Bible Time

¹IN the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahvah, saying, ²Thus says Yahvah, Stand in the court of Yahvah's house and speak to all the cities of Judah which come to worship in the house of Yahvah all the words that I commanded you to speak to them; do not omit a word: ³Perhaps they will listen and turn every man from his evil way, so that I may cease from the harm which I purpose to do to them because of their evil actions. ⁴And you will say to them, Thus says Yahvah, If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you ⁵And to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I have sent to you, warning you in advance, but you have not listened; ⁶Then I will make this house like Shiloh and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.

⁷So the priests and the false prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Yahvah. ⁸Now it came to pass when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that Yahvah had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the false prophets and all the people seized him, saying, ⁹He will surely be put to death, for he has prophesied in the name of Yahvah, saying, This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be desolate without an inhabitant. And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of Yahvah. ¹⁰When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of Yahvah and sat down in the entry of the new gate of Yahvah's house. ¹¹Then the priests and the false prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is guilty of death; for he has prophesied against this city and against its inhabitants, as you have heard with your ears. ¹²Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying, Yahvah sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³Therefore, now amend your ways and your actions, and obey the voice of Yahvah your God; and Yahvah will cease from the evil which he has pronounced against you. ¹⁴As for me, look, I am in your hands; do with me as it seems right and proper to you. ¹⁵But you must know for certain that if you put me to death, you will surely bring innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on its inhabitants; for of a truth Yahvah has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.

¹⁶Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the false prophets, This man is not guilty of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahvah our God. ¹⁷Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, ¹⁸Micah the Morashite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah, Thus says Yahvah of hosts, the God of Israel: Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps, and the mountain of the temple like a forest. ¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? No, but they feared Yahvah and prayed before him, and Yahvah refrained from the evil which he had pronounced against them. And now, we wish to bring great evil on ourselves. ²⁰And there was another man who also prophesied in the name of Yahvah, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Koriathnarin, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah; ²¹And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his servants and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid; so he fled and went to Egypt; ²²And King Jehoiakim sent a certain Egyptian, namely, Eliathan the son of Achbor, and certain other men with him to Egypt. ²³And they fetched Uriah from Egypt, and brought him to King Jehoiakim; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the burial place of the common people. ²⁴Nevertheless, the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they might not deliver him into the hand of the people to put him to death.