Jeremiah 26:16-24

Jeremiah Spared from Death

16 1Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, 2"This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God."
17 3And certain of 4the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying,
18 "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, 5"'Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.'
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? 6Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, 7and did not the LORD relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? 8But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves."
20 There was another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from 9Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah.
21 And when 10King Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt.
22 Then 11King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, 12Elnathan the son of 13Achbor and others with him,
23 and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, 14who struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.
24 But the hand of 15Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.

Jeremiah 26:16-24 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 26

This chapter gives an account of Jeremiah's preaching; of his being apprehended by the people; of his defence of himself, and acquittance upon it. The time when, place where, and persons to whom the prophet delivered his discourse, are pointed at in Jer 26:1,2; the substance of it was, that if the people of the Jews would repent of their sins and turn from them, the Lord would avert the evil he had threatened them with; but if not, he would make their temple like Shiloh, and their city a curse to all the earth, Jer 26:3-6; upon hearing which the people seized him, and vowed he should die, because he had prophesied of the destruction of their city and temple, Jer 26:7-9; which the princes hearing of, came from the king's house to one of the gates of the temple, and sat as a court of judicature; to whom the priests and prophets accused Jeremiah of the above things as worthy of death, Jer 26:10,11; and before whom the prophet made his defence, alleging his mission and orders from the Lord; and therefore, instead of recanting, repeats his exhortation; and as for himself, he was not careful what they did to him; but advises them not to shed innocent blood, since it would bring evil upon them, Jer 26:12-15; upon which the princes acquit him, and declare him innocent, Jer 26:16; and this is confirmed by a like instance of Micah the prophet, in the times of Hezekiah, who prophesied of the destruction of Jerusalem, and yet was not put to death, Jer 26:17-19; and by a contrary instance of Uriah, in the then present reign of Jehoiakim, who had been put to death for the like, but wrongly, Jer 26:20-23; and, in the issue, Jeremiah, through the good office of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, particularly, was saved from being put to death, Jer 26:24.

Cross References 15

  • 1. ver. 8
  • 2. [ver. 11]
  • 3. [Acts 5:34]
  • 4. See Jeremiah 19:1
  • 5. Micah 3:12
  • 6. [2 Chronicles 32:26]
  • 7. Exodus 32:14; 2 Samuel 24:16; [1 Kings 13:6]
  • 8. [Acts 5:39]
  • 9. Joshua 9:17; 1 Samuel 6:21; 1 Samuel 7:1, 2; 1 Chronicles 13:5, 6
  • 10. ver. 1; Jeremiah 27:1
  • 11. [See ver. 21 above]
  • 12. Jeremiah 36:12, 25
  • 13. 2 Kings 22:12, 14
  • 14. [Jeremiah 22:17; Nehemiah 9:26; Matthew 21:35; Matthew 23:37]
  • 15. 2 Kings 22:12
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.