Jeremias 26

¹ In the beginning of the reigne of Iehoiakim the sonne of Iosiah King of Iudah, came this worde from the Lorde, saying,

² Thus saith the LORD; Stand in theThat is, in that place of the temple to which the people resort out of all Judah to sacrifice.court of the LORD'S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command thee to speak to them; diminish not a word:To the intent that they should pretend no ignorance, as in (Act_20:27).

³ It may be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may{{See Jer_7:12}}repent of the evil, which I purpose to do to them because of the evil of their doings.

⁴ And thou shalt say vnto them, Thus saith the Lord, If ye will not heare me to walke in my Lawes, which I haue set before you,

⁵ And to heare ye wordes of my seruants the Prophets, whome I sent vnto you, both rising vp earely, and sending them, and will not obey them,

⁶ Then will I make this house like{{See Jer_7:12}}Shiloh, and will make this citySo that when they would curse any, they will say, «God do to you as to Jerusalem.»a curse to all the nations of the earth.

⁷ So the Priestes, and the Prophets, and all the people heard Ieremiah speaking these wordes in the House of the Lorde.

⁸ Nowe when Ieremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speake vnto all the people, then the Priestes, and the prophets, and all the people tooke him, and saide, Thou shalt die the death.

⁹ Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying,Because of God's promises to the temple, (Psa_132:14) that he would forever remain there, hypocrites thought this temple could never perish and therefore thought it blasphemy to speak against it, (Mat_26:61; Act_6:13) not considering that this was meant of the Church where God will remain forever.This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.

¹⁰ When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house to the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entrance of theSo called, because it was repaired by Jotham, (2Ki_15:35).new gate of the LORD'S [house].

¹¹ Then spake the Priestes, and the prophets vnto the princes, and to all the people, saying, This man is worthie to die: for he hath prophecied against this citie, as ye haue heard with your eares.

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORDHe both shows the cause of his doings plainly and also threatens them that nothing would help, though they should put him to death, but heap greater vengeance on their heads.sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.

¹³ Therefore nowe amende your wayes and your workes, and heare the voyce of the Lorde your God, that the Lorde may repent him of the plague, that he hath pronounced against you.

¹⁴ As for me, beholde, I am in your hands: do with me as ye thinke good and right.

¹⁵ But knowe ye for certaine, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood vpon your selues, and vpon this citie, and vpon the inhabitants thereof: for of a trueth the Lord hath sent me vnto you, to speake all these words in your eares.

¹⁶ Then saide the princes and all the people vnto the Priestes, and to the prophets, This man is not worthie to die: for he hath spoken vnto vs in the Name of the Lorde our God.

¹⁷ Then rose vp certaine of the Elders of the lande, and spake to all the assemblie of the people, saying,

¹⁸ Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed [like] a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of theThat is, of the House of the Lord, that is, Zion, and these examples the godly alleged to deliver Jeremiah out of the priests hands, whose rage else would not have been satisfied but by his death.house as the high places of the forest.

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? did he not fear the LORD, and beseech the LORD, and the LORD repented of theSo that the city was not destroyed, but by a miracle was delivered out of the hands of Sennacherib.evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.

²⁰ And there was also a man that prophecied in the Name of the Lord, one Vriiah the sonne of Shemaiah, of Kiriath-iarem, who prophecied against this citie, and against this lande, according to all the wordes of Ieremiah.

²¹ Nowe when Iehoiakim the King with all his men of power, and all the princes heard his wordes, the King sought to slay him. But when Vriiah heard it, he was afraide and fled, and went into Egypt.

²² And Jehoiakim the kingHere is declared the fury of tyrants who cannot stand to hear God's word declared but persecute the ministers of it, and yet in the end they prevail nothing but provoke God' judgments so much more.sent men into Egypt, [namely], Elnathan the son of Achbor, and [certain] men with him into Egypt.

²³ And they brought forth Urijah from Egypt, and brought him to Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, andAs in the first Hezekiah's example is to be followed, so in this other Jehoiakim's act it to be abhorred: for God's plague descended on him and his household.cast his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

²⁴ Nevertheless the hand of AhikamWhich declares that nothing could have appeased their fury if God had not moved this noble man to stand valiantly in his defense.the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.