Jeremiah 26:7-19
The Voice
7 The priests and the so-called prophets and the crowds heard the message Jeremiah delivered in the temple of the Eternal. 8 As soon as Jeremiah finished saying all the Eternal directed him to say, the priests, the prophets, and those who stopped to listen grabbed him and began to shout.
Temple Audience: You deserve to die! 9 Why have you uttered such prophecies in the name of the Eternal declaring that this temple will be destroyed like Shiloh and Jerusalem will be empty and lifeless?
Jeremiah has a lot of nerve. To speak against Jerusalem and the temple—God’s holy place on earth—is tantamount to blasphemy, and blasphemers deserve death.
At this point, a large mob of people gathered around Jeremiah in the Eternal’s temple.
10 When some officials of Judah heard what was happening, they left the palace and hurried to take their seats at the entryway of the new gate leading to the Eternal’s temple. 11 The priests and so-called prophets brought charges against Jeremiah to these officials as the crowd looked on.
Priests and Prophets: This man should be sentenced to death! You heard with your own ears how he prophesied against our city.
Jeremiah (to the officials and the crowd): 12 The Eternal sent me to prophesy against the temple and this city—every word you heard came from Him. 13 If you stop your evil actions and obey the Eternal your God, then He will stop the impending disaster He has planned for you. 14 As for me, my fate is in your hands. Do with me what you think is right and fair. 15 But know this: if you execute me, innocent blood will be on your hands and on this city and on all who live here, because the Eternal truly did send me to speak each and every word you heard.
Officials and the Crowd (to the priests and prophets): 16 This man should not be sentenced to death because he has spoken to us in the name of the Eternal our God.
17 At this point, some of the elders, who were leaders of other communities, stood and supported the verdict, speaking to the entire crowd.
Elders: 18 Remember the prophet Micah of Moresheth in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah. It was he who said to the people of Judah, “This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has to say:
Zion will be plowed under like a field,
Jerusalem will be left in ruins,
And the hill on which the temple stands
will be overgrown like a forest.”[a]
19 As difficult as those words were to hear, did King Hezekiah or anyone else in Judah demand Micah’s death? No, he humbly worshiped the Eternal and asked for mercy, and what happened then? The Eternal stopped the impending disaster he had planned for them and turned back the Assyrian army. Now it is our turn to listen to the prophet of God, but instead, we are about to bring this terrible disaster upon ourselves by ignoring Him again!
Footnotes
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
