Then the priests, prophets and all the people grabbed Jeremiah. They said, “You must die! 9How dare you prophesy such a thing in the name of the Lord! How dare you say that this Temple will be destroyed like the one at Shiloh! How dare you say that Jerusalem will become a desert without anyone to live in it!” All the people crowded around Jeremiah in the Temple of the Lord.
10Now the officers of Judah heard about what was happening. So they came out of the king’s palace and went up to the Temple of the Lord. There they took their places at the entrance of the New Gate. 11Then the priests and prophets spoke to the officers and all the other people. They said, “Jeremiah should be killed. He said bad things about Jerusalem! You heard him say it.”
12Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officers of Judah and all the other people. He said, “The Lord sent me to say these things about this Temple and this city. Everything that you have heard is from the Lord. 13Now change your lives! You must start doing good things. You must obey the Lord your God. If you do that, the Lord will change his mind. He will not bring on you the disaster he has told you about. 14As for me, I am in your power. Do to me what you think is good and right. 15But if you kill me, be sure of one thing. You will be guilty of killing an innocent person. You will make this city and everyone who lives in it guilty, too! The Lord sent me to you. The message you heard is from the Lord!”
16Then the officers and all the people spoke. They said to the priests and the prophets, “Jeremiah must not be killed. What he told us comes from the Lord our God.”
17Then some of the elders stood up. They spoke to all the people. 18They said, “Micah the prophet was from the city of Moresheth. He was a prophet during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah. Micah said these things to all the people of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
Jerusalem will be plowed like a field.
Jerusalem will become a pile of rocks.
The hill where the Temple stands will be covered with bushes.’
19“Hezekiah was the king of Judah. And he did not kill Micah. No one else in Judah killed him. You know that Hezekiah feared the Lord. He wanted to please the Lord. So the Lord changed his mind. He did not bring on Judah the disaster he had promised. If we hurt Jeremiah, we will bring a terrible disaster on ourselves!”
20(Now there was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord. His name was Uriah the son of Shemaiah. Uriah was from the city of Kiriath Jearim. He preached the same things against this city and land that Jeremiah did. 21King Jehoiakim, all his army officers and all the leaders of Judah heard Uriah preach. King Jehoiakim wanted to kill Uriah. But Uriah heard about it and was afraid. So he escaped to Egypt. 22But King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor and some other men to Egypt. 23They brought Uriah back from Egypt. Then they took him to King Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim ordered Uriah to be killed with a sword. His body was thrown into the burial place where poor people are buried.)
24There was an important man named Ahikam son of Shaphan. Ahikam supported Jeremiah. So Ahikam kept Jeremiah from being killed by the people.
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