New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Jeremiah 26
1
A message came to me from the Lord. It was shortly after Jehoiakim became king of Judah. He was the son of Josiah.
Reference
Kingdom
Jeremiah 27:1
2
The Lord said, "Stand in the courtyard of my house. Speak to the people of the towns in Judah. Speak to all those who come to worship in my house. Tell them everything I command you. Do not leave out a single word.
Reference
Parallel theme
Acts 20:27
Matthew 28:20
Jeremiah 1:17
Acts 5:42
Acts 20:20
References Lord
Jeremiah 19:14
Word
Deuteronomy 4:2
Jeremiah 7:2
Jeremiah 23:28
Jeremiah 36:10
3
Perhaps they will listen. Maybe they will turn from their evil ways. Then I will not do what I said I would. I will not bring trouble on them. I had planned to punish them because of the evil things they had done.
Reference
5
And listen to the words my servants the prophets are speaking. I have sent them to you again and again. But you have not listened to them.
Reference
6
So I will make this house like Shiloh. All of the nations on earth will call down curses on this city." ' "
Reference
7
I spoke those words in the Lord's house. The priests, the prophets and all of the people heard me.
Reference
8
I finished telling all of the people everything the Lord had commanded me to say. But as soon as I did, the priests, the prophets and all of the people grabbed hold of me. They said, "You must die!
9
Why do you prophesy those things in the Lord's name? Why do you say that this house will become like Shiloh? Why do you say that this city will be empty and deserted?" And all of the people crowded around me in the Lord's house.
10
The officials of Judah heard what had happened. So they went up from the royal palace to the Lord's house. There they took their places at the entrance of the New Gate.
Reference
📍 New Gate
References Lord
Jeremiah 36:10
11
Then the priests and prophets spoke to the officials and all of the people. They said, "This man should be sentenced to death. He has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!"
Reference
12
Then I spoke to all of the officials and people. I said, "The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city. He told me to say everything you have heard.
Reference
13
So change the way you live and act. Obey the Lord your God. Then he won't do what he said he would. He won't bring on you the trouble he said he would bring.
Reference
Evil
Jeremiah 35:15
Parallel theme
Isaiah 1:19
Repentance
Jonah 3:9
Jeremiah 26:3
Jeremiah 26:19
Jeremiah 18:8
Jonah 4:2
Joel 2:14
15
But you can be sure of one thing. If you put me to death, you will be held accountable for spilling my blood. And I haven't even done anything wrong. You will bring guilt on yourselves and this city and those who live in it. The Lord has sent me to you. He wanted me to say all of those things so you could hear them. And that's the truth."
Reference
16
Then the officials and all of the people spoke to the priests and prophets. They said, "This man shouldn't be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God."
Reference
17
Some of the elders of the land stepped forward. They spoke to the whole community that was gathered there. They said,
Reference
Parallel theme
Acts 5:34
18
"Micah from Moresheth prophesied. It was during the time Hezekiah was king over Judah. Micah spoke to all of the people of Judah. He told them, 'The Lord who rules over all says, " ' "Zion will be plowed up like a field. Jerusalem will be turned into a pile of trash. The temple hill will be covered with bushes and weeds." '--(Micah 3:12)
Reference
📍 Moresheth
People
Kingdom
Micah 1:1
Parallel theme
Nehemiah 4:2
Jeremiah 17:3
References Jerusalem
Psalm 79:1
Jeremiah 9:11
References Lord
Zechariah 8:3
19
"Did King Hezekiah or anyone else in Judah put Micah to death? Hezekiah had respect for the Lord. He asked the Lord to show him his favor. And the Lord didn't judge Jerusalem as he said he would. He didn't bring on it the trouble he said he would bring. But we are about to bring horrible trouble on ourselves!"
Reference
20
Uriah was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord. He was from Kiriath Jearim. He was the son of Shemaiah. Uriah prophesied against this city and this land. He said the same things I did.
Reference
People
21
King Jehoiakim and all of his officers and officials heard Uriah's words. So the king tried to have him put to death. But Uriah heard about it. He was afraid. And he ran away to Egypt.
Reference
22
So King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan to Egypt. He also sent some other men along with him. Elnathan was the son of Acbor.
Reference
23
Those men brought Uriah out of Egypt. They took him to King Jehoiakim. Then the king had Uriah struck down with a sword. He had Uriah's body thrown into one of the graves of the ordinary people.
Reference
Word
Jeremiah 2:30
Summary of Jeremiah 26
Jeremiah 26 describes one of the earliest and most dangerous confrontations between Jeremiah and Judah's religious and political leadership, taking place near the beginning of King Jehoiakim's reign when Jeremiah is commanded to stand in the Temple courtyard and deliver an uncompromising warning that Jerusalem and the Temple themselves could face destruction if the people refused to change their ways.
The most important feature of Jeremiah's message is that judgment is presented as a warning rather than an unavoidable desire for destruction, because God says that if the people listen, turn away from their evil behavior, and obey Him, the announced disaster may be withdrawn.
However, the priests, prophets, and people react with anger because Jeremiah's statement that the Temple could be destroyed directly challenges their confidence that Jerusalem's sacred status guarantees divine protection, and they seize him and demand that he be executed for speaking against the city and its sanctuary.
Jeremiah responds with remarkable courage, telling them that God Himself sent him and that they can do whatever they believe is right, while warning them that killing him would make them responsible for innocent blood if they are rejecting a genuine message from God.
The situation changes when the officials and elders intervene, reminding the assembly of the earlier prophet Micah of Moresheth, who had warned during the reign of Hezekiah that Jerusalem would be destroyed, yet Hezekiah responded by seeking God rather than killing the prophet, and the nation was spared from the announced disaster.
This historical example provides one of the chapter's most important lessons: a prophetic warning is intended to create an opportunity for repentance, and the correct response to an uncomfortable message is not necessarily to silence the messenger but to examine one's behavior and determine whether change is needed.
The chapter then provides an even darker example through the story of Uriah, another prophet who preached a message similar to Jeremiah's but fled to Egypt when King Jehoiakim sought to kill him; Uriah was eventually brought back to Judah and executed, demonstrating that Jeremiah's survival was not because prophetic opposition was harmless but because certain officials, particularly Ahikam son of Shaphan, intervened to protect him.
The chapter therefore contrasts two possible responses to difficult truth: Hezekiah responds to Micah's warning with humility and repentance, while Jehoiakim responds to Uriah's warning with violence and execution, illustrating how leaders can either allow correction to change their behavior or attempt to destroy the person delivering the criticism.
The central message is that God's warnings are given to create an opportunity for repentance, but people who become more committed to protecting their institutions, reputation, political power, or religious assumptions than to listening to God may attack the messenger rather than confront their own behavior, and Jeremiah's experience demonstrates the extraordinary courage required to speak truth in such an environment, while the examples of Hezekiah and Jehoiakim show two completely different responses to prophetic correction—one leading toward mercy and preservation, the other toward greater hostility and eventual judgment.
The most important feature of Jeremiah's message is that judgment is presented as a warning rather than an unavoidable desire for destruction, because God says that if the people listen, turn away from their evil behavior, and obey Him, the announced disaster may be withdrawn.
However, the priests, prophets, and people react with anger because Jeremiah's statement that the Temple could be destroyed directly challenges their confidence that Jerusalem's sacred status guarantees divine protection, and they seize him and demand that he be executed for speaking against the city and its sanctuary.
Jeremiah responds with remarkable courage, telling them that God Himself sent him and that they can do whatever they believe is right, while warning them that killing him would make them responsible for innocent blood if they are rejecting a genuine message from God.
The situation changes when the officials and elders intervene, reminding the assembly of the earlier prophet Micah of Moresheth, who had warned during the reign of Hezekiah that Jerusalem would be destroyed, yet Hezekiah responded by seeking God rather than killing the prophet, and the nation was spared from the announced disaster.
This historical example provides one of the chapter's most important lessons: a prophetic warning is intended to create an opportunity for repentance, and the correct response to an uncomfortable message is not necessarily to silence the messenger but to examine one's behavior and determine whether change is needed.
The chapter then provides an even darker example through the story of Uriah, another prophet who preached a message similar to Jeremiah's but fled to Egypt when King Jehoiakim sought to kill him; Uriah was eventually brought back to Judah and executed, demonstrating that Jeremiah's survival was not because prophetic opposition was harmless but because certain officials, particularly Ahikam son of Shaphan, intervened to protect him.
The chapter therefore contrasts two possible responses to difficult truth: Hezekiah responds to Micah's warning with humility and repentance, while Jehoiakim responds to Uriah's warning with violence and execution, illustrating how leaders can either allow correction to change their behavior or attempt to destroy the person delivering the criticism.
The central message is that God's warnings are given to create an opportunity for repentance, but people who become more committed to protecting their institutions, reputation, political power, or religious assumptions than to listening to God may attack the messenger rather than confront their own behavior, and Jeremiah's experience demonstrates the extraordinary courage required to speak truth in such an environment, while the examples of Hezekiah and Jehoiakim show two completely different responses to prophetic correction—one leading toward mercy and preservation, the other toward greater hostility and eventual judgment.