Jeremiah 26:16-24

26:16 Then the officials and all the people rendered their verdict to the priests and the prophets. They said, ¹  “This man should not be condemned to die. ²  For he has spoken to us under the authority of the Lord our God.” ³  26:17 Then some of the elders of Judah ⁴  stepped forward and spoke to all the people gathered there. They said, 26:18 “Micah from Moresheth ⁵  prophesied during the time Hezekiah was king of Judah. ⁶  He told all the people of Judah,

‘The Lord who rules over all ⁷  says,

“Zion ⁸  will become a plowed field.

Jerusalem ⁹  will become a pile of rubble.

The temple mount will become a mere wooded ridge.”’ ¹⁰ 

26:19 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? ¹¹  Did not ¹²  the Lord forgo destroying them ¹³  as he threatened he would? But we are on the verge of bringing great disaster on ourselves.” ¹⁴ 

26:20 Now there was another man ¹⁵  who prophesied as the Lord’s representative ¹⁶  against this city and this land just as Jeremiah did. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim. ¹⁷  26:21 When the king and all his bodyguards ¹⁸  and officials heard what he was prophesying, ¹⁹  the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear. ²⁰  26:22 However, King Jehoiakim sent some men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor, ²¹  26:23 and they brought Uriah back from there. ²²  They took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed and had his body thrown into the burial place of the common people. ²³ 

26:24 However, Ahikam son of Shaphan ²⁴  used his influence to keep Jeremiah from being handed over and executed by the people. ²⁵ 

[26:16]  ¹ tn Heb “Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets…”

[26:16]  ² sn Contrast v. 11.

[26:16]  ³ tn Heb “For in the name of the Lord our God he has spoken to us.” The emphasis is on “in the name of…”

[26:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “elders of the land.”

[26:18]  ⁵ 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.

[26:18]  ⁶ 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).

[26:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.”

[26:18]  ⁸ 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).

[26:18]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[26:18]  ¹⁰ 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!

[26:19]  ¹¹ 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.

[26:19]  ¹² tn The he interrogative (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.

[26:19]  ¹³ tn For the translation of the terms involved here see the translator’s note on 18:8.

[26:19]  ¹⁴ 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.

[26:20]  ¹⁵ sn This is a brief parenthetical narrative about an otherwise unknown prophet who was executed for saying the same things Jeremiah did. It is put here to show the real danger that Jeremiah faced for saying what he did. There is nothing in the narrative here to show any involvement by Jehoiakim. This was a “lynch mob” instigated by the priests and false prophets which was stymied by the royal officials supported by some of the elders of Judah. Since it is disjunctive or parenthetical it is unclear whether this incident happened before or after that in the main narrative being reported.

[26:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the name of the Lord,” i.e., as his representative and claiming his authority. See the study note on v. 16.

[26:20]  ¹⁷ 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 and the major emphasis brought out by putting his prophesying first, then identifying him.

[26:21]  ¹⁸ 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).

[26:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “his words.”

[26:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “But Uriah heard and feared and fled and entered Egypt.”

[26:22]  ²¹ 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).

[26:23]  ²² tn Heb “from Egypt.”

[26:23]  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.

[26:24]  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.

[26:24]  ²⁵ 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,” “control.”