Jeremiah’s Lesson at the Temple

26 This message came from the Lord ·soon after Jehoiakim son of Josiah became [^Lat the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim] king of Judah [^Cruled 605–597 bc]. ² This is what the Lord said: “Jeremiah, stand in the courtyard of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. ·Give this message [^LSay] to all the people of the towns of Judah who are coming to ·worship [bow down] at the ·Temple [^Lhouse] 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 [^Lmake 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 [^LI will make this city a curse].’”

⁷ The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. ⁸ When Jeremiah finished speaking ·everything [^Lall 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 [^LWhy do…?] you prophesy in the name of the Lord that this ·Temple [^Lhouse] will be like the one at Shiloh [^Cdestroyed]! ·How dare [^LWhy do…?] you say that this city [^CJerusalem] will become a ·desert [ruin] without anyone to live in it!” And all the people ·crowded [assembled] around Jeremiah in the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord.

¹⁰ Now when the officers of Judah heard ·about what was happening [^Lthese things/words], they came out of the king’s ·palace [^Lhouse] and went up to the ·Temple [^Lhouse] 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 [^LThis man] ·should be killed [^Ldeserves the death sentence]. He prophesied against this city [^CJerusalem], and you heard him ·yourselves [^Lwith 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 [^Lprophesy] ·everything [^Lall these words] you have heard about this ·Temple [^Lhouse] and this city. ¹³ Now ·change [improve; mend] your ·lives and start doing good [^Lways and your deeds] and ·obey [^Llisten 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 [^Lhand]. 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 [^Lplacing 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 [^Lspeak 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 [^LThis man does not deserve the death penalty]. ·What he told us comes from [^LHe has spoken to us in the name of] the Lord our God.”

¹⁷ Then some of the elders of the land [^Cof 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 [^Ldays 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; ^Tof hosts] says:

¹⁹ “·Hezekiah king of Judah and the people of Judah did not [^LDid Hezekiah king of Judah and people of Judah try to…?] kill Micah. ·You know [^LDo 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 [^Cby 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 [^Lprophesied] the same things against this city [^CJerusalem] and this land [^CJudah] that Jeremiah did. ²¹ When King Jehoiakim, all his army officers, and all the leaders of Judah heard ·Uriah preach [^Lhis 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 [^Lstruck] with a sword. His body was thrown into the burial place where ·poor [common] people are buried.)

²⁴ ·Ahikam son of Shaphan supported [^LThe 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.