Yeremia 26:8-11

26:8 Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some ¹  of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, “You deserve to die! ²  26:9 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!” ³  Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah.

26:10 However, some of the officials ⁴  of Judah heard about what was happening ⁵  and they rushed up to the Lord’s temple from the royal palace. They set up court ⁶  at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple. ⁷  26:11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said, ⁸  “This man should be condemned to die ⁹  because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so ¹⁰  with your own ears.”

Yeremia 26:20-23

26:20 Now there was another man ¹¹  who prophesied as the Lord’s representative ¹²  against this city and this land just as Jeremiah did. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim. ¹³  26:21 When the king and all his bodyguards ¹⁴  and officials heard what he was prophesying, ¹⁵  the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear. ¹⁶  26:22 However, King Jehoiakim sent some men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor, ¹⁷  26:23 and they brought Uriah back from there. ¹⁸  They took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed and had his body thrown into the burial place of the common people. ¹⁹ 

[26:8]  ¹ 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, the 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.)

[26:8]  ² 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).

[26:9]  ³ 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.

[26:9]  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).

[26:10]  ⁴ 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.

[26:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “these things.”

[26:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “they sat” or “they took their seats.” However, the context is one of judicial trial.

[26:10]  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.

[26:10]  ⁷ 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.”

[26:10]  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.

[26:11]  ⁸ 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.”

[26:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”

[26:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “it.”

[26:20]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his words.”

[26:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “But Uriah heard and feared and fled and entered Egypt.”

[26:22]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from Egypt.”

[26:23]  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.

[26:23]  ¹⁹ 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.