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Jeremiah 7
New English Translation

Faulty Religion and Unethical Behavior Will Lead to Judgment

7 The Lord said to Jeremiah:[a] 2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim[b] this message: ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord.[c] 3 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[d] says: Change the way you have been living and do what is right.[e] If you do, I will allow you to continue to live in this land.[f] 4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says,[g] “We are safe![h] The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!”[i] 5 You must change[j] the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly.[k] 6 Stop oppressing resident foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands.[l] Stop killing innocent people[m] in this land. Stop paying allegiance to[n] other gods. That will only bring about your ruin.[o] 7 If you stop doing these things,[p] I will allow you to continue to live in this land[q] that I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession.[r]

8 “‘But just look at you![s] You are putting your confidence in a false belief[t] that will not deliver you.[u] 9 You steal.[v] You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to[w] other gods whom you have not previously known. 10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own[x] and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins![y] 11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own[z] is to be a hideout for robbers?[aa] You had better take note![ab] I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord. 12 So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped[ac] in the early days. See what I did to it[ad] because of the wicked things my people Israel did. 13 You also have done all these things, says the Lord, and I have spoken to you over and over again.[ae] But you have not listened! You have refused to respond when I called you to repent![af] 14 So I will destroy this temple that I have claimed as my own,[ag] this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors,[ah] just like I destroyed Shiloh.[ai] 15 And I will drive you out of my sight just like I drove out your relatives, the people of Israel.’[aj]

16 “But as for you, Jeremiah,[ak] do not pray for these people. Do not raise a cry of prayer[al] for them! Do not plead with me to save them,[am] because I will not listen to you. 17 Do you see[an] what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 Children are gathering firewood, fathers are building fires with it, and women are mixing dough to bake cakes to offer to the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven.[ao] They are also pouring out drink offerings to other gods. They seem to do all this just[ap] to trouble me. 19 But I am not really the one being troubled![aq] says the Lord. Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame![ar] 20 So, the Sovereign Lord[as] says, my raging fury will be poured out on this land.[at] It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops.[au] And it will burn like a fire that cannot be extinguished.

21 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[av] says to the people of Judah:[aw] ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too![ax] 22 Consider this:[ay] When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 I also explicitly commanded them:[az] “Obey me. If you do, I[ba] will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you[bb] and things will go well with you.” 24 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better.[bc] 25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now,[bd] I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again,[be] day after day.[bf] 26 But your ancestors[bg] did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate[bh] and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”

27 Then the Lord said to me,[bi] “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not respond to you. 28 So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore.[bj] 29 So mourn,[bk] you people of this nation.[bl] Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject[bm] and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’”[bn]

30 The Lord says, “I have rejected them because[bo] the people of Judah have done what I consider evil.[bp] They have set up their disgusting idols in the temple[bq] that I have claimed for my own[br] and have defiled it. 31 They have also built places of worship[bs] in a place called Topheth[bt] in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire. That is something I never commanded them to do! Indeed, it never even entered my mind to command such a thing![bu] 32 So, watch out!”[bv] says the Lord. “The time will soon come when people will no longer call those places Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom. But they will call that valley[bw] the Valley of Slaughter, and they will bury so many people in Topheth they will run out of room.[bx] 33 Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals to eat.[by] There will not be any survivors to scare them away. 34 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness or the glad celebration of brides and grooms throughout the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. For the whole land will become a desolate wasteland.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 7:1 tn Heb “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord.”
  2. Jeremiah 7:2 tn Heb “Proclaim there…” The adverb is unnecessary in English style.
  3. Jeremiah 7:2 sn That is, all those who have passed through the gates of the outer court and are standing in the courtyard of the temple.
  4. Jeremiah 7:3 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.” sn Compare the use of similar titles in 2:19; 5:14; 6:6 and see the explanation in the study note at 2:19. In this instance the title appears to emphasize the Lord as the heavenly King who drags his disobedient vassals into court (and threatens them with judgment).
  5. Jeremiah 7:3 tn Or “Make good your ways and your actions.” J. Bright’s translation (“Reform the whole pattern of your conduct”; Jeremiah [AB], 52) is excellent.
  6. Jeremiah 7:3 tn Heb “place.” But this might be misunderstood to refer to the temple.
  7. Jeremiah 7:4 tn Heb “Stop trusting in lying words which say.”
  8. Jeremiah 7:4 tn The words “We are safe!” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  9. Jeremiah 7:4 tn Heb “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these (i.e., these buildings).” Elsewhere triple repetition seems to mark a kind of emphasis (cf. Isa 6:3; Jer 22:29; Ezek 21:27 [32 HT]). The triple repetition that follows seems to be Jeremiah’s way of mocking the (false) sense of security that people had in the invincibility of Jerusalem because God dwelt in the temple. They appeared to be treating the temple as some kind of magical charm. A similar feeling had grown up around the ark in the time of the judges (cf. 1 Sam 3:3) and the temple and city of Jerusalem in Micah’s day (cf. Mic 3:11). It is reflected also in some of the Psalms (cf., e.g., Ps 46, especially v. 5).
  10. Jeremiah 7:5 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
  11. Jeremiah 7:5 tn Heb “you must do justice between a person and his fellow/neighbor.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
  12. Jeremiah 7:6 tn Heb “Stop oppressing resident foreigner, orphan, and widow.”sn Cf. Exod 22:21; Lev 19:33-34; Deut 10:18-19; 24:14, 17; 27:19.
  13. Jeremiah 7:6 tn Heb “Stop shedding innocent blood.”
  14. Jeremiah 7:6 tn Heb “going/following after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
  15. Jeremiah 7:6 tn Heb “going after other gods to your ruin.”
  16. Jeremiah 7:7 tn The translation uses imperatives in vv. 5-6 followed by the phrase “If you do all this” to avoid the long and complex sentence structure of the Hebrew sentence, which has a series of conditional clauses in vv. 5-6 followed by a main clause in v. 7.
  17. Jeremiah 7:7 tn Heb “live in this place, in this land.”
  18. Jeremiah 7:7 tn Heb “gave to your fathers [with reference to] from ancient times even unto forever.”
  19. Jeremiah 7:8 tn Heb “Behold!”
  20. Jeremiah 7:8 tn Heb “You are trusting in lying words.” See the similar phrase in v. 4 and the note there.
  21. Jeremiah 7:8 tn Heb “not profit [you].”
  22. Jeremiah 7:9 tn Heb “Will you steal…then say, ‘We are safe’?” Verses 9-10 are one long sentence in the Hebrew text.
  23. Jeremiah 7:9 tn Heb “You go/follow after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for an explanation of the idiom involved here.
  24. Jeremiah 7:10 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom cf. BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and see the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
  25. Jeremiah 7:10 tn Or “‘We are safe!’—safe, you think, to go on doing all those hateful things.” Verses 9-10 are all one long sentence in the Hebrew text. It has been broken up for English stylistic reasons. Somewhat literally it reads “Will you steal…then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe’ so as to/in order to do…” The Hebrew of v. 9 has a series of infinitives which emphasize the bare action of the verb without the idea of time or agent. The effect is to place a kind of staccato-like emphasis on the multitude of their sins, all of which are violations of one of the Ten Commandments. The final clause in v. 8 expresses purpose or result (probably result) through another infinitive. This long sentence is introduced by a marker (ה interrogative in Hebrew) introducing a rhetorical question in which God expresses his incredulity that they could do these sins, come into the temple and claim the safety of his protection, and then go right back out and commit the same sins. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 52) catches the force nicely: “What? You think you can steal, murder…and then come and stand…and say, ‘We are safe…’ just so that you can go right on…”
  26. Jeremiah 7:11 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom see BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and compare the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
  27. Jeremiah 7:11 tn Heb “Is this house…a den/cave of robbers in your eyes?”
  28. Jeremiah 7:11 tn Heb “Behold!”
  29. Jeremiah 7:12 tn Heb “where I caused my name to dwell.” The translation does not adequately represent the theology of the Lord’s deliberate identification with a place where he chose to manifest his presence and desired to be worshiped (cf. Exod 20:25; Deut 16:2, 6, 11).
  30. Jeremiah 7:12 sn The place in Shiloh…see what I did to it. This refers to the destruction of Shiloh by the Philistines circa 1050 b.c. (cf. Ps 78:60). The destruction of Shiloh is pertinent to the argument. The presence of the tabernacle and ark of the covenant did not prevent Shiloh from being destroyed when Israel sinned. The people of Israel used the ark as a magic charm, but it did not prevent them from being defeated or the ark from being captured (1 Sam 4:3, 11, 21-22).
  31. Jeremiah 7:13 tn This reflects a Hebrew idiom (e.g., 7:25; 11:7; 25:3, 4), i.e., an infinitive of a verb meaning “to do something early [or eagerly]” followed by an infinitive of another verb of action (cf. HALOT 1384 s.v. שָׁכַם Hiph.2).
  32. Jeremiah 7:13 tn Heb “I called to you, and you did not answer.” The words “to repent” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  33. Jeremiah 7:14 tn Heb “over which my name is called.” For this nuance of this idiom see BDB 896 s.v. קָרָא Niph.2.d(4) and compare the usage in 2 Sam 12:28.
  34. Jeremiah 7:14 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 22, 25, 26).
  35. Jeremiah 7:14 tn Heb “I will do to the house that my name is called over it, that you are trusting in it, and to the place…, as I did to Shiloh.”
  36. Jeremiah 7:15 tn Heb “the descendants of Ephraim.” However, Ephraim here stands (as it often does) for all the northern tribes of Israel.
  37. Jeremiah 7:16 tn The name Jeremiah has been added for specificity.
  38. Jeremiah 7:16 tn Heb “a ringing cry and a prayer.” The two nouns form a hendiadys meaning a prayer in the form of a ringing cry.
  39. Jeremiah 7:16 tn The words “to save them” are implied by the context of “pleading to me” and supplied in the translation for clarity.
  40. Jeremiah 7:17 tn Or “Just look at…” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
  41. Jeremiah 7:18 tn The form for “queen” (מְלֶכֶת [melekhet]), occurring 5 times in Scripture and all in Jeremiah, is not the expected construct form (מַלְכַּת [malkat]). It is as though the Masoretes wanted to read with “heaven” the word for “work” (מְלֶאכֶת [meleʾkhet]), i.e., the “hosts of,” a word that several Hebrew mss read and an understanding the LXX reflects. The other ancient and modern versions generally, however, accept it as a biform for the word “queen.”sn The Queen of Heaven is probably a reference to the goddess known as Ishtar in Mesopotamia, Anat in Canaan, and Ashtoreth in Israel. She was the goddess of love and fertility. For further discussion, see G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, T. G. Smothers, Jeremiah 26-52 (WBC), 266-68.
  42. Jeremiah 7:18 tn Heb “to provoke me.” There is debate among grammarians and lexicographers about the nuance of the Hebrew particle לְמַעַן (lemaʿan). Some say it always denotes purpose, while others say it may denote either purpose or result, depending on the context. For example, BDB 775 s.v. לְמַעַן note 1 says that it always denotes purpose, never result, but that sometimes what is really a result is represented ironically as though it were a purpose. That explanation fits nicely here in the light of the context of the next verse. The translation is intended to reflect some of that ironic sarcasm.
  43. Jeremiah 7:19 tn Heb “Is it I whom they provoke?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer which is made explicit in the translation.
  44. Jeremiah 7:19 tn Heb “Is it not themselves to their own shame?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer which is made explicit in the translation.
  45. Jeremiah 7:20 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.
  46. Jeremiah 7:20 tn Heb “this place.” Some see this as a reference to the temple, but the context has been talking about what goes on in the towns of Judah and Jerusalem, and the words that follow, meant as a further explanation, are applied to the whole land.
  47. Jeremiah 7:20 tn Heb “the trees of/in the field and the fruit of/in the ground.”
  48. Jeremiah 7:21 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel.”sn See the study notes on 2:19 and 7:3.
  49. Jeremiah 7:21 tn The words “to the people of Judah” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift in addressee between vv. 16-20 and vv. 21-26.
  50. Jeremiah 7:21 tn Heb “Add your burnt offerings to your [other] sacrifices and eat the meat!” See the following sn for explanation. This is an example of the rhetorical use of the imperative for a sarcastic challenge. See GKC 324 §110.a; cf. Amos 4:4, “Go to Bethel and sin!”sn All of the burnt offering, including the meat, was to be consumed on the altar (e.g., Lev 1:6-9). The meat of the other sacrifices could be eaten by the priest who offered the sacrifice and the person who brought it (e.g., Lev 7:16-18, 32). Since, however, the people of Judah were making a mockery of the sacrificial system by offering sacrifices while disobeying the law, the Lord rejected the sacrifices (cf. 6:20). Since they were violating the moral law, they might as well go ahead and violate the cultic law by eating the meat dedicated to God because he rejected it anyway.
  51. Jeremiah 7:22 tn Heb “For.” But this introduces a long explanation about the relative importance of sacrifice and obedience.
  52. Jeremiah 7:23 tn Verses 22-23a read in Hebrew, “I did not speak with your ancestors, and I did not command them when I brought them out of Egypt, about words/matters concerning burnt offering and sacrifice, but I commanded them this word:” Some modern commentators have explained this passage as an evidence for the lateness of the Pentateuchal instruction regarding sacrifice or a denial that sacrifice was practiced during the period of the wilderness wandering. However, it is better explained as an example of what R. de Vaux calls a dialectical negative, i.e., “not so much this as that” or “not this without that” (Ancient Israel, 454-56). For other examples of this same argument see Isa 1:10-17; Hos 6:4-6; Amos 5:21-25.
  53. Jeremiah 7:23 tn Heb “Obey me and I will be.” The translation is equivalent syntactically but brings out the emphasis in the command.
  54. Jeremiah 7:23 tn Heb “Walk in all the way that I command you.”
  55. Jeremiah 7:24 tn Or “They went backward and not forward”; Heb “They were to the backward and not to the forward.” The two phrases used here appear nowhere else in the Bible, and the latter preposition plus adverb elsewhere is used temporally meaning “formerly” or “previously.” The translation follows the proposal of J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 57. Another option is, “they turned their backs to me, not their faces,” understanding the line as a variant of a line in 2:27.
  56. Jeremiah 7:25 tn Heb “from the day your ancestors…until this very day.” However, “day” here is idiomatic for “the present time.”
  57. Jeremiah 7:25 tn On the Hebrew idiom see the note at 7:13.
  58. Jeremiah 7:25 tc There is some textual debate about the legitimacy of this expression here. The text reads merely “day” (יוֹם, yom). BHS suggests the word is to be deleted as a dittography of the plural ending of the preceding word. The word is in the Greek and Latin, and the Syriac represents the typical idiom “day after day” as though the noun were repeated. Either יוֹם has dropped out by haplography or a ם (mem) has been left out, i.e., reading יוֹמָם (yomam, “daily”).
  59. Jeremiah 7:26 tn Or “But your predecessors…”; Heb “But they…” There is a confusing interchange in the pronouns in vv. 25-26 which has led to some leveling in the ancient versions and the modern English versions. What is involved here are four levels of referents, the “you” of the present generation (vv. 21-22a), the ancestors who were delivered from Egypt (i.e., the “they” of vv. 22b-24), the “you” of v. 25 that involves all the Israelites from the Exodus to the time of speaking, and the “they” of v. 26 that cannot be the ancestors of vv. 22-24 (since they cannot be more wicked than themselves) but must be an indefinite entity that is a part of the “you” of v. 25, i.e., the more immediate ancestors of the present generation. If this is kept in mind, there is no need to level the pronouns to “they” and “them” or to “you” and “your” as some of the ancient versions and modern English versions have done.
  60. Jeremiah 7:26 tn Heb “hardened [or made stiff] their neck.”
  61. Jeremiah 7:27 tn The words “Then the Lord said to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the shift from the second and third person plural pronouns in vv. 21-26 to the second singular in this verse. The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.
  62. Jeremiah 7:28 tn Heb “Faithfulness has vanished. It is cut off from their lips.”sn For the need for faithfulness see 5:1, 3.
  63. Jeremiah 7:29 tn The word “mourn” is not in the text. It is supplied in the translation for clarity to explain the significance of the words “Cut your hair and throw it away.”sn See Mic 1:16 and Job 1:20 for other examples of this practice that was involved in mourning.
  64. Jeremiah 7:29 tn The words, “you people of this nation” are not in the text. Many English versions supply “Jerusalem.” The address shifts from second masculine singular addressing Jeremiah (vv. 27-28a) to second feminine singular. It causes less disruption in the flow of the context to see the nation as a whole addressed here as a feminine singular entity (as, e.g., in 2:19, 23; 3:2, 3; 6:26) than to introduce a new entity, Jerusalem.
  65. Jeremiah 7:29 tn The verbs here are the Hebrew scheduling perfects. For this use of the perfect see GKC 312 §106.m.
  66. Jeremiah 7:29 tn Heb “the generation of his wrath.”
  67. Jeremiah 7:30 tn The words “I have rejected them” are not in the Hebrew text, which merely says “because.” These words are supplied in the translation to show more clearly the connection to the preceding.
  68. Jeremiah 7:30 tn Heb “have done the evil in my eyes.”
  69. Jeremiah 7:30 sn Cf., e.g., 2 Kgs 21:3, 5, 7; 23:4, 6 and Ezek 8:3, 5, 10-12, 16. Manasseh had desecrated the temple by building altars, cult symbols, and idols in it. Josiah had purged the temple of these pagan elements. But it is obvious from both Jeremiah and Ezekiel that they had been replaced shortly after Josiah’s death. They were a primary cause of Judah’s guilt and punishment (see beside this passage, 19:5; 32:34-35).
  70. Jeremiah 7:30 tn Heb “the house that is called by my name.” Cf. 7:10, 11, 14 and see the translator’s note at 7:10 for the explanation for this rendering.
  71. Jeremiah 7:31 tn Heb “high places.”sn These places of worship were essentially open-air shrines often located on hills or wooded heights. They were generally connected with pagan worship and equipped with altars of sacrifice and of incense and cult objects such as wooden poles and stone pillars that were symbols of the god and/or goddess worshiped at the sight. The Israelites were commanded to tear down these Canaanite places of worship (Num 33:52), but they did not do so, often taking over the site for the worship of Yahweh but even then incorporating some of the pagan cult objects and ritual into their worship of Yahweh (1 Kgs 12:31, 32; 14:23). The prophets were especially opposed to these places, both to this kind of syncretism (Hos 10:8; Amos 7:9) and to the pagan worship that was often practiced at them (Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35).
  72. Jeremiah 7:31 tn Heb “the high places of [or in] Topheth.”sn The noun Topheth is generally explained as an artificial formation of a word related to the Aramaic word for “cooking stove” combined with the vowels for the word for “shame.” Hence, Jewish piety viewed it as a very shameful act, one that was contrary to the law (see Lev 18:21; 20:2-6). Child sacrifice was practiced during the reigns of the wicked kings Ahaz and Manasseh and apparently during Jeremiah’s day (cf. 2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6; Jer 32:35).
  73. Jeremiah 7:31 tn Heb “It never entered my heart.” The words “to command such a thing” do not appear in the Hebrew but are added for the sake of clarity.
  74. Jeremiah 7:32 tn Heb “Therefore, behold!”
  75. Jeremiah 7:32 tn Heb “it will no longer be said ‘Topheth’ or ‘the Valley of Ben Hinnom’ but ‘the valley of slaughter.’”
  76. Jeremiah 7:32 tn Heb “And they will bury in Topheth so there is not room.”
  77. Jeremiah 7:33 tn Heb “Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.”
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Jeremiah 26
New English Translation

Jeremiah Is Put on Trial as a False Prophet[a]

26 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah[b] at the beginning of the reign[c] of Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah. 2 The Lord said, “Go stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple.[d] Speak out to all the people who are coming from the towns of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything I command you to tell them. Do not leave out a single word. 3 Maybe they will pay attention and each of them will stop living the evil way they do.[e] If they do that, then I will forgo destroying them[f] as I had intended to do because of the wicked things they have been doing.[g] 4 Tell them that the Lord says,[h] ‘You must obey me; you must live according to the way I have instructed you in my laws.[i] 5 You must pay attention to the exhortations of my servants the prophets. I have sent them to you over and over again.[j] But you have not paid any attention to them. 6 If you do not obey me,[k] then I will do to this temple what I did to Shiloh.[l] And I will make this city an example to be used in curses by people from all the nations on the earth.’”

7 The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah say these things in the Lord’s temple. 8 Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people when all at once some[m] of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die![n] 9 How dare you claim the Lord’s authority to prophesy such things! How dare you claim his authority to prophesy that this temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will become an uninhabited ruin!”[o] Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the Lord’s temple.

10 However, some of the officials[p] of Judah heard about what was happening[q] and they rushed up to the Lord’s temple from the royal palace. They set up court[r] at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple.[s] 11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said,[t] “This man should be condemned to die[u] because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so[v] with your own ears.”

12 Then Jeremiah made his defense before all the officials and all the people.[w] “The Lord sent me to prophesy everything you have heard me say against this temple and against this city. 13 But correct the way you have been living and do what is right.[x] Obey the Lord your God. If you do, the Lord will forgo destroying you as he threatened he would.[y] 14 As to my case, I am in your power.[z] Do to me what you deem fair and proper. 15 But you should take careful note of this: If you put me to death, you will bring on yourselves and this city and those who live in it the guilt of murdering an innocent man. For the Lord has sent me to speak all this where you can hear it. That is the truth!”[aa]

16 Then the officials and all the people rendered their verdict to the priests and the prophets. They said,[ab] “This man should not be condemned to die.[ac] For he has spoken to us under the authority of the Lord our God.”[ad] 17 Then some of the elders of Judah[ae] stepped forward and spoke to all the people gathered there. They said, 18 “Micah from Moresheth[af] prophesied during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah.[ag] He told all the people of Judah, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies[ah] says,

“‘Zion[ai] will become a plowed field.
Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble.
The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge.”’[aj]

19 “King Hezekiah and all the people of Judah did not put him to death, did they? Did not Hezekiah show reverence for the Lord and seek the Lord’s favor?[ak] Did not[al] the Lord forgo destroying them[am] as he threatened he would? But we are on the verge of bringing great disaster on ourselves.”[an]

20 Now there was another man[ao] who prophesied as the Lord’s representative[ap] against this city and this land just as Jeremiah did. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim.[aq] 21 When King Jehoiakim and all his bodyguards[ar] and officials heard what he was prophesying,[as] the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear.[at] 22 However, King Jehoiakim sent some men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor,[au] 23 and they brought Uriah back from there.[av] They took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed and had his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.[aw]

24 However, Ahikam son of Shaphan[ax] used his influence to keep Jeremiah from being handed over and executed by the people.[ay]

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 26:1 sn Beginning with Jer 26 up to Jer 45, the book narrates in third person style incidents in the life of Jeremiah and prophecies (or sermons) he gave in obedience to the Lord’s commands. Baruch is the probable narrator, passing on information gleaned from Jeremiah himself. (See Jer 36:4, 18, 32; 45:1 and also 32:13-14, where it is clear that Baruch is Jeremiah’s scribe or secretary.) Chapters 26-29 contain narratives concerning reactions to Jeremiah’s prophecies and his conflict with the prophets who were prophesying that things would be all right (see, e.g., 14:14-15; 23:21).
  2. Jeremiah 26:1 tn The words “to Jeremiah” are not in the Hebrew text. They are added by the Old Latin (not the Vulgate) and the Syriac versions. They are implicit, however, to the narrative style, which speaks of Jeremiah in the third person (cf. vv. 7, 12). They have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  3. Jeremiah 26:1 tn It is often thought that the term here is equivalent to a technical term in Akkadian (resh sharruti) that refers to the part of the year remaining from the death or deposing of the previous king until the beginning of the calendar year, when the new king officially ascended the throne. In this case it would refer to the part of the year between September, 609 b.c., when Jehoiakim was placed on the throne as a puppet king by Pharaoh Necho (2 Kgs 23:34-35), and April, 608 b.c., when he would have been officially celebrated as king. However, it will be suggested below, in conjunction with the textual problems in 27:1 and 28:1, that the term does not necessarily refer to this period.
  4. Jeremiah 26:2 sn It is generally agreed that the incident recorded in this chapter relates to the temple message that Jeremiah gave in 7:1-15. The message there is summarized here in vv. 3-6. The primary interest here is in the response to that message.
  5. Jeremiah 26:3 tn Heb “will turn from his wicked way.”
  6. Jeremiah 26:3 tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here, see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.sn The Lord is being consistent in the application of the principle, laid down in Jer 18:7-8, that reformation of character will result in the withdrawal of the punishment of “uprooting, tearing down, destroying.” His prophecies of doom are conditional threats, open to change with change in behavior.
  7. Jeremiah 26:3 tn Heb “because of the wickedness of their deeds.”
  8. Jeremiah 26:4 tn Heb “thus says the Lord, ‘…’.” The use of the indirect quotation in the translation eliminates one level of embedded quotation to avoid confusion.
  9. Jeremiah 26:4 tn Heb “by walking in my law that I set before you.”sn Examples of those laws are found in Jer 7:5-6, 9. The law was summarized or epitomized in the ten commandments, which are called the “words of the covenant” in Exod 34:28, but it contained much more. However, when Israel is taken to task by God, it often relates to their failure to live up to the standards of the ten commandments (Heb “the ten words”; see Hos 4:1-3; Jer 7:9).
  10. Jeremiah 26:5 tn See the translator’s note on 7:13 for the idiom here.
  11. Jeremiah 26:6 tn 26:4-6 are all one long sentence containing a long condition with subordinate clauses (vv. 4-5) and a compound consequence in v. 6: Heb “If you will not obey me by walking in my law…by paying attention to the words of the prophets, whom…and you did not pay heed, then I will make…and I will make…” The sentence has been broken down in conformity to contemporary English style, but an attempt has been made to reflect all the subordinations in the English translation.
  12. Jeremiah 26:6 sn See the study note on Jer 7:13.
  13. Jeremiah 26:8 tn The translation again represents an attempt to break up a long, complex Hebrew sentence into equivalent English ones that conform more to contemporary English style: Heb “And as soon as Jeremiah finished saying all that…, the priests…grabbed him and said…” The word “some” has been supplied in the translation because obviously it was not all the priests and prophets, and all the people, but only some of them. There is, of course, rhetorical intent here to show that all were implicated, although all may not have actually participated. (This is a common figure called synecdoche, where all is put for a part—all for all kinds or representatives of all kinds. See E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 614-19, and compare usage in Acts 10:12; Matt 3:5.)
  14. Jeremiah 26:8 tn Or “You must certainly die!” The construction here is again emphatic with the infinitive preceding the finite verb (cf. Joüon 2:423 §123.h, and compare usage in Exod 21:28).
  15. Jeremiah 26:9 tn Heb “Why have you prophesied in the Lord’s name, saying, ‘This house will become like Shiloh, and this city will become a ruin without inhabitant?’” It is clear from the context here and in 7:1-15 that the emphasis is on “in the Lord’s name” and that the question is rhetorical. The question is not a quest for information but an accusation, a remonstrance. (For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 953-54, who calls a question like this a rhetorical question of remonstrance or expostulation. For good examples see Pss 11:1; 50:16.) For the significance of “prophesying in the Lord’s name,” see the study note on 14:14. The translation again utilizes the indirect quote to eliminate one level of embedded quotation.sn They are questioning his right to claim the Lord’s authority for what they see as a false prophecy. They believed that the presence of the Lord in the temple guaranteed their safety (7:4, 10, 14), and that the Lord could not possibly be threatening its destruction. Hence they were ready to put him to death as a false prophet, according to the law of Moses (Deut 18:20).
  16. Jeremiah 26:10 sn These officials of Judah were officials from the royal court. They may have included some of the officials mentioned in Jer 36:12-25. They would have been concerned about any possible “illegal” proceedings going on in the temple.
  17. Jeremiah 26:10 tn Heb “these things.”
  18. Jeremiah 26:10 tn Heb “they sat” or “they took their seats.” However, the context is one of judicial trial.sn The gateway or gate complex of an ancient Near Eastern city was often used for court assemblies (cf. Deut 21:19; 22:15; Ruth 4:1; Isa 29:21). Here the gate of the temple was used for the convening of a court to try Jeremiah for the charge of being a false prophet.
  19. Jeremiah 26:10 tn The translation follows many Hebrew mss and ancient versions in reading the word “house” (= temple) here. The majority of Hebrew mss do not have this word. It is, however, implicit in the construction “the New Gate of the Lord.”sn The location of the New Gate is uncertain. It is mentioned again in Jer 36:10, where it is connected with the upper (i.e., inner) court of the temple. Some equate it with the Upper Gate that Jotham rebuilt during his reign (2 Kgs 15:35; Jotham reigned from 750-735 b.c.). That gate, however, has already been referred to as the Upper Gate of Benjamin in Jer 20:2 (for more detail see the study note there) and would not likely have been called something different here.
  20. Jeremiah 26:11 tn Heb “the priests and prophets said to the leaders and the people….” The long sentence has been broken up to conform better with contemporary English style, and the situational context is reflected in “laid their charges.”
  21. Jeremiah 26:11 tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”
  22. Jeremiah 26:11 tn Heb “it.”
  23. Jeremiah 26:12 tn Heb “Jeremiah said to all the leaders and all the people….” See the note on the word “said” in the preceding verse.
  24. Jeremiah 26:13 tn Heb “Make good your ways and your actions.” For the same expression see 7:3, 5 and 18:11.
  25. Jeremiah 26:13 tn For the idiom and translation of terms involved here, see 18:8 and the translator’s note there.sn The Lord is being consistent in the application of the principle, laid down in Jer 18:7-8, that reformation of character will result in the withdrawal of the punishment of “uprooting, tearing down, destroying.” His prophecies of doom are conditional threats, open to change with change in behavior.
  26. Jeremiah 26:14 tn Heb “And I, behold, I am in your hand.” Hand is quite commonly used for “power” or “control” in biblical contexts.
  27. Jeremiah 26:15 tn Heb “For in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak in your ears all these words/things.”
  28. Jeremiah 26:16 tn Heb “Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets…”
  29. Jeremiah 26:16 sn Contrast v. 11.
  30. Jeremiah 26:16 tn Heb “For in the name of the Lord our God he has spoken to us.” The emphasis is on “in the name of…”sn The priests and false prophets claimed that they were speaking in the Lord’s name (i.e., as his representatives and with his authority [see 1 Sam 25:9 and 1 Kgs 21:8; cf. the study note on Jer 23:27]) and felt that Jeremiah’s claims to be doing so were false (see v. 9). Jeremiah (and the Lord) charged that the opposite was the case (cf. 14:14-15; 23:21). The officials and the people, at least at this time, accepted his claims that the Lord had sent him (vv. 12, 15).
  31. Jeremiah 26:17 tn Heb “elders of the land.”sn The elders were important land-owning citizens, separate from the “heads” or leaders of the tribes, and were the officers and the judges. They were very influential in the judicial, political, and religious proceedings of both the cities and the state. (See, e.g., Josh 24:1; 2 Sam 19:11; 2 Kgs 23:1 for elders of Israel/Judah, and Deut 21:1-9; Ruth 4:1-2 for elders of the cities.)
  32. Jeremiah 26:18 sn Micah from Moresheth was a contemporary of Isaiah (compare Mic 1:1 with Isa 1:1) from the country town of Moresheth in the hill country southwest of Jerusalem. The prophecy referred to is found in Mic 3:12. This is the only time in the OT where an OT prophet is quoted verbatim and identified.
  33. Jeremiah 26:18 sn Hezekiah was co-regent with his father Ahaz from 729-715 b.c. and sole ruler from 715-686 b.c. His father was a wicked king who was responsible for the incursions of the Assyrians (2 Kgs 16; 2 Chr 28). Hezekiah was a godly king, noted for his religious reforms and for his faith in the Lord in the face of the Assyrian threat (2 Kgs 18-19; 2 Chr 32:1-23). The deliverance of Jerusalem in response to his prayers of faith (2 Kgs 19:14-19, 29-36) was undoubtedly well-known to the people of Jerusalem and Judah and may have been one of the prime reasons for their misplaced trust in the inviolability of Zion/Jerusalem (see Ps 46; 76), though the people of Micah’s day already believed it too (Mic 3:11).
  34. Jeremiah 26:18 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn For an explanation of this title for God, see the study note on 2:19.
  35. Jeremiah 26:18 sn Zion was first of all the citadel that David captured (2 Sam 5:6-10), then the City of David and the enclosed temple area, then the whole city of Jerusalem. It is often in poetic parallelism with Jerusalem as it is here (see, e.g., Ps 76:2; Amos 1:2).
  36. Jeremiah 26:18 sn There is irony involved in this statement. The text reads literally, “high places of a forest/thicket.” The “high places” were the illicit places of worship that Jerusalem was supposed to replace. Because of their sin, Jerusalem would be like one of the pagan places of worship, with no place left sacrosanct. It would even be overgrown with trees and bushes. So much for its inviolability!
  37. Jeremiah 26:19 tn This Hebrew idiom (חָלָה פָּנִים, khalah panim) is often explained in terms of “stroking” or “patting the face” of someone, seeking to gain his favor. It is never used in a literal sense and is found in contexts of prayer (Exod 32:11; Ps 119:158), worship (Zech 8:21-22), humble submission (2 Chr 3:12), or amendment of behavior (Dan 9:13). All were true to one extent or another of Hezekiah.
  38. Jeremiah 26:19 tn The interrogative he (הַ) with the negative governs all three of the verbs, the perfect and the two vav (ו) consecutive imperfects that follow it. The next clause has disjunctive word order and introduces a contrast. The question expects a positive answer.
  39. Jeremiah 26:19 tn For the translation of the terms involved here, see the translator’s note on 18:8.
  40. Jeremiah 26:19 tn Or “great harm to ourselves.” The word “disaster” (or “harm”) is the same one that has been translated “destroying” in the preceding line and in vv. 3 and 13.
  41. Jeremiah 26:20 sn This is a brief, parenthetical narrative about an otherwise unknown prophet who was executed for saying the same things Jeremiah did. Since it is disjunctive or parenthetical, it is unclear whether this incident happened before or after that being reported in the main narrative. It is put here to show the real danger that Jeremiah faced for saying what he did. There is nothing in the narrative about Jeremiah to show any involvement by Jehoiakim. This was a “lynch mob,” instigated by the priests and false prophets, that was stymied by the royal officials, supported by some of the elders of Judah.
  42. Jeremiah 26:20 tn Heb “in the name of the Lord,” i.e., as his representative and claiming his authority. See the study note on v. 16.
  43. Jeremiah 26:20 tn Heb “Now also a man was prophesying in the name of the Lord, Uriah son of…, and he prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah.” The long Hebrew sentence has been broken up in conformity with contemporary English style. The major emphasis is brought out by putting his prophesying first, then identifying him.
  44. Jeremiah 26:21 tn Heb “all his mighty men/soldiers.” It is unlikely that this included all the army. It more likely was the palace guards or royal bodyguards (see 2 Sam 23, where the same word is used of David’s elite corps).
  45. Jeremiah 26:21 tn Heb “his words.”
  46. Jeremiah 26:21 tn Heb “But Uriah heard and feared and fled and entered Egypt.”
  47. Jeremiah 26:22 sn Elnathan son of Achbor was one of the officials who urged Jeremiah and Baruch to hide after they heard Jeremiah’s prophecies read before them (Jer 36:11-19). He was also one of the officials who urged Jehoiakim not to burn the scroll containing Jeremiah’s prophecies (Jer 36:25). He may have been Jehoiakim’s father-in-law (2 Kgs 24:6, 8).
  48. Jeremiah 26:23 tn Heb “from Egypt.”sn A standard part of international treaties at this time was a stipulation of mutual extradition of political prisoners. Jehoiakim was a vassal of Pharaoh Necho (see 2 Kgs 23:34-35) and undoubtedly had such a treaty with him.
  49. Jeremiah 26:23 sn The burial place of the common people was the public burial grounds, distinct from the family tombs, where poor people without any distinction were buried. It was in the Kidron Valley east of Jerusalem (2 Kgs 23:6). The intent of reporting this is to show the ruthlessness of Jehoiakim.
  50. Jeremiah 26:24 sn Ahikam son of Shaphan was an official during the reign of Jehoiakim’s father, Josiah (2 Kgs 22:12, 14). He was also the father of Gedaliah, who became governor of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem (Jer 40:5). The particle at the beginning of the verse is meant to contrast the actions of this man with the actions of Jehoiakim. The impression created by this verse is that it took more than just the royal officials’ opinion and the elders’ warnings to keep the priests and prophets from swaying popular opinion to put Jeremiah to death.
  51. Jeremiah 26:24 tn Heb “Nevertheless, the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he would not be given [even more literally, “so as not to give him”] into the hand of the people to kill him.” “Hand” is often used for “aid,” “support,” “influence,” “power,” or “control.”
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