Yeremia 26:11

26:11 Then the priests and the prophets made their charges before the officials and all the people. They said, ¹  “This man should be condemned to die ²  because he prophesied against this city. You have heard him do so ³  with your own ears.”

Yeremia 26:20-23

26:20 Now there was another man ⁴  who prophesied as the Lord’s representative ⁵  against this city and this land just as Jeremiah did. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim. ⁶  26:21 When the king and all his bodyguards ⁷  and officials heard what he was prophesying, ⁸  the king sought to have him executed. But Uriah found out about it and fled to Egypt out of fear. ⁹  26:22 However, King Jehoiakim sent some men to Egypt, including Elnathan son of Achbor, ¹⁰  26:23 and they brought Uriah back from there. ¹¹  They took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed and had his body thrown into the burial place of the common people. ¹² 

Yeremia 29:27

29:27 You should have reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth who is pretending to be a prophet among you! ¹³ 

Yeremia 38:4

38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing ¹⁴  the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. ¹⁵  This ¹⁶  man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” ¹⁷ 

[26:11]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “a sentence of death to this man.”

[26:11]  ³ tn Heb “it.”

[26:20]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “his words.”

[26:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “But Uriah heard and feared and fled and entered Egypt.”

[26:22]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.

[29:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah…?” The rhetorical question functions as an emphatic assertion made explicit in the translation.

[38:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “weakening the hands of.” For this idiom see BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Pi. and compare the usage in Isa 13:7; Ezek 21:7 (21:12 HT).

[38:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “by saying these things.”

[38:4]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) has not been rendered here because it is introducing a parallel causal clause to the preceding one. To render “For” might be misunderstood as a grounds for the preceding statement. To render “And” or “Moreover” sounds a little odd here. If it must be represented, “Moreover” is perhaps the best rendering.

[38:4]  ¹⁷ tn Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfare [or “well-being”; Hebrew shalom] of this people but [their] harm [more literally, evil].”