Jeremiah 26
1 Soon after Jehoiakim became the king of Judah, Yahweh gave [me] this message:
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word has been from YHWH, saying,
2 “This is what [I], Yahweh, am telling you: Stand in the courtyard [in front] of my temple, and speak to all [the people from] the various towns in Judah who come there to worship me. Tell them everything that I tell you; do not omit anything.
“Thus said YHWH: Stand in the court of the house of YHWH, and you have spoken to all [those of] the cities of Judah, who are coming to bow themselves in the house of YHWH, all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them—you do not diminish a word.
3 [If you do tell them everything], perhaps they will pay attention, and each one of them will turn away from his evil behavior. Then I will change my mind, and not cause them to experience the disaster that I was planning to cause them to experience because of the evil things that they have done.
Perhaps they listen, and each turns back from his evil way; then I have relented concerning the evil that I am thinking of doing to them, because of the evil of their doings.
4 Say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh says: I sent to you the prophets who serve me, to tell you what you should do. I sent them to you many times, but you have not paid attention to what they said. If you will not pay attention to what I say and do not obey the message that I have given to you, and if you do not pay attention to what the prophets say,
And you have said to them, Thus said YHWH: If you do not listen to Me, to walk in My law that I set before you,
to listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I am sending to you, indeed, rising early and sending, and you have not listened,
6 I will destroy this temple like I destroyed Shiloh, [the place where the Sacred Tent was put]. And I will cause Jerusalem to be a place whose name [people in] every nation on the earth will say when they curse someone.’”
then I have given up this house as Shiloh, and this city I give up for a reviling to all nations of the earth.”
7 [When I did what Yahweh told me to do, ] the priests, the [false] prophets, and many [other] people listened to me as I told them that message outside the temple.
And the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, hear Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of YHWH,
8 But as soon as I finished telling them everything that Yahweh had commanded me to say, they all seized me and said, “You must be executed!
and it comes to pass, at the completion of Jeremiah’s speaking all that YHWH has commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests, and the prophets, and all the people catch him, saying, “You surely die!
9 Why [RHQ] are you prophesying that this temple will be [destroyed] like Shiloh [was destroyed]? Why are you saying that this city will be destroyed, and that no one will live here [any more]? (OR, You should not be prophesying) [RHQ]” All the people surrounded me [as I stood] in [front of] the temple.
Why have you prophesied in the Name of YHWH, saying, This house will be as Shiloh, and this city is desolated, without inhabitant?” And all the people are assembled to Jeremiah in the house of YHWH.
10 When the officials of Judah heard about all this [that was happening], they rushed from the palace and sat down at the gate of the temple named The New Gate, [to judge my case].
And the heads of Judah hear these things, and they go up from the house of the king [to] the house of YHWH, and sit in the opening of the New Gate of YHWH.
11 The priests and the [false] told the officials and the other people [who were there], “This man should be executed, because he has prophesied that this city [will be destroyed], and you yourselves [MTY] have heard him say that!”
And the priests and the prophets speak to the heads, and to all the people, saying, “Judgment of death [is] for this man, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.”
12 Then I replied to the officials and the other people, saying, “Yahweh sent me to prophesy all the things that you heard me say about [what will happen to] this temple and this city.
And Jeremiah speaks to all the heads, and to all the people, saying, “YHWH sent me to prophesy concerning this house, and concerning this city, all the words that you have heard.
13 But if you change your behavior and stop sinning, and [start to] obey Yahweh our God, he will change his mind, and not cause you to experience the disasters that he said that he would send.
And now, amend your ways, and your doings, and listen to the voice of your God YHWH, and YHWH relents concerning the evil that He has spoken against you.
14 As for me, I am not able to free myself from your grasp. [So you can] do to me whatever you want to do.
And I, behold, I [am] in your hand, do to me as is good and as is right in your eyes;
15 [But you need to] know that if you kill me, you will be killing a man [SYN] who (is innocent/has not done anything wrong). And you and everyone else in this city will be guilty, because the truth is that it was Yahweh who sent me to speak every word that you have heard me say.”
only, certainly know that if you are putting me to death, you are surely putting innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city, and on its inhabitants; for YHWH has truly sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”
16 Then the officials and the other people said to the priests and the [false] prophets, “This man does not deserve to be executed, because he has spoken to us the message [MTY] that Yahweh gave him!”
And the heads and all the people say to the priests and to the prophets, “There is not a judgment of death for this man, for he has spoken to us in the Name of our God YHWH.”
17 Then some of the elders stood up and spoke to all the people who were gathered [there].
And men from [the] elderly of the land rise up and speak to all the assembly of the people, saying,
18 They said, “([Remember/Think about) what] Micah, [the prophet] from Moresheth [town], prophesied during the years that Hezekiah was the King of Judah. He told the people of Judah this: ‘This is what the Commander of the armies of angels says: [Some day] Zion [Hill] will be plowed like fields [are plowed]; Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins. There will be a large clump/group of trees on top of the hill where the temple is now.’
“Micah the Morashtite has been prophesying in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and he says to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus said YHWH of Hosts: Zion is a plowed field, and Jerusalem is heaps, And the mountain of the house is for high places of a forest.
19 But did [RHQ] King Hezekiah or anyone else in Judah kill Micah [for saying that]? No! Instead, Hezekiah revered Yahweh, and pleaded that he would (act mercifully toward/not destroy) them. So, Yahweh changed his mind about causing them to experience the terrible disaster that he said he would send. And now [if we kill Jeremiah], we are going to cause ourselves to experience a terrible disaster!”
Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear YHWH? Indeed, he appeases the face of YHWH, and YHWH relents concerning the calamity that He spoke against them; and we are doing great evil against our souls.”
20 [At that time, ] the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-Jearim [city] was also prophesying/proclaiming messages [MTY] from Yahweh. He was predicting that the city and the rest of the land would experience the same disasters that I was predicting.
And there has also been a man prophesying in the Name of YHWH, Urijah son of Shemaiah, of Kirjath-Jearim, and he prophesies against this city, and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah,
21 When King Jehoiakim and his army officers and officials heard what Uriah was saying, the king sent someone to kill Uriah. But Uriah heard about it, and became [very] afraid, and he (escaped/ran away) to Egypt.
and King Jehoiakim, and all his mighty ones, and all the heads, hear his words, and the king seeks to put him to death, and Urijah hears, and fears, and flees, and goes to Egypt.
22 Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan the son of Acbor along with several other men to Egypt.
And King Jehoiakim sends men to Egypt—Elnathan son of Achbor, and men with him to Egypt—
23 They captured Uriah and took him [back to Jerusalem] to King Jehoiakim. The king then [had a soldier] kill Uriah with a sword. Then they buried his corpse in a place where poor people are buried.
and they bring out Urijah from Egypt, and bring him to King Jehoiakim, and he strikes him with a sword, and casts his corpse to the graves of the sons of the people.
24 However, Ahikam the son of Shaphan defended me, and persuaded the officials not to allow [MTY] the mob to murder me.
Only, the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan has been with Jeremiah so as not to give him up into the hand of the people to put him to death.
